Week1 : Argentina (Difference between hazards, disasters and catastrophes)

Argentina 

is bordered by the Andes Mountains and Chile to the west. It encompasses immense plains, deserts, tundra, and forests, as well as tall mountains, rivers and thousands of miles of ocean shoreline. Argentina also claims a portion of Antartica, as well as several islands in the South Atlantic. Volcanic and landslides related hazards are the most prevalent in the Western part of Argentina near the Andes mountain chain and near the south as well. Seismic risk is the highest in the central-western provinces. Risks of extreme heat is the highest in the north while water scarcity and risk of drought is concentrated in the center.

D E F I N I T I O N S !

Hazard: A natural event (for example earthquake, volcanic eruption, tropical storm, flood) that threatens people or has the potential to cause damage, destruction and death.” The key part of the definition is the threat to human populations and their properties.

Disaster: A sudden or great misfortune or simply any unfortunate event. More precisely, a disaster is "an event whose timing is unexpected and whose consequences are seriously destructive.

Catastrophes: a massive disaster that significantly impacted the human environment and requiring a significant expenditure of time, money, and resources for response and recovery.