ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS AND REMEDIES.pptx

ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS AND REMEDIES.pptx

1. WELCOME

2. ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS REMEDIES AND

3. PREPARED BY; JIBI B VIJAYAN KEERTHI GOPAN PARVATHY U ARCHA S R SURYA P R SREEKUTTY S D ATHIRA SUJAN S R SREEGOURI K V AMAL M S KAVYA K A

4. INTRODUCTION An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.This point distinguishes environmental disasters from other disturbances such as natural disasters and intentional acts of war such as nuclear bombings. Environmental disasters show how the impact of humans' alteration of the land has led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences . These disasters have included deaths of wildlife, humans and plants, or severe disruption of human life or health, possibly requiring migration .

5. Environmental disasters historically have affected agriculture, biodiversity including wildlife, the economy and human health. The most common causes include pollution that seeps into groundwater or a body of water, emissions into the atmosphere and depletion of natural resources, industrial activity or agricultural practices. As the definition suggests, disasters are highly disruptive events that cause suffering, deprivation, hardship, injury and even death, as a result of direct injury, disease, the interruption of commerce and business, and the partial or total destruction of critical infrastructure such as homes, hospitals, and other buildings, roads, bridges, power lines, etc. Disasters can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, or tornadoes, or they can be due to man-made events, either accidental (such as an accidental toxic spill or nuclear power plant event), or deliberately caused (such as various terrorist bombings and poisonings).

6. TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS Environmental disasters fall into two general categories. Some disasters are caused by natural climate or weather events. These include wild fires, landslides, floods, earthquakes, droughts, tornadoes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Although the causes of these natural environmental disasters do not involve human activities, in some cases the effects are worsened by the influence of people. For example, the environments that suffered the most damage during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 were those where urban development and construction had damaged coral reefs. In places where coral reefs were healthy, the reef acted like a buffer, deflecting the power of the giant wave.

7. A second category of environmental disasters includes those caused by human activities. Examples of human-induced environmental disasters include oil spills, chemical spills, and nuclear incidents. In addition, wars and terrorist activities can be disastrous to ecosystems. In many cases, environmental disasters caused by humans have longer lasting effects on the environment than catastrophes brought on by natural events. For example, the enormous oil spill that occurred when the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground in Prince William Sound in 1989 continues to have major environmental repercussions. Twelve years after the oil spill, significant deposits of oil, which is toxic to many species, persisted throughout the affected area. In 2002, the population size of at least eight species of fish and mammals was still severely impacted from the oil spill .

8. EXAMPLES Love Canal, 1978 - Neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York that was contaminated by 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals, including at least twelve that are known carcinogens (halogenated organics, chlorobenzenes , and dioxin among them), from a former chemical waste dump site. President Carter declared a state of emergency in 1978, and it eventually led to the destruction of homes and relocation of more than 800 families. Ok Tedi environmental disaster, 1984. As of 2006, mine operators have discharged about two billion tons of tailings, overburden and mine-induced erosion into the Ok Tedi river system. About 1,588 square kilometres (613 sq mi) of forest has died or is under stress. Bhopal disaster, 1984 – Release of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals Some estimate 8,000 people died within two weeks. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Chernobyl disaster, 1986 – The official Soviet count of 31 deaths has been disputed. An UNSCEAR report places the total confirmed deaths from radiation at 64 as of 2008. The eventual death toll could reach 4,000. Some 50 emergency workers died of acute radiation syndrome, nine children died of thyroid cancer and an estimated total of 3940 died from radiation-induced cancer and leukemia.

9. Hanford Nuclear, 1986 – The U.S. government declassifies 19,000 pages of documents indicating that between 1946 and 1986, the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington released thousands of US gallons of radioactive liquids. Radioactive waste was both released into the air and flowed into the Columbia River (which flows to the ocean). Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989 – spilled 260–750 thousand barrels (41,000–119,000 m3) of crude oil. Prestige oil spill, 2002 – spilled over 20 million US gallons (76,000 m3) of two different grades of heavy fuel oil. Prudhoe Bay oil spill, 2006 – spilled up to 267,000 US gallons (1,010 m3; 6,400 bbl ). Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, 2008 – spilled 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of slurry from a coal plant, covering 300 acres, flowing down several rivers, destroying homes and contaminating water. Volume spilled was over 7 times as much as the volume of oil spilled in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 2010 – An explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 34 others. The gushing wellhead was capped, after it had released about 4.9 million barrels (780,000 m3) of crude oil. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, 2011 – was an energy accident, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. Immediately after the earthquake, the active reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions.

10. ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS AND REMEDIES

11. BIOLOGICAL DISASTER

12. BIOLOGICAL DISASTERS Biological disasters define the devastating effects caused by an enormous spread of a certain kind of living organism – that may the spread a disease, virus, or an epidemic. Biological disasters can also be simply, a sudden growth in the population of a certain kind of plants or animals, e.g., a locust plague. Biological disasters might be caused by epidemics, accidental release of virulent microorganism(s) or Bioterrorism (BT) with the use of biological agents such as anthrax, smallpox, etc.

13. REMEDIES Eat nutritious and balanced food . Immunisation state should be upto date. Prevent overcrowding. Good ventilation. Protect from hot and cold weather. Health Education. Surveillance .

14. DROUGHT

15. DROUGHT A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal precipitation. The lack of adequate precipitation, either rain or snow, can cause reduced soil moisture or groundwater, diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a general water shortage. A drought is caused by drier than normal conditions that can eventually lead to water supply problems. Really hot temperatures can make a drought worse by causing moisture to evaporate from the soil. Just because a region A drought is a reduction in precipitation over an extended period. This creates a water shortage that damages crops, livestock, and the environment. ... If the economy is already in a state of depression or recession, a drought can increase that state. Climate change can also amplify the effects of a drought.is hot and dry doesn't necessarily mean it is going through a drought.

16. REMEDIES Choose a water-efficient irrigation system such as drip irrigation for your trees, shrubs, and flowers. Turn irrigation down in fall and off in winter. Water manually in winter only if needed. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants to reduce evaporation and keep the soil cool . Maximising soil moisture is key to our drought mitigation strategy. "This includes a move to wider cropping rotations and an intensive summer weed control program. "This has allowed for more timely planting as weed burden is reduced and our soils can germinate crops with less autumn/ early winter rainfal .

17. EARTHQUAKE

18. EARTHQUAKE An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. ... Scientists can't tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock.Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. ... When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs.

19. REMEDIES Seek shelter under stable tables or under door frames . If outside, stay away from buildings, bridges and electricity pylons and move to open areas. Avoid areas at risk from secondary processes, such as landslides, rockfall and soil liquefaction.

20. FLOOD

21. FLOODS A flood is an overflow of water on normally dry ground. This is most commonly due to an overflowing river, a dam break, snowmelt, or heavy rainfall. Less commonly happening are tsunamis, storm surge. The most deadly flooding was in 1931 in China and killed between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 people . Flooding is an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods can happen during heavy rains, when ocean waves come on shore, when snow melts quickly, or when dams or levees break. Damaging flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop.

22. REMEDIES Measures might include using small barriers in ditches and fields, or notches cut into embankments, to divert the water into open land. Letting pools form outside the main channel of a river means the water is temporarily removed from the main flow - reducing the power of the floodwaters Move to higher ground, like the highest floor of your home. Avoid areas subject to sudden flooding like low spots and canyons. Avoid already flooded areas. If a flowing stream of water is above your ankles stop, turn around and go the other way.

23. NUCLEAR DISASTER

24. NUCLEAR DISASTERS An accident taking place in any nuclear facility of the nuclear fuel cycle including the nuclear reactor, or in a facility using radioactive sources, leading to a large-scale release of radioactivity in the environment . The reason may be one of several factors, including a loss-of-pressure-control accident, a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), an uncontrolled power excursion or, in reactors without a pressure vessel, a fire within the reactor core. Failures in control systems may cause a series of events resulting in loss of cooling .

25. REMEDIES The safety provisions include a series of physical barriers between the radioactive reactor core and the environment, the provision of multiple safety systems, each with backup and designed to accommodate human error . Stabilize the electricity supply system. ... Store spent fuel in dry casks. ... Install filtered vent systems. ... Prevent sabotage at nuclear facilities. ... Ratify a treaty to prohibit military attacks.

26. OIL SPILLAGE

27. OIL SPILLAGE An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land . Oil spills into rivers, bays, and the ocean most often are caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities. Spills can be caused by: people making mistakes or being careless. equipment breaking down. Oil spills are harmful to marine birds. Without the ability to repel water and insulate from the cold water, birds and mammals will die from hypothermia. Juvenile sea turtles can also become trapped in oil and mistake it for food.

