Prepper Watch – Natural Disaster

1. Extreme Weather Events (Severity: 8)

• Description: Severe weather phenomena, such as hurricanes, typhoons, and extreme heat waves, that cause widespread destruction.
• Explanation: Extreme weather disrupts infrastructure, displaces populations, and creates economic strain. The frequency and intensity of such events are increasing due to climate change.

2. Space Weather Events (Severity: 7)

• Description: Solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and other space phenomena that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems.
• Explanation: Space weather events can lead to blackouts, GPS failures, and damage to critical infrastructure, with cascading effects on transportation and energy systems.

3. Drought and Desertification (Severity: 7)

• Description: Extended periods of low precipitation leading to water scarcity and the transformation of fertile land into desert.
• Explanation: Drought and desertification reduce agricultural productivity, threaten water supplies, and displace communities, particularly in arid regions.

4. Flooding from Storm Surges (Severity: 8)

• Description: Coastal flooding caused by high waves and water levels during storms, often exacerbated by rising sea levels.
• Explanation: Storm surges can inundate low-lying areas, damage infrastructure, and disrupt local economies, posing significant risks to coastal populations.

5. Avalanches and Snowstorms (Severