A taxonomy of natural disasters

Throughout history civilizations have experienced myriad of different types of natural disasters. Disasters differ in a variety of dimensions: Frequency, magnitude, duration, source, consequences, etc. Importantly, people prepare for and respond to disasters differently depending on these characteristics. For example, people prepare for and respond to high-probability/low-impact events very differently than they do low-probability/high-impact events. People are very likely experience disasters such as a severe storm in their lifetimes, but not less frequent events such as earthquakes. Some catastrophic events are recorded in history or leave their marks on the Earth, though no living person experienced them. In this chapter, I provide an overview of the types of natural disasters humans have experienced, providing a common definition and framework for the term "natural disaster" to be used in all the chapters contained in this book. Having a common working definition is important because while there is a general understanding of what is meant by "natural disaster," there is no precise commonly accepted definition.