Page 92 - SST Class 05

15 Natural Disasters

Disasters and I

A disaster can occur at any time or place. An immediate need is to be safe during its occurrence; at the
same time, it is necessary to help the victims. For example, in case of a fire, the first priority should be to
save lives and douse the fire, but being a child, your own safety is also essential.

A disaster is an unexpected event, such as a bad accident, flood or fire that kills a lot of

people or causes a lot of damage. A disaster can cause a great deal of destruction to life
and property.
Disasters can be natural or manmade.

Natural Disasters Manmade Disasters

The disasters that are caused by the The disasters that are caused by man,
nature, like earthquake, flood, volcano, knowingly or unknowingly, such as
tsunami etc. accident, fire, war, riot etc.

We shall study only natural disasters in this class.

Earthquake

The occurrence of an earthquake is common in the world. In some areas, they keep
occurring off and on, like in Indonesia and Japan. An earthquake is the shaking of the
earth. There are several plates in the earth’s surface. These plates are called tectonic
plates . They move in relation to each other. In this process, they rub against each other,

due to which energy is released. This energy is the cause
behind the shaking of the earth.

An earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale to know
its intensity. This scale was invented by Charles Richter ,
after whom it has been named. The scale ranges from 0
to 9. The intensity of an earthquake is recorded on an
instrument called seismograph .

A more intense earthquake causes much destruction,
while a light earthquake may not even be felt. You may Damage after an earthquake

92 Contemporary Social Science-5