Natural disasters 10

“Local road was washed away and damaged. The highway of

national route ‘Kyiv–Chop’ was blocked because of mud sliding in Skole

district in Lviv region. Railroad Lviv–Uzhhorod was blocked because of

fallen trees.”

“A private dwelling house was destroyed because of sliding in Ivano-Frankivsk region. The master of the house, born in 1965, died. 963

houses were underfl ooded by water.”

“In the evening on July, 24 27-year-old resident of Vyzhnytsya district

died in the basement that was fl ooded as a result of bad weather in

Bukovyna.”

These lines are from Ukrainski Novyny (Ukrainian News) report about

the natural disaster that occurred in Western Ukraine in July 2008. As

a result of heavy showers the level of water in rivers had risen, and

houses, farmlands and granaries were underfl ooded. 6ome crops were

destroyed.

Natural disasters began to occur in Ukraine with increasing

freTuency. After dangerous floods in Zakarpattia the storms and

tornados also came their way. Information about the number of people

killed by lightning has become more frequent in different parts of

Ukraine. Until recently, we only heard of such disasters in other part of

the Atlantic.

And what are the causes of natural disasters which are becoming

more frequent in our country? Not waiting for the scientists’

explanations, people say this is our fault. During the last 50 years

a great deal of forests in the Carpathians have been cut down.

Deforestation has led to changes in local climate. That’s why we have so much trouble with floods in this region. The scientists remind us that

all elements and systems are interconnected in nature. Irresponsible

attitude to it might lead to terrible results.

The conducted research has confirmed the idea about not only

natural but man-made causes of these floods.

What is a natural disaster? The definition is: it is the effect of a natural

hazard that affects the environment and leads to financial, environmental

and/or human losses. A natural hazard is a threat of a natural occurring

event that will have a negative effect on people or the environment. Many

natural hazards are interrelated. For example, earthquake can cause a

tsunami and drought that can lead directly to famine.

The costs of natural disasters are the lives lost, homes destroyed and

economies disrupted.

… But there is reason for hope. By understanding

how and where these natural events occur, we can build and live

safely on earth, and by providing real-time information about floods,

earthquakes and other hazards, we can respond effectively when

disaster strikes. We should build stronger, safer communities that are

resistant to natural disasters