Natural Hazards Vocab

Science

catastrophic event

Extreme weather events such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes; classified by the extent and intensity of their impact on the ecosystem.

forecast

a simple prediction of the future

natural hazard

A natural event (for example an earthquake, volcanic eruption, tropical storm, flood) that threatens people or has the potential to cause damage, destruction and death.

climatic event

related to the weather or changes in the Earth's atmosphere such as fog, rain, tornadoes, and hurricanes, droughts, floods, etc..

geological event

events that change the surface of the earth - often due to tectonic plate movement (ex: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain formation, and glacier movements)

mitigate

make less severe, serious, or painful

resilience

the ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats

disturbance

An event, such as storm, fire, flood, drought, overgrazing or human activity, that changes a community and alters resource availability.

drought

A long period of low precipitation

migration

movement of people or other organisms from one place to another