Environmental

Disasters
Presented by:
Ananya Chakrabarti (17101001)
Kajal Singh (17101025)
Bhumi Gaba (17801016)
Shubham Rajput (17101011)
Paridhi Bhatia (17801006)
Krati Gupta (17101018)
Introduction
Environmental disaster is defined as a specific event
caused by human activity that results in a seriously
negative effect on the environment. Sometimes
a natural disaster can become an environmental
disaster.

In most cases environmental disasters are caused by

human error, accident, lack of foresight, corner cutting
during industrial processes, greed, or by simple
incompetence. In other words without some kind of
human intervention they would never have happened.

Lack of foresight is a common cause of an

environmental disaster.
Different Types
 Earthquakes

 Chemical spills

 Floods

 Hurricanes

 Nuclear and radiation accidents

 Oil spills
 Earthquakes
An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in
the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.

Earthquakes are often thought of as largely unpredictable, wholly natural forces of nature—but that may be
changing.

Induced seismicity refers to typically minor earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that
alters the stresses and strains on the Earth's crust.

A study published in the journal ’Seismological Research Letters’ identified 730 sites where human activity
caused earthquakes over the past 150 years. Human activity has induced earthquakes with magnitudes as
high as 7.9—and the number of earthquakes is clearly rising in some regions of the world.
 Human Causes
1.) Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) or injection wells:
Hydraulic fracturing is a process used to extract natural gas or other fossil fuels from within
the earth.
2.) Dams and reservoirs:
Dams and reservoirs can be found all over the world. Their main purpose is to store water
for future use and generate electricity.
3.) Groundwater extraction:
If the water table drops too quickly near a fault, it could cause an earthquake.
4.) Mining:
Mining leaves voids that generally alter the balance of forces in the rock. These voids may
collapse producing tremors.
The Dam That Shook the Earth
Scientists agree that dams can trigger earthquakes.
A research paper presents fresh evidence that the
devastating earthquake which killed more than
80,000 people in China’s Sichuan Province in May
2008 was triggered by the Zipingpu Dam. This
would be the world’s deadliest dam-induced
earthquake ever. The Zipingpu Dam rises 156
meters above the Min River and is located only a few
kilometers from the Longmen Shan fault, where the
Tibetan Plateau collides with the Eurasian Plate.

Reservoirs can trigger quakes by adding weight to

the Earth crust, and by lubricating the fissures of
faults. The loading and unloading of the crust below
the reservoir caused by changes in the water level
triggered the earthquake.
 Chemical spills

A chemical spill is a condition in which a chemical

is released by accident. If we consider the case of
non-toxic chemicals, dealing with a spill is usually
uncomplicated, because the spill simply needs to be
cleaned up. However, spills of toxic chemicals
represent a more serious problem, especially in the
case of spills of multiple chemicals which could react
with each other.
Causes
 Accidents caused by humans: Human error results in chemical spills as
well. A scientist or chemistry student may drop a beaker in a laboratory creating
a small chemical
 Malfunction of the Equipment: Equipment failures can result in chemical
spills. Valves on containers or pipes in chemical plants can also break, spilling
the chemical
 Natural Disaster: Nature also contributes to chemical spills. A flood in a
residential area may cause pool chemicals to mix and create a hazard.spill.
Dangers associated with chemical spiils

• Environmental damage: Chemical spills not cleaned up properly can

contaminate the air, soil or water for years, harming the environment and living
things.
• Death or severe Health effects: Humans exposed to chemicals through either
direct contact or hazardous fumes can face health problems like blindness (in
severe cases), bronchitis, vomiting, burning of eyes and lungs and even death.
• Water contamination: Chemical spills can leak into the soil and contaminate
private wells and public drinking water supplies.
• Explosion: Dangerous chemicals, such as oil, are extremely flammable and
can cause a fire and explosion hazard if spilled. It is very difficult to cease
a chemical spill and toxic fumes once a fire has started.
Examples of chemical spills