28. REMEDIES In some cases, the spilled area can be flooded to "float" the oil, or move it to the water's surface, as it is typically lighter than water, to allow for recovery. Vacuums, skimmers, shoreline cleaning agents, and sorbents may also be used, along with bioremediation . avoid getting oil on your skin and clothing. wash your hands and don't smoke, eat or drink when or after you are in contact with the oil. switch off your oil supply at the tank. try to find out where the leak is coming from.

29. TORNADOES

30. TORNADOES A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300 mph. They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards. They can also drive straw into trees. Every year in the United States, tornadoes do about 400 million dollars in damage and kill about 70 people on average. Extremely high winds tear homes and businesses apart. Winds can also destroy bridges, flip trains, send cars and trucks flying, tear the bark off trees, and suck all the water from a riverbed.

31. REMEDIES Go to the basement or an inside room without windows on the lowest floor. If possible, avoid sheltering in a room with windows. For added protection get under something sturdy (a heavy table or workbench). Cover your body with a blanket, sleeping bag or mattress . Actually, it can't do much to prevent tornadoes, but the U.S. has attempted to use cloud-seeding to reduce the size of hailstones produced in storms .

32. TSUNAMI

33. TSUNAMI A tsunami is a series of waves caused by earthquakes or undersea volcanic eruptions. ... The tsunami was generated by a large earthquake in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea . Tsunami are waves caused by sudden movement of the ocean surface due to earthquakes, landslides on the sea floor, land slumping into the ocean, large volcanic eruptions or meteorite impact in the ocean . A tsunami is a series of extremely long waves caused by a large and sudden displacement of the ocean, usually the result of an earthquake below or near the ocean floor. This force creates waves that radiate outward in all directions away from their source, sometimes crossing entire ocean basins.

34. REMEDIES First, protect yourself from an Earthquake. ... Get to high ground as far inland as possible. ... Be alert to signs of a tsunami, such as a sudden rise or draining of ocean waters. Listen to emergency information and alerts. Evacuate: DO NOT wait! ... If you are in a boat, go out to sea.

35. VOLCANIC ERUPTION

36. VOLCANIC ERUPTION Volcanic eruptions happen when lava and gas are discharged from a volcanic vent. The most common consequences of this are population movements as large numbers of people are often forced to flee the moving lava flow. Volcanic eruptions often cause temporary food shortages and volcanic ash landslides called Lahar . A volcanic eruption occurs when hot materials from the Earth's interior are thrown out of a volcano. ... Some eruptions are terrible explosions that throw out huge amounts of rock and volcanic ash and can kill many people. Some are quiet outflows of hot lava.

37. REMEDIES Stay inside, if possible, with windows and doors closed. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Use goggles to protect your eyes. ... Exposure to ash can harm your health, particularly the respiratory (breathing) tract. ... Keep your car or truck engine switched off.

38. WILDFIRE

39. WILDFIRE Wildfire, also called wildland fire, uncontrolled fire in a forest, grassland, brushland , or land sown to crops. The terms forest fire, brush fire, etc., may be used to describe specific types of wildfires; their usage varies according to the characteristics of the fire and the region in which it occurs . Wildfires are a natural part of many environments. They are nature's way of clearing out the dead litter on forest floors. This allows important nutrients to return to the soil, enabling a new healthy beginning for plants and animals. Fires also play an important role in the reproduction of some plants.

40. REMEDIES Report unattended fires. ... Extinguish fire pits and campfires when done. ... Don't throw lit cigarettes out of your moving car. ... Use caution when using flammable liquids. ... Pay attention to local ordinances for trash burning. ... Only use fireworks in clear areas with no woods nearby . Vegetation cleared from forests to lessen the risk of wildfire, such as these branches, can yield renewable energy – a potential source of revenue to help prevent fires .

41. CONCLUSION The current “ nonsystem ” for providing information for disaster management is not effectively utilizing a wealth of information that resides with various organizations. Existing technologies could deliver to disaster managers important new information products that could save lives, reduce damage to property, and lessen the environmental impacts of natural disasters. Continued improvements in technology should help make information more widely, quickly, and reliably available—and at less cost. The current situation is characterized by numerous shortcomings that inhibit optimal decision-making for disaster management. The inability to access information and the lack of standardization.

42. THANKS