Monday, August 21, 2023

Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes

 A natural hazard is a natural process and event that is a potential threat to human life and property. The process and events themselves are not a hazard but become so because of human use of the land. A disaster is a hazardous event that occurs over a limited time span within a defined area. Criteria for a natural disaster are (1) 10 or more people are killed, (2) 100 or more people are affected, (3) a state of emergency is declared, and (4) international assistance is requested. If any one of these applies, an event is considered a natural disaster. A catastrophe is a massive disaster that requires a significant expenditure of money and a long time (often years) for recovery to take place. 



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Final Hazards Report

The main natural hazards of Puerto Rico are earthquakes and hurricanes. Although Puerto Rico has historically had moderate seismicity, the t...