• One of the most horrible industrial chemical disasters occurred without warning
early on the morning of December 3, 1984, at Union Carbide's pesticide plant in
Bhopal, India. While most people slept, a leak, caused by a series of
mechanical and human failures, released a cloud of lethal methyl isocyanate
(harmful chemical substance) over the sleeping city. Some two thousand
people died immediately and another eight thousand died later on.
•
Many spills occur during the transportation of hazardous materials; one study
found that 18,000 hazardous materials spills occurred during 1976.
 FLOODS
• A flood is an overflow of water on land which
is usually dry.
• Sometimes a water resource gets flushed
with too much water.
• Unusually heavy rain sometimes causes
floods.
• When there is too much water, it may
overflow beyond its normal limits. This water
then spreads over land, flooding it.
• Extreme flooding can also be caused by
a tsunami or a large storm that causes
a storm surge.
CAUSES OF FLOODS
 UTTARAKHAND
FLOOD DISASTER
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MAN OR NATURE..??
• NATURAL REASON…??
• From 14 to 17 June 2013, Indian state of Uttarakhand and nearby received
heavy rainfall.
• The rainfall was above benchmark which is above 375 percent.
• A multiday cloudburst, centered on the state Uttarakhand caused devastating
floods and landslides.
• Due to continuous rain the Chorabari Glacier melted and this triggered the
flooding of the Mandakini river.
• Which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat, Kedar dome,Rudraprayag district,
Uttarakhand
 MAN MADE REASONS…??
• The Uttarakhand disaster have been officially termed a natural
calamity caused by cloudbursts and unprecedented heavy
monsoon rainfall
• However, the true causes of the epic tragedy is growth of
tourism, unchecked rapid increase of roads, hotels, shops and
multistory housing in ecologically fragile areas and unplanned
construction are the reason of landslide
• Also, rapid growth of hydroelectricity dams that disrupt water
balances and this also triggered the action of disaster
• More than 220 power and mining projects are running in 14
river valleys in Uttarakhand
• Several rivers are being diverted through tunnels for these
projects leading to major disasters in the state.
• Deforestation is also one of the most important factor of
Uttarakhand disaster, which cause frequently landslide.
Hurricanes
 Introduction to hurricanes
•Hurricanes are the planet’s most
ferocious storms.
•They are known as cyclones in
Australia and typhoons in southeast
Asia.
•They bring massive waves and wind
speeds that can gust up to 186 mph.
•Hurricanes are not the normal
storms created when cold and warm
fronts collide.
 Birth of a Hurricane

•A hurricane is made up of bands of thunderclouds that

spin around a clear, still center called the eye.
•Winds blowing across the warm seas close to the
equator suck up heat and water vapor to form the storms
that produce hurricanes.
•A hurricane can last for weeks and travel many
thousands of miles.
Hurricane Facts
 They are tropical cyclones (low pressure areas) with
sustained winds at least 64 knots (74 mph). Strongest
hurricane on record (Camille) had winds exceeding
200 mph.
 Typically 500-1000 km in diameter (smaller than
midlatitude cyclones).
 Can be associated with heavy rains (10-20 inches!),
tornadoes, and storm surges on the coast.
 Also called typhoons and tropical cyclones
 Ok, So What Exactly Is a
Hurricane?
A hurricane can
Arrows
best be described indicate
as a huge tropical “feeder
storm (up to 600 bands” or
miles in diameter)! “rain
bands”
Winds can be up to
200 mph!
Storms usually The winds are the strongest around the
doesn’t last for eye wall. The eye of the storm is
more than 7-10 usually about 20 miles in diameter.
Within the eye, winds are calm and the
days. weather is great. Strongest winds are
It moves across the on the right side, heaviest rain is
usually on the left side.
ocean at around 10-
This satellite picture shows
Hurricane katrina gulf coast (USA) in
august 2005.
•Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. on August 29, 2005.
•Winds of 140 mph created a 30-feet storm surge.
•Water breached the dam that protected the city
of New Orleans and flooded the low-lying
coastlines of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.
•With the damage estimated at more than $200
million, and more than one million people forced
to leave their homes, Katrina is the most
expensive and most destructive natural disaster
in U.S. history.
 Damage to Long Beach, MS
Hurricane Katrina 2005

Russell Ave.
Best Western
Hotel Slab

McDonald’s sign still

stands but restaurant
is gone.
 NUCLEAR AND RADIATION
A nuclear and radiation accident is
ACCIDENTS
defined as "an event that has led
to significant consequences to people,
the environment or the facility."
Examples include lethal effects to
individuals,
radioactive isotope to the
environment, or reactor core melt. The
prime example of a "major nuclear
accident" is one in
which a reactor core is damaged and
significant amounts of radioactive
isotopes are released.
Technical measures need to be
adopted to reduce the risk of accidents
or to minimize the amount of
radioactivity released to the
 CAUSES
1. NUCLEAR MELTDOWNS- Nuclear disasters are
usually associated with meltdowns. In a meltdown, the
temperature rises in the core so much that the fuel
rods actually turn to liquid. if the core continues to heat,
the reactor would get so hot that the steel walls of the
core will also melt. in a complete reactor meltdown, the
extremely hot molten uranium fuel rods would melt
through the bottom of the reactor and actually sink
about 50 feet into the earth beneath the power plant,
there by reacting with groundwater, producing large
explosions of radioactive steam and debris that would
affect towns and population centres.
nuclear meltdown usually occurs due to the loss of a
coolant or due to loss of pressure control
2. TRANSPORT- Transport accidents can cause a
release of radioactivity resulting in contamination or
shielding to be damaged causing in direct irradiation.
3. LOST SOURCE- Also referred to as an orphan
source are incidents in which a radioactive source is
lost, stolen or abandoned.
EFFECTS
1.Direct contact leads to radioactive sickness which may lead to
death.
2.Cancer is major problem in affected areas and this effect may
stay longer.
3. Air and water will be contaminated due to radioactive steam and
groundwater mixing with radioactive substances.
4. Land degradation.
5. It affects eye sight.
6. The ecological system gets disturbed.
7. Birds and animals have affect on their reproductive systems.
8. Gene disturbances and deformity in newly born.
CHERNOBYL
DISASTER
The catastrophic nuclear accidents at the
Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant in 1986
In the case of Chernobyl, a combination
of human error and a design flaw in the
control rods caused an uncontrollable
power surge that overheated the fuel rods
in the reactor's core.
As the hot fuel rods cracked they mixed
with coolant water, causing a huge
amount of high-pressure steam that lifted
the lid off the core.
The damage led to a steam explosion
that spread radioactive fission products
into the atmosphere.
OIL SPILLS
What are oilspills?
 An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the
environment especially marine areas, due to human activity and is the form of
pollution. Oil spills maybe due to release of crude oil, off shore platforms,
drilling rigs, and wells as well as spills of refined petroleum products. Cleanup
of oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors. It may take weeks,
months or even years.
Effects Of Oil Spills
Local Industries
Human Health
Marine Ecosystem
Vegetation & Mangroves
Effect Of Marine Life
Damage to beaches, marshlands
Causes Of Oil Spills
OIL spill pollution can have multiple causs both of natural and man made.
 Accidental Spills
• Oil and oil products may be stored in a variety of ways which include
underground and above ground storage tanks that lead to leaks some time.
• During transferring from one container to another
 Routine maintainance of ships such as cleaning may release oil in to ocean
water.
 Water Sports: Various water vehicals such as motor boats and motor bikes
leaks fuel.
 Intentional oil discharge by terrorists.
Ennore Oil Spill-Chennai Coast
 On 28th January at about 3:45 AM, two ships MT Dawn Kanchipuram and MT BW Maple collided,
two nautical miles off the Kamarajar Port at Ennore, MT Dawn Kanchipuram suffered damages,
spilling tonnes of fuel oil into the sea. The extent of damage became visible on the next day when
large patches of oil started appearing on the rocky shores close to Bharatiyar Nagar which is
approximately 13 km from the Kamarajar Port. Organized cleanup began on January 29th, 2017
and by this time the oil had already reached the Ennore groin field. Later, about two weeks after
the incident, reports emerged that traces of oil were observed even along Pondicherry coast, 180
km away from incident area. An oil spill, no matter how big or small is considered a serious threat
to marine environment. A study was undertaken immediately after the spill to assess the
ecological footprint and its effects on water quality and biodiversity in the coastal areas of
Chennai.

 The impact of the spill has directly affected the local fishing community as there was a sharp fall in
fish sale due to the existing notion amongst public that fishes are contaminated with oil and not fit
to consume.
 floating oil patches in the nearshore water and tar balls on beaches were observed. Pictures of
successive days.
 it is proving a major threat to the marine ecology of the area and the coast. "Entire mangroves in
our area turned black.
 References
 https://www.earthsfriends.com/environmental-disasters/
 https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/human-induced-earthquakes-
fracking-mining-video-spd/
 http://www.disaster-survival-resources.com/nuclear-accident.html
 http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/flood.html
 http://www.pitt.libguides.com/oilspills.html
 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-are-
hurricanes-k4.html
 https://www.Ducksters.com/science/earth_science/hurricanes.php
 www.innovateus.net
THANK YOU