Natural Hazards Vocabulary

a natural process or phenomenon that may cause widespread injury, death, or property damage

• Organic damage

• Natural Disaster

• Natural Hazard

• Damage Scale

widespread injury, death, and property damage caused by a natural hazard.

• natural disaster

• natural hazard

• earthquake

• monsoon

a type of natural hazard that includes thunderstorms, tropical storms, lightning and tornadoes.

• natural disaster

• geology hazard

• unnatural disaster

• weather hazard

a type of natural hazard that includes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

• geologic hazard

• weather hazard

• natural disaster

• volcano emergency

a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that flows along the ground away from a volcano

• aa lava

• pyroclastic flow

• lahar

• supercell

a powerful wave caused by movement of ocean water after an earthquake, landslide or a volcanic eruption

• tidal wave

• tsunami

• ocean wave

• earthquake wave

intense, rotating thunderstorms that can develop into tornadoes

• supercell thunderstorms

• tornado

• hurricane

• volcanic eruption

is used to assign a tornado a 'rating' based on estimated wind speeds and related damage

• Tornado Scale

• Richter Scale

• Mercalli Scale

• Fugita Scale

an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes volcanic eruptions, and explosions, due to nuclear bombings.

• Richter scale

• seismometer

• Mercalli Scale

• Fugita Scale

a sensitive inclinometer designed to measure very small changes from the vertical level, either on the ground or in structures

• tiltmeter

• Mercalli scale

• Richter Scale

• seismometer