The definitions of natural disaster

Meteorological disaster is a kind of natural disaster. According to the World Meteorological Organization, meteorological disasters account for about 70% of natural disasters, and they occur very frequently throughout the year and are widely distributed in every country and even every region. But the types of meteorological disasters are different in different regions and different seasons.

So what is a meteorological disaster? This seems to be a well-known and clear question, but it is not. People often confuse disastrous weather, meteorological disasters, and secondary or derivative disasters caused by meteorological reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify these concepts first. In order to make a clear definition of meteorological disasters, first of all, what is a natural disaster?

The definitions of natural disaster

• (1) Related to natural phenomena.
• (2) Refer to the abnormal phenomena in nature, which directly cause tragic consequences to the surrounding creatures and catastrophic consequences to human society.
• (3) Caused by natural hazards.
• (4) Any natural events or forces that can directly cause catastrophic consequences.
• (5) Refer to events occurring in nature that can directly cause life casualties and loss of human social property.

In these definitions, the first and the third don’t really say what the natural disaster is, and especially the third definition adds “natural hazards” but have no definition of it, so the two of these definitions cannot really be called meaningful definitions. The other three definitions actually mean the same with the different explanations, all containing two elements: natural disasters are natural events, which can directly cause life casualties and property damage of human society. The second definition even extends the disasters to the biological world. This book mainly focuses on the fifth definition, only considering the impacts of natural disasters on human society.