INTRODUCTION

Natural disaster is anything that is capable or has the potential of causing injuries, loss of lives,
damage to property and the environment. Some are weather related e.g (floods, droughts,
sandstorms, heat waves, cold spell, typhoons, blizzards, hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes). While
others have geophysical origin or connection ( earthquake,). Not all disaster result or end up in
disaster. Hazards that occur
Without affecting human beings and their assets, houses, farmlands, livestock etc. are natural
events that cannot be described as disasters e.g. sandstorm that occurs in a desert where nobody
is staying is a natural event and not a disaster. Hazard that results in huge loss of lives or large
scale destruction of farmlands, property etc constitute a disaster. For instance, the flood that
killed over three hundred peoplein 2012 in Nigeria can be described as a natural disaster.
DEFINITION
A natural disaster is a sudden or gradual event caused by natural processes that disrupts the
normal functioning of the environment and causes widespread destruction, loss of life, and
damage to property. Examples of natural disasters include:
1. Geophysical disasters: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
2. Hydrological disasters: floods, droughts, and storms.
3. Meteorological disasters: hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, and cyclones.
4. Climatological disasters: heat waves, cold waves, and wildfires.
5. Biological disasters: pandemics, epidemics, and insect infestations.
TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTER
1. EARTHQUAKE
An earthquake is a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust, causing the ground to shake,
sometimes violently. This energy release creates seismic waves that can cause damage to
buildings, infrastructure, and the environment, as well as loss of life. Earthquakes occur when
there is a sudden movement along a fault line, which is a crack in the Earth’s crust. The
movement can be caused by:
1. Tectonic plate movement: The Earth’s surface is divided into several large plates that move
relative to each other. As they move, they can get stuck and then suddenly release, causing an
earthquake.
2. Volcanic activity: Earthquakes can occur when magma or gas moves beneath a volcano,
causing the ground to shake.
3. Human activity: In some cases, human activities like injection of fluids into the ground,
mining, or construction can alter the stress on the Earth’s crust and cause an earthquake
2. FLOOD
A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land and can cause damage to properties,
infrastructure, and the environment. Floods can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
Heavy rainfall, Storm surges, (A rise in sea level due to a storm or hurricane can cause coastal
fearthquak
3. HURRICANE
A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour.
Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic Ocean or northeastern Pacific Ocean. These storms can be very
destructive, and the National Hurricane Center predicts and tracks them to help protect people,
property and natural resources
4. TYPHOONS
Typhoons are intense tropical cyclones that form in the western Pacific Ocean. They are similar
to hurricanes, but occur in a different part of the world. Typhoons are characterized by strong
winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges that can cause significant damage and flooding.
Some of the most affected countries by typhoons include Japan, the Philippines, China, and
Taiwan.
5. DROUGHT
A drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to water scarcity and impacts
on the environment, agriculture, and society.

EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTER ON

THE ENVIRONMENT
Natural disaster have their own effects on the environment and these effects come in different
forms. And this include:
1. DEGRADATION OF ERODED AREAS
Areas that have been badly eroded become even more degraded especially during heavy rainfall
that leads to massive flooding making some areas inaccessible by vehicle, motor cycles and even
dangerous to walk through. This degradation of the eroded areas can even make such areas prone
or vulnerable to landslide and houses built in such areas can easily collapse.
2. LOSS OF VEGETATIVE COVER AND REMOVAL OF TOP SOIL
Violent storms, floods can remove trees and other forms of vegetative cover particularly those
along river banks. Also, top soil can be washed away and deposited elsewhere leaving the
original site denuded and unproductive. Prolonged droughts can result in the death of trees,
grasses and shrubs leaving the environment bare and making such an area vulnerable to desert
encroachment.
3. ACCUMULATION OF WASTE AND POLLUTION
Coastal floods can bring pollutants from rivers and oceans that have been polluted (with
industrial wastes)into residential areas and these pollutants can lead to serious health problems.
Also, untreated sewage can be washed off into residential areas and this can trigger water-borne
diseases like cholera and typhoid fever or even provide conducive breeding ground for disease
causing germs or microbes to multiply rapidly. Massive floods come with all kinds of debris and
mud are also deposited in different
Areas creating ugly scenes and making the environment unconducive and unattractive.
4. DISTORTION OF LANDSCAPE
Beautiful landscapes are distorted or badly damaged in the event of natural disaster such as
floods,landslides, earthquake etc. Heavy floating objects such as trees and houses built of woods
that have been completely removed
Are deposited anyhow and anywhere, sometimes on roads where they impede human and
vehicular movements.

EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTER ON HUMAN

1. DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLE
One of the direct impacts of natural disaster on the environment is the displacement of people. In
the after math of flooding, houses will be filled with water, garbage and sometimes dangerous
animals like snake, bush rat and crocodile making people’s apartments unsafe for human
habitations. Displacement also leads to disruption of children’s education and it makes life
uncomfortable for people.
2. DISRUPTION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND NORMAL LIFE
Natural disasters triggered by natural hazards can disrupt economic activities such as buying and
selling. Banks and markets may be closed particularly in the event of massive flooding that
impedes vehicular and human movements. Also, there may be power-cut for hours or days
depending on the magnitude of the disaster, communications facilities may be temporarily out of
service and sick people may not be able to access medical services. Disasters also create
economic burden for the government as there is high possibility of diverting money meant for
developmental programmes to the purchase of relief and re-construction materials for the victims
of disaster.
3. LOSS OF LIVES AND PROPERTY DESTRUCTION
Natural hazards such as floods, earthquake and droughts result in catastrophic loss of human
lives and animals. The 2012 floods in Nigeria killed over three hundred people in areas that were
affected. Death as a result of droughts, heat waves and sand storm had been reported in the time
past. Natural disasters such as earthquake and floods bring down houses and those that are not
totally brought down are badly damaged to the extent that they have to be pulled down. During
heavy floods, foundations of buildings in affected areas suffer from terrible
Undercutting as a result of fast moving water which erodes them making them vulnerable to
collapse.
4. INTRODUCTION OF NEW DISEASES AND PESTS:
In the event of floods, species of plants particularly weeds that are not native to a particular area
can be transported to
An area where they are not grown at all and when they arrive, they come with their own
pests,diseases and causal agents such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes etc.
CONCLUSION
Natural disasters affecting different parts of the world have gained prominence, including the
flood that killed over three hundred people in 2012 in Nigeria. In this context, this paper analyzes
the effect of natural disasters on human and the environment. All hands must be on deck in
order to reduce the negative impacts of natural disaster in Nigeria as they pose great threats to
development and have the potential to erode or roll back gains that have been made in terms of
economic growth and infrastructure development and also cause serious damage to the
environment and food production.
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