Title: What Are the Negative Effects of Natural Disasters? | Sciencing
Headings: What Are the Negative Effects of Natural Disasters?
What Are the Negative Effects of Natural Disasters?
Updated April 25, 2018
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
Humanitarian Crises
Public Health Issues
Environmental Problems
Infrastructural Damage

Content: It is often the case that facilities for water and toilet hygiene are damaged or inoperable: meaning that the safe disposal of human waste quickly becomes a public health hazard. Further, without running water, hand washing and food hygiene rapidly deteriorate. During and after events like hurricanes and floods, standing water can be a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and disease vectors like mosquitoes. In cases where transportation capabilities and infrastructure are damaged, survivors of natural disasters can be cut off from life-saving medications for both acute and chronic conditions, and be isolated from rescue and emergency healthcare services. After a natural disaster event, survivors can experience mental health consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Environmental Problems
In March 2011, a tsunami following the 9.0-magnitude Tōhoku earthquake in Japan caused what came to be known as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, where radioactive material was released in Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. This was the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, and it caused a cascade of issues in the ecosystem and surrounding waters, spreading radioactive material through far-ranging ocean currents. Natural disasters, from tsunamis to wildfires, can cause wide-ranging and long-term consequences for ecosystems: releasing pollution and waste, or simply demolishing habitats.