Natural Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes

My purpose in this blog will be to discuss natural hazards,  disasters, and catastrophes, specifically focusing on examples in the country of Colombia.

A natural hazard is a natural process on earth that involves a potential threat to human life and property. Some examples that occur in Colombia are earthquakes and volcanoes since it is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is part of the Andean Volcanic Belt. The following graphic shows where the Andean Volcanic Belt is located. Notice that the Northern Volcanic Zone passes through from Ecuador north into Colombia.

When a hazardous event happens over a limited time frame and either ten or more people die, one-hundred or more people are affected, a state of emergency is declared,  or international help is requested, it is classified as a disaster. An example of a disaster occurring in Colombia is the Tumaco earthquake in 1979.  It was a 8.2 magnitude earthquake which caused an tsunami that killed around 450 people. As you can see from the graphic, it occurred on the western coast near Ecuador.

A disaster that requires many years and a significant amount money to recover from is classified as a catastrophe. An example in Colombia was the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 which caused mudflows, landslides, and debris flows from the melted ice caps and killed 23, 000 people. Shown below is a photo the exploding volcano and the flooded city of Armero afterwards.

This a good place to start in understanding the differences in definitions. I look forward to going into more detail with these subjects over the next coming months.