Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violent, especially as a means of coercion.

In the international community, however, terrorism has no legally binding, criminal [1][2] law definition. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror); are perpetrated for a religious, political, or ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians). Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war. The use of similar tactics by criminal organizations for protection rackets or to enforce a code of silence is usually not labeled terrorism, though these same actions may be labeled terrorism when done by a politically motivated group.

The definition of terrorism has proved controversial. Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions of terrorism in their national legislation. Moreover, the international community has been slow to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding definition of this crime. These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged.[21] In this regard, Angus Martyn, briefing the Australian Parliament, stated that

"The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive definition of terrorism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations attempts to define the term floundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and selfdetermination."[1] Terrorist attacks are usually carried out in such a way as to maximize the severity and length of the psychological impact. [29] Each act of terrorism is a performance devised to have an impact on many large audiences. Terrorists also attack national symbols,[30] to show power and to attempt to shake the foundation of the country or society they are opposed to. This may negatively affect a government, while increasing the prestige of the giventerrorist organization and/or ideology behind a terrorist act.[31] Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose. [32] Terrorism is a political tactic, like letter-writing or protesting, which is used by activists when they believe that no other means will effect the kind of change they desire. [according to whom?] The change is desired so badly that failure to achieve change is seen as a worse outcome than the deaths of civilians.[citation needed] This is often where the inter-relationship between terrorism and religion occurs. When a political struggle is integrated into the framework of a religious or "cosmic"[33] struggle, such as over the control of an ancestral homeland or holy site such as Israel and Jerusalem, failing in the political goal (nationalism) becomes equated with spiritual failure, which, for the highly committed, is worse than their own death or the deaths of innocent civilians.[34] Very often, the victims of terrorism are targeted not because they are threats, but because they are specific "symbols, tools, animals or corrupt beings"[citation needed] that tie into a specific view of the world that the terrorists possess. Their suffering accomplishes the terrorists' goals of instilling fear, getting their message out to an audience or otherwise satisfying the demands of their often radical religious and political agendas. [35] n early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was entitled Disorders and Terrorism, produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under the direction of H.H.A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff.[77] The Task Force classified terrorism into six categories. Types of Terrorist Attacks

Civil disorder A form of collective violence interfering with the peace,security, and normal functioning of the community. Political terrorism Violent criminal behaviour designed primarily to generate fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes. Non-Political terrorism Terrorism that is not aimed at politicalpurposes but which exhibits conscious design to create and maintain a high degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of a political objective. Quasi-terrorism The activities incidental to the commission of crimesof violence that are similar in form and method to genuine terrorism but which nevertheless lack its essential ingredient. It is not the main purpose of the quasi-terrorists to induce terror in the immediate victim as in the case of genuine terrorism, but the quasi-terrorist uses the modalities and techniques of the genuine terrorist and produces similar consequences and reaction. [78] For example, the fleeing felon who takes hostages is a quasi-terrorist, whose methods are similar to those of the genuine terrorist but whose purposes are quite different.

Limited political terrorism Genuine political terrorism is characterized by a revolutionary approach; limited political terrorism refers to acts of terrorism which are committed for ideological or political motives but which are not part of a concerted campaign to capture control of the state. Official or state terrorism "referring to nations whose rule is based upon fear and oppression that reach similar to terrorism or such proportions. It may also b e referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly as terrorist acts carried out by governments in pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their foreign policy.

Political terrorism

Sub-state terrorism

Social revolutionary terrorism Nationalist-separatist terrorism Religious extremist terrorism

Religious fundamentalist Terrorism New religions terrorism

Right-wing terrorism Left-wing terrorism Single-issue terrorism


Preventions

State-sponsored terrorism Regime or state terrorism

Criminal terrorism Pathological terrorism

Proscribed Organisations Allowed for organisations to be made illegal, making membership an arrestable offence. It was also an offence to soliciting financial support for any listed group, display signs of public support, or attend a meeting supporting a listed group or addressed by a group member. The maximum penalty was ten years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The initial groups outlawed were the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in the United Kingdom and numerous loyalist groups within Northern Ireland. Exclusion Orders Exclusion orders could be issued "as expedient" to prevent terrorism relating to Northern Ireland. Orders were issued against individuals to either prevent them entering or being in Great Britain, to exclude them from Northern Ireland, or to exclude them from the United Kingdom. It was an offence to breach an order or to aid another in effecting entry, the maximum sentence was five years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Financial Assistance for Terrorism As well as the provision under the first part of the Act, contributing, receiving or soliciting financial support for terrorism was an offence under this part also. Additionally, it was an offence to contribute any other resources; to assist in the retention or control of funds for proscribed groups or terrorist acts; or to fail to disclose to the police any suspicions notwithstanding any other restriction. The maximum penalty was fourteen years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Arrest, Detention and Control of Entry This part allowed for the arrest of individuals without a warrant and on reasonable suspicion that they were guilty of an offence under the Act or otherwise "concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism". The period of initial detention was up to 48 hours, this could be extended by a maximum of five additional days by the Home Secretary. The detainee was exempted from certain provisions of other Acts relating to the arrest procedure and the legal protection of those arrested. This part also allowed for streamlined search procedures of persons or property and checks under the Act on persons at port or other border controls.

