Global problems in the world natural disasters

global problems in the world. natural disasters

Global problems in the world. Natural disasters
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods can often come at the least expected time. Others, such as hurricanes and cyclones are increasing in severity and destruction. Typically, the poor are the worst hit for they have the least resources to cope and rebuild. This part of the globalissues.org web site looks at some of these issues.
Please note that this section is not an up-to-date news source as natural disaster events unfold. I do not have the capacity of massive news organizations to keep such items frequently updated. Instead, this section attempts to provide some additional perspectives and context regarding major natural disasters which are either global in scope, or are related to other global issues.
Media coverage of natural disasters seems to vary a lot depending on the disaster. Is it selective? Why do some regions get more attention than others? Even when millions have died in a region from conflict and war, how is it that a disaster that claims less in lives — sometimes in the same area, as in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo — will bring in media interest and coverage? 2005 has recently seen a number of disasters and relief efforts, from the Asian tsunami, to the severe hurricanes and storms in the Caribbean, the earthquake in South Asia (Pakistan and India), and drought in parts of Africa. How has the media covered these?
Read “Media and Natural Disasters” to learn more.
Media and Natural Disasters
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis
The earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 was one of the biggest recorded, measuring 9 on the richter scale.
It was the resulting tsunami, however, that caused the most destruction. It devastated the northeast of Japan, leaving many thousands dead or missing, and hundreds of thousands homeless or evacuated from the area.
In addition, various power generators failed. Some older nuclear power stations risked meltdown and suffered explosions and radioactive leaks. Workers have battled for weeks to try and bring the situation under control. Radioactive material has been detected in various places.
It is thought that the cost of the earthquake and tsunami could be over $300 billion — the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record.
There are global economic repercussions as well, given Japan’s key position in the world economy.
There are so many issues that this tragic event has caused. This page presents news coverage from Inter Press Service on many of these inter-related issues.
Read “Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis” to learn more.
Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster
.Boxing day, 2004, one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history (measuring 9 on the Richter Scale), struck just off Sumatra, Indonesia, in a fault line running under the sea. The rupture caused massive waves, or tsunamis, that hurtled away from the epicenter, reaching shores as far away as Africa. At least 230,000 people were killed and the livelihoods of millions were destroyed in over 10 countries. This has been one of the biggest natural disasters in recent human history.
Read “Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster” to learn more.
Third World Debt and Disaster Recovery
Posted Wednesday, December 29, 2004.When poor countries face natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and fires, the cost of rebuilding becomes even more of an issue when they are already burdened with debt. Often, poor countries suffer with many lost lives and/or livelihoods. Aid and disaster relief often does come in from international relief organizations, rich countries and international institutions, but sometimes poor countries are still paying millions of dollars a week back in the form of debt repayment.
Read “Third World Debt and Disaster Recovery” to learn more.
Environmental Issues
Last updated Monday, February 02, 2015.
Environmental issues are also a major global issue. Humans depend on a sustainable and healthy environment, and yet we have damaged the environment in numerous ways. This section introduces other issues including biodiversity, climate change, animal and nature conservation, population, genetically modified food, sustainable development, and more.
Read “Environmental Issues” to learn more.
There are numerous forms of aid, from humanitarian emergency assistance, to longer term development aid. Some provide food aid, or military assistance, but all these forms of aid seem to be accompanied with criticism, either around inefficiency of delivery, or of political agendas or more. This section attempts to look at some of these issues.
Read “Aid” to learn more.
Aid
Relatively sudden and widespread disturbance of the social system and life of a community or region may be caused by one or more of the destructive forces of nature. Natural disasters are usually the result of geophysical or meteorological disturbances, the causes and mechanisms of which are now relatively well understood even though their occurrence and the detailed consequences cannot be predicted. The phenomena which mainly cause disasters are earthquakes and cyclonic storms, usually of tropical origin, but seismic activity under the sea can cause floods far from the centre of disturbance. Besides direct damage due to flooding, wind forces and earth movement, landslips and outbreaks of fire may occur to cause further damage and loss of life. Volcanic activity, besides being the cause of some earthquakes, can also cause damage from lava and ash.
The UNEP data book of 1991 notes that the frequency of natural disasters has increased in recent decade, adding that one reason may be a heightened awareness of disasters through reports in the media. It also suggests that natural disasters are becoming more significant in terms of magnitude and numbers. The most widely accepted reason is that the "hit rate" has increased considerably due to the continuing growth of world population. More than one third of the world's largest and fasting growing cities are now in regions of high seismic risk. Many of these are in developing countries where poor construction methods exacerbate the dangers. Many huge populations of non-urban people are concentrated in regions of environmental risk, such as variable rainfall; thousands of people have migrated to these regions in the past few decades as a result of population pressure and social conflict.
The world's societies and environment are increasingly suffering from the effects of natural disasters. A disaster usually results from the combination of a vulnerable environment and a hazard such as floods, tropical storms, earthquakes, landslides, wild fires, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. They can cause the loss of life, property and livelihoods.