Natural events

"A natural disaster is an act of nature of such magnitude as to create a catastrophic situation in which the day-to-day patterns of life are suddenly disrupted and people are plunged into helplessness and suffering, and, as a result, need food, clothing, shelter, medical and nursing care and other necessities of life, and protection against unfavourable environmental factors and conditions." Guide to sanitation in natural disastersWHO (1971).

Every year natural disasters kill around 90 000 people and affect close to 160 million people worldwide. Natural disasters include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heat waves and droughts. They have an immediate impact on human lives and often result in the destruction of the physical, biological and social environment of the affected people, thereby having a longer-term impact on their health, well-being and survival.

KEY resources

WHO

• Environmental health in emergencies and disasters: a practical guide (2002)
• Fact sheet on the management of waste during emergencies
• Four steps for the sound management of health-care waste in emergencies
• Hazardous waste management in tsunami-affected areas: emergency phase
• Natural disaster mitigation in drinking-water and sewerage systems (1998) [pdf 976kb]
• WHO technical notes on environmental sanitation in emergencies

Other resources

WHO

• Fact sheets on environmental sanitation
• Guidelines for drinking-water quality (2006)
  Chapter 6. Application of the guidelines in specific circumstances
• Guidelines for safe disposal of unwanted pharmaceuticals in and after emergencies (1999)
• Household water treatment and safe storage following emergencies and disasters [pdf 840kb]
  pdf, 840kb
• The drinking-water response to the Indian Ocean tsunami including the role of household water treatment (2005)
• Tools and references for emergency health management

Related sites

• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
• International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
• Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit
• Regional Disaster Information Center. Latin America and the Caribbean (CRID)
• UNICEF
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)