Volcano Eruptions

Volcanoes refer to eruption of hot molten lava from below the surface of the earth. As plates move away from each other, at certain places, the surface might get stretched and thinner. In such a situation, the hot molten lava and gaseous substances below this thinned surface could open up a fissure and come out. Typically, these eruptions are always accompanied by discharge of huge amount of gaseous substances, which are various compounds of high toxicity. All eruptions (gaseous or liquid) from a volcano is at high temperature, and, the mouth of a volcano might look lik e, as if its spewing fire. The area around Pacific Ocean is characterized by higher volcanic activity. In fact, the entire rim along the Pacific Ocean is called as the Ring Of Fire, because of volcanic activity along this zone. There are a lot of volcanic activities taking place on a continuous basis, across the globe, however, not all of these are serious enough to be termed as disasters. In fact, for most of these just a moderate level of precaution might be sufficient. Some of the most damaging volcanic activities of the past have been:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Mount Pinatubo in Phillipines (1991-96) Rabaul in Papua NewGuinea (1994) Lake Nyos in Cameroon (1986) Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia (1985) El Chichon in Mexico (1982)

Some of the deadliest volcanoes based upon the book "Volcanic Hazards: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions by Russell J. Blong (Academic Press, 1984)" are listed below. Click on the title to sort. Volcanoes are classified as Active, Dormant and Extinct.

Active volcanoes means those which are showing activity at this time. Dormant volcanoes those which are not showing any activity at this time, but, could show activity at any time. Extinct volcanoes are those which were active at some time, but, have ceased volcanic eruptions now.

However, considering that volcanoes have a life of several million years, including dormant period of up to several thousands of years (sometimes), the above classification is mostly academic!!! Usually, if you are staying/visiting in the vicinity of an active volcano, it would do good to be prepared for volcano rela ted disasters. There are several web-sites which give information on current volcanic activities. Some of the popular ones are - Global Volcano Report by Smithsonian Institute and Recent Earthquakes & Active Volcanoes list by Virtual Times. Usually, most volcanoes do not result in any major disaster, and, people around areas of low volcanic activity have learnt to live with the volcanic activity. However, some of the volcanic eruptions which turn into disaster cause a very high number of fatalities, e.g. volcanic activity in Colombia in 1985 caused more than 23,000 deaths. Besides, more often than not, volcanoes themselves might not cause any direct deaths, but, the post-volcanic complications cause more deaths. In such cases, the exact number of fatalities attributable to volcanoes can not be known for several years after the event. Volcanoes themselves might not appear to be a big disaster, but, they cause several complications.

Because of activities below the surface of the earth, including discharge of a huge amount of material, its possible that volcanic eruptions could be accompanied by earthquakes. Volcanic activity in sea could cause triggering of Tsunamis. Because of discharge of very high quantity of toxic material onto the landscape, sources of water like lakes/rivers etc. could get poisoned, thereby severely disrupting the water-supply. Also, the change in water composition could impact the aquatic organisms also. Thus, overall ecosystem of the water-body is misbalanced, thus, impacting the water quality. This could even impact the areas fed downstream by these same water bodies. Because of discharge of high amount of toxic gases in the atmosphere the air could become highly difficult to breathe. Release of several gases including oxides, sulfides, aerosols etc. changes the atmospheric mix of the area. These in turn can give rise to: o acid rain o Discharge of aerosols into the atmosphere alters the filtering impact of the atmosphere for Suns radiation as well as for heat from the earth getting radiated back into the space. This can change the temperature of the area. Molten lava coming out of a volcano could reach temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius, thus, incernating anything that comes in its way. Structural damages: Lava flowing down at such a high temperature could cause structural damages Landslide: As lava flows down, it gets solidified, and, modifies the landscape. However, sometimes a fresh layer of lava at high temperature could destabilize the earlier solidified layer, and, that layer could simply slide off causing a landslide. Lack of drinking water and breathable air causes people to migrate from their existing place of living to other places, thereby causing situations of migration, refugees. Besides, being emotionally distressful, there are severe kinds of physical stress and strain also associated with migration activities. And then, the resources at the destination side are also stretched beyond their normal capacity.

So, effectively, a volcanic activity could cause damage and loss of life due to one or more of the following:

Contact with high temperature lava Earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides etc Poisoning of air and water Change in radiation levels and or toxic levels, impacting vegetation cover etc

Post-activity starvation Diseases etc. due to lack of proper sanitation facilities in relief camps etc. in case large scale exodus is involved.

