Top Disasters Articles – Floods, Hurricanes, Earthquakes & More

Natural disasters are weather events that threaten human safety, health, and well-being. They damage infrastructure, lead to economic loss, cause food insecurity, impact national security, and damage property. All forms of severe weather have the potential to become natural disasters.

Natural disasters happen seasonally. They also occur without warning, such as in the case of difficult-to-predict volcanoes or earthquakes.

Some common natural disasters include earthquakes, wildfires, droughts, tornadoes, and floods. Sometimes, these disasters occur at the same time or in combination with one another. ⁽¹⁾

The Psychological Impact of Natural Disasters

Natural disasters often have a psychological impact. ⁽²⁾ People who go through them may have severe, long-lasting mental and physical health challenges. The mental and emotional phases of going through a natural disaster include:

• The pre-disaster phase of fear or uncertainty
• The impact phase of shock, disbelief, or a panic attack
• The heroic phase of taking action due to adrenaline
• A honeymoon phase where the community bonds
• The disillusionment phase of receiving maximum relief (often less than needed)
• The reconstruction phase of rebuilding the “new normal”

Some of the common mental health effects of going through natural disasters include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Guilt
• Confusion
• Changes in relationships
• Changes in behaviors or thoughts
• Compassion fatigue
• Trouble sleeping
• Substance abuse

The groups at the highest risk for mental health effects include first responders, recovery workers, people with preexisting trauma or mental illness, and children.

Types of Natural Disasters

The most common natural disasters include earthquakes, droughts, wildfires, floods, and tornadoes (severe storms). Other kinds of natural disasters include cold waves, hailstorms, avalanches, heat waves, tsunamis, ice storms, hurricanes, and more.

The National Risk Index recognizes 18 types of natural disasters (natural hazards). ⁽³⁾ These natural disasters sometimes cause secondary hazards like ash and lava that produce toxins and hazardous air after a volcanic eruption.

Through the National Risk Index, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides resources for communities, explaining their natural hazard risk and what to expect if a natural disaster occurs. ⁽⁴⁾

Earthquakes

Earthquakes occur when the plates making up the earth’s structure slip along a fault plane. There are four kinds of earthquakes:

1. A tectonic earthquake happens when rock masses making up the earth’s mantle or crust slip past each other horizontally or vertically.
2. Volcanic earthquakes happen due to volcanic activity.
3. Explosion earthquakes happen due to chemical or nuclear detonations.
4. Collapse earthquakes happen underground in caves or mines due to explosions on the surface.

Earthquakes can damage property, lead to anxiety, or result in trauma when severe. ⁽⁵⁾

Droughts

Droughts are the periods of time when rain does not occur at all or occurs less than usual throughout a specific region. The unpredictability of droughts makes it hard to know when they started and at what point they will end.

The below-normal precipitation during a drought leads to a significant reduction in clean drinking water. Unless there is manual irrigation from water reserves, poor crop growth also follows, along with a potential decline in wildlife in the affected areas as animals struggle to find ways to hydrate. Water sources like rivers or streams may dry up completely during a drought.

Droughts may also create “water refugees,” people who leave their homes in search of freshwater resources. ⁽⁶⁾

Wildfires

Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that burn throughout forests, grasslands, and other wild vegetation. They may start naturally, for instance, due to a lightning strike or as a result of manmade fires. Some common causes include failing to properly put out a campfire or burning brush during a drought.

Wildfires can sometimes provide essential support for forests, such as by heating tree cones to release seeds. However, they also have a huge potential to damage homes and infrastructure, leading to economic crises and extreme stress. ⁽⁷⁾

Floods

Floods occur when there is rainfall for an extended period of time or when an overflow of water reaches the normally dry lands. ⁽⁸⁾ Some common causes of floods include heavy rainfall, storm surges, and rapidly melting snow. Interestingly, floods comprise between 80% – 90% of the documented disasters from the last decade.
Floods can fall into one of three categories:

1. Flash floods
2. River floods
3. Coastal floods

Floods may lead to physical trauma, ongoing chemical hazards, and mental health effects. ⁽⁹⁾

Tornadoes and Severe Storms

Tornadoes and severe storms regularly damage properties and infrastructure. Typically, they occur in the spring, summer, and fall, but they can happen any time of year.

Not all severe storms spawn tornadoes, but those that do may also produce damaging hail. Tornadoes develop and dissipate rapidly, often without obvious signs crossing areas where people live or work. The majority of tornadoes stay on the ground for less than 15 minutes but can still cause structural damage and threaten lives in the region of its path. The resulting deaths and injuries, or even sudden changes in routine, can have long-lasting mental health consequences for survivors. ⁽¹⁰⁾

Mental Health Resources Following Natural Disasters

Before possible disasters or after those that have already occurred, the government often announces emergency declarations. These declarations encourage planning at the state and local levels before a disaster or a response after one occurs.

The President of the United States has the power to declare a major disaster after any natural event that causes critical damage beyond the local or state governments’ abilities to handle it. The declared area receives access to federal assistance in the form of emergency aid and support for the public infrastructure. ⁽¹¹⁾

After declaring a major disaster, individuals get assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA provides assistance that includes crisis counseling, unemployment assistance, legal services, and other types of support. FEMA also provides emergency assistance, including repairs and replacement of damaged infrastructure. FEMA handles hazard mitigation assistance when needed.

FEMA helps mitigate some of the stress of natural disasters, but that stress impacts the affected people regardless. Natural disasters cause extreme stress among the population before, during, and after the event. Common impacts include stress reactions, trauma, psychological symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other kinds of emotional instability. ⁽¹²⁾ Children are at a high risk of developing psychological problems, such as anxiety, while adults are at a higher risk of developing psychopathology.