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The Impact of Natural Disasters

By Malik Sharrieff; Updated April 24, 2017
A view from space shows a hurricane building over the Pacific Ocean.

Natural disasters can have a life-altering impact on the individuals and families fortunate enough to survive
them. But the effect of natural disasters can be felt at the community, city and state level, or many times can
impact an entire country. How well the impact of a disaster event is absorbed has much to do with the intensity
of the impact and the level of preparedness and resilience of the subject impacted.

Significance
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Wind from Hurricane Ike whips past palm trees September 12, 2008 in Galveston, Texas.

Even before the industrialization of the modern world, natural disasters have been a fact of life. There are
records of the migratory travels of Native Americans away from coastal Florida specifically to avoid seasonal
hurricanes. However, with the modernization of many societies worldwide and the changes our industrial
activities have brought to the environment, many weather related natural disasters have gained in both frequency
and intensity. This translates to in increased global impact of natural disasters at all levels.

Individual Impact
People rest and charge devices at a shelter for those affected by Superstorm Sandy at Saints Peter and Paul
Church on November 1, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey.

At the individual level, the impact can often be felt physically, mentally and emotionally. Natural disasters cause
destruction of property, loss of financial resources, and personal injury or illness. The loss of resources, security
and access to shelter can lead to massive population migrations in lesser-developed countries.

After experiencing a natural disaster, many individuals develop severe post-traumatic stress disorders or
withdraw into states of depression. Others develop negative associations with the environment, in more
developed nations; this can also lead to significant population migrations.

Community Impact
Homes destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire are seen from the air in a neighborhood on June 30, 2012 in
Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Those communities that experience a natural disaster must also absorb the impacts of these destructive events.
Many local communities lose so much in economic resources that recovery becomes difficult, if not almost
impossible. Some communities find opportunity in the aftermath of a disaster to rebuild better and stronger
communities than before. Communities must often recognize population, demographic, and cultural shifts as a
result of the impact of the natural disaster on their individual citizens.

Economic Impact
Listing palm trees and upended light poles are left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina August 29, 2005 on Canal
Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast. In New Orleans alone, more
than 200,000 homes were destroyed; over 70 percent of the resident population had to be at least temporarily
relocated outside of the greater New Orleans area. In addition, huge sums of federal assistance were necessary to
help jump start recovery efforts in the city and surrounding region. Estimates of over $105 to $150 billion in
reduced tax revenue, loss of infrastructure, expense of reclamation efforts, and loss of normal revenue were lost
to the city. Beyond the economic losses to New Orleans, it is estimated that the United States economy suffered
a 2 percent loss of overall gross domestic product within one year of the disaster as a direct result of the
hurricane and its impact on this important international port city.

Environment
A woman picks through the wreckage of her home at the isolated village of Myasein Kan on May 20, 2008 in
Myanmar.

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Just as a natural can change the landscape of our personal lives as well as aspects of our community, so too can
different types of disasters drastically alter the natural environment. The cyclones that occurred in Myanmar in
2008, or the wildfires that spread throughout California in 2009 are examples of how areas of land that detail
whole ecosystems can be dramatically damaged or transformed from a single disaster event. On a larger scale,
the debate regarding how to address global climate change and the resulting natural impacts is further
punctuated by estimates of sea level increases that will completely swamp some island nations. Furthermore, the
rapid desalination of salt water oceans caused by melting glaciers could deprive the world of 30 percent or more
of its edible fish supply, and the loss of coral reefs from the same cause would put numerous coastal regions in
jeopardy of tidal waves and surges.

References

Hurricane Katrina’s Economic Impact

Natural Disaster’s Impact on the Environment
Natural Disaster’s Impact on the Community

About the Author

Malik Sharrieff is a marketing and business communications professional in New Orleans. He has more than 15
years of experience in marketing, public relations and customer relationship management; over eight years of
experience as an academic writer; and as an online journalist for two years.

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