Even if volcanic activities do not result in too many fatalities, they still do create immense challenges in terms of humanitarian aid, due to destruction of houses, contamination of food and water. Also, one has to deal with large-scale migration, relief camps etc. which also give rise to sanitation concerns which in turn results in various complications due to diseases related to lack of proper sanitation facilities. During a volcanic activity, the best place to be would be indoors. Because the atmosphere is full of toxic chemicals, put filter-masks over your mouth and nose, and, use goggles to protect your eyes. Being outdoors could be one of the riskiest thing to do, as, you could be coming in contact with volcanic ashes which could cause irritation to your eyes, skin etc. at the bare minimum, and, could also cause breathlessness, or, long term damage to you lungs, eyes etc. Avoid weak structures, including the fresh layers which might have been formed by solidifying of lava during earlier discharges. This is usually a mistake that tourists might make. Tourists might have a tendency to get closer to the source of gaseous/lava discharge thus, maybe, standing on such structures which are unstable and are probable to slide. Avoid being in the path of flow of the molten lava. Avoid fumes/vapors of petrol etc. Presence of high temperature material in the atmosphere could cause a fire, if these fumes come in contact with high temperature material, e.g. During the Nyiragongo volcanic activity (Jan. 2002), people were trying to siphon off petrol from a gas-station. A leakage came in contact with the hot lava, and, caused a blast at the gas-station, causing more than 50 people to die. The inlets to your houses should be covered with filters, or, these inlets should be closed to prevent toxic ashes etc. to enter your house etc. Avoid use of electronic goods, as, ashes might have entered the vent of these goods (usually provided for heat-dissipation), and, could cause short-circuit inside the devices. Because, one of the main issues post-volcano is lack of water and food, it would help to familiarize with General Preparedeness which also provides certain tips on being able to survive for several days provided, preparations have been made in advance. Post-volcano also, efforts must be made to minimize contact with the debris/ashes which have been spewed by the volcano. Clothes must be shaken and rinsed. Ashes must be vacuumed, and, the vacuum lint filter should be changed. Car filters should be changed, and so on. If you are staying in an area, which is prone to volcanic activities, the houses should be constructed in a manner which will allow closing all vents, i.e. windows and doors should have proper caulking.
A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: , lit. "harbour wave";[1] English pronunciation: /sunmi/ soo-NAH-meeor /tsunmi/ tsoo-NAH-

mee[2]) is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, generally an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions and otherunderwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.[3] Tsunami waves do not resemble normal sea waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called "wave train".[4] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with over 230,000 people killed in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

Warnings and predictions

See also: Tsunami warning system

Drawbacks can serve as a brief warning. People who observe drawback (many survivors report an accompanying sucking sound), can survive only if they immediately run for high ground or seek the upper floors of nearby buildings. In 2004, ten-year old Tilly Smith of Surrey, England, was on Maikhao beach inPhuket, Thailand with her parents and sister, and having learned about tsunamis recently in school, told her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others minutes before the wave arrived, saving dozens of lives. She credited her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney. In the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami drawback was not reported on the African coast or any other east-facing coasts that it reached. This was because the wave moved downwards on the eastern side of the fault line and upwards on the western side. The western pulse hit coastal Africa and other western areas. A tsunami cannot be precisely predicted, even if the magnitude and location of an earthquake is known. Geologists, oceanographers, and seismologists analyse each earthquake and based on many factors may or may not issue a tsunami warning. However, there are some warning signs of an impending tsunami, and automated systems can provide warnings immediately after an earthquake in time to save lives. One of the most successful systems uses bottom pressure sensors, attached to buoys, which constantly monitor the pressure of the overlying water column.

Regions with a high tsunami risk typically use tsunami warning systems to warn the population before the wave reaches land. On the west coast of the United States, which is prone to Pacific Ocean tsunami, warning signs indicate evacuation routes. In Japan, the community is well-educated about earthquakes and tsunamis, and along the Japanese shorelines the tsunami warning signs are reminders of the natural hazards together with a network of warning sirens, typically at the top of the cliff of surroundings hills.[31]

Learn about the potential for danger in advance. It is important to consider in advance whether or not you live somewhere that could potentially face a tsunami. Prepare in advance. If your research demonstrates that you are at risk, prepare both an evacuation plan and a safety pack. If necessary, begin to develop a community-wide evacuation plan if nothing is being done in your community. Take the initiative to start developing the plan, and involve local authorities and other residents. Lack of evacuation plans and local warning systems put you, your family and your entire community at increased risk for injury or death during and after a tsunami. Heed natural warnings. Natural warnings can help to indicate the imminent arrival of a tsunami. React quickly if you are caught up in the water. If you did not manage to evacuate but find yourself caught up in the tsunami for one reason or another, there are things that you can do to try and survive:

Grab onto something that floats. Use a floating object as a raft to keep yourself above the water. Items that float such as tree trunks, doors, fishing equipment etc. may be in the water with you.[9] Abandon belongings. Save lives, not possessions. Trying to retrieve things and belongings may hamper your escape by causing you to lose valuable time. Grab your safety pack, something to keep you warm, your family and leave immediately.