Natural hazards pose risks to human health, safety, and property. National agencies monitor risks and provide awareness, education, and support services. Some hazards are influenced by human activity, while others are completely natural and unpredictable. Government agencies play a role in monitoring, policy planning, decision-making, risk mitigation, and rapid response to natural hazards.
Natural hazards are events that can pose a risk to human health, safety and property. They can include volcanoes, fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural events that can be difficult to prevent or control. National agencies around the world monitor ongoing risks in their area and provide awareness, education and support services. Internationally, countries also communicate about dangers that cross borders and could affect neighbors and allies.
Many of these events are completely natural, although some can be influenced by human activity. For example, overuse of land with repeated planting of crops that require lots of water and nutrients can contribute to droughts, dust storms, and eventual desertification. Other natural hazards, such as volcanoes and earthquakes, are unrelated to anything humans can or cannot do on the surface of the Earth. They are unpredictable and can occur very suddenly and without any warning.
One aspect of natural hazard management is monitoring, forecasting, and forecasting. Government agencies use a variety of tools to track current events, note patterns, and issue forecasts. For example, if an analysis of a volcano suggests a dangerous buildup of magma that could erupt, the government can issue a warning to residents. This could be used as the basis for an evacuation order to get people out of the area in case the volcano erupts.
Government agencies can also play a role in policy planning and decision-making. In an area known for natural hazards, agencies can discourage new development. At the same time, they can promote disaster preparedness and planning with things like earthquake shelters, supplies stockpiles, and routine road maintenance to make evacuations as smooth as possible. Risk mitigation can also include activities such as installing levees to control flooding or building firebreaks to limit the damage caused by fires.
Rapid response to natural hazards is also part of the job of government agencies. They must be able to quickly get personnel on the ground to monitor events, help citizens, and start the rebuilding and improvement process. This aspect of disaster planning can include creating mobile response units in the form of fully stocked trailers that can double as temporary command centers at the site of a natural disaster. Emergency response teams can be prepared at any time to travel to a location to provide support and assistance, ranging from respectful handling of human remains to environmental cleanup.
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