Speech

NATURAL DISASTERS : MAN-MADE OR HAND OF GOD The United Nations defines disaster as “The occurrence of a sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric and normal functioning of a society or community”. Good morning respected members of the jury, teachers and my dear friends today I stand before you to speak on the topic NATURAL DISASTERS: MAN-MADE OR HAND OF GOD. As we all know a disaster is a man-made or natural event which results in widespread loss of human beings, livelihood, property causing human suffering and loss in a definite area. There are various types of disasters and the general characteristic features are their unpredictability, unfamiliarity, speed, uncertainty, threat etc. Most of the disasters strike quickly. It changes the lives of all it touches and its effect is felt even after the event. Its forces are largely outside the control of the people whom it effect. Some of the natural disasters include earthquakes which occur in seconds, cyclones and landslides in minutes, flash floods and tsunamis in hours, and volcanoes in weeks. Some of these disasters can be predicted well in advance, these include cyclones, tsunamis, volcanoes etc. Some cannot be predicted like earthquakes, flashfloods, and landslides. The flashflood followed by landslides that occurred in Uttarakhand could not be predicted. The general causative features of disasters include poverty. It explains why people in urban areas are forced to live on hills that are prone to landslide or why people settle near volcanoes or rivers that are invariably flood their banks. Other causative features are population explosion, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation and lack of awareness and information. There are 31 types of disasters. But mainly disasters fall into two major categories – manmade and hand of god.
MAN-MADE DISASTERS are the result of human intent, error or as a result of failed systems. There are technological disasters