A natural hazard is a natural process and event that can be a possible threat to human life and their surrouding properties. A disaster is also a hazardous natural event that occurs within a certain time span in a defined area. Unlike a natural hazard, there is specific criteria that determine whether the event is a disaster. The critera are: ten or more people killed, 100 or more people effected, a state of emergency is declared, and international assistance is requested. These types of disasters include floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. A catastrophe is a massive disaster that requires significant expenditures of money and a long time for recovery to take place. Hurricane Katrina is an example of a catastrophe.
