Portal:Disasters

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The Disasters Portal

Disaster (from Middle French désastre, from Old Italian disastro, from Latin pejorative prefix dis- bad + astrum star) is the impact of a natural or man-made hazard that negatively affects life, property, livelihood or industry often resulting in permanent changes to human societies, ecosystems and the environment. Disasters manifest as hazards exacerbating vulnerable conditions and exceeding individuals' and communities' means to survive and thrive. The word's roots is from astrology and imply that when the stars are in a bad position, a bad event is about to happen. Disasters can be split up into two major categories--natural disasters and man-made disasters.

• A natural disaster is the consequence of the combination of a natural hazard (a physical event e.g. volcanic eruption, earthquake, storm, flood, drought, fire, etc) and human activities. Human vulnerability, sometimes including the lack of appropriate emergency management, leads to financial, structural, and human losses.
• A man-made disaster is a disaster that is accidentally or intentionally created by humans. Examples of man-made disasters include explosions, pollution, terrorist incidents, shipwrecks, stampedes, industrial incidents, climate changes, wars, etc.

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Selected article

Portal:Disasters/Selected article/June 2008

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Selected picture

Portal:Disasters/Selected picture/June 2008

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Selected June anniversary

Portal:Disasters/Selected anniversary/June 2008

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Did you know...

• ...that despite the severity of the Air France Flight 358 accident (pictured), no fatalities were reported and it has since been dubbed the Toronto Miracle?
• ...that the massive St. Lucia's flood of 1287 actually occurred on December 14, the day after St. Lucia Day?
  
• ...that the Torrey Canyon environmental disaster was the subject of a satirical song by Serge Gainsbourg on the album Comic Strip?
  
• ...that the 1404 St. Elizabeth's flood in the Netherlands was followed by a second St. Elizabeth's flood that occurred exactly 17 years later?
  

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News and current events

Wikinews on Disasters and accidents

• June 12: Four Boy Scouts killed in Iowa tornado
• June 11: Residents evacuated after partial building collapse in Buffalo, New York
• June 11: Indonesian police hand over Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 report to prosecutors
• June 10: Plane crashes in Khartoum
• June 9: Natural death confirmed for man who died on Disney World roller coaster
• June 9: UK policeman killed while training
• June 9: Lightning strikes park in Connecticut killing 1, injuring 4
• June 8: Eight dead and two missing after cargo ship fire in Kaliningrad, Russia
• June 8: Large earthquake shakes Greece
• June 7: Explosion and fire kill three at Indian petrochemical plant

Ongoing natural disasters

• Pacific typhoon season
• Pacific hurricane season

Ongoing armed conflicts

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Categories

• Disasters • Accidents involving fog • Disasters by country • Disasters in schools • Economic disasters • Environmental disasters • Famines • Fires • Disaster lists • Man-made disasters • Medical disasters • Natural disasters • Disasters by year

• Hazards • Accidents • Conflicts • Fire • Natural hazards • Spree shootings

• Emergency management • Business continuity and disaster recovery • Civil defense • Disaster management tools • Disaster preparedness • Disasters • Emergency laws • Emergency services • Hazards • Risk • Disaster stubs • Aviation accidents by year, location and airline

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Disasters topics

• Disaster: Economic disaster • Environmental disasters • Famines • Fires • Man-made disaster • Disaster movies • Natural disasters

• Hazard: Accidents • Conflicts • Fire • Natural hazards • Spree killer

• Emergency management: Business continuity planning • Civil defense • Disaster preparedness • Emergency services • Risk

• Lists: In Australia by death toll • Bridge disasters • Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks • Natural disasters by death toll • Epidemics • Famines • Mass deaths and atrocities of the twentieth century • Mining disasters in Poland • Tornadoes and tornado outbreaks • United Kingdom disasters by death toll • Wars and disasters by death toll

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WikiProjects

Disaster management Climate change • Environment • International development • Meteorology • Tropical cyclones

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Things you can do

WikiProject: Disaster management

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Selected quotes

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

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More quotes…

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Related portals

Earth Sciences	Ecology	War	Weather

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Associated Wikimedia

Disasters on  Wikinews	Disasters on  Wikiquote	Disasters on  Wikibooks	Disasters on  Wikisource	Disasters on  Wiktionary	Disasters on Wikimedia Commons
News	Quotations	Manuals & Texts	Texts	Definitions	Images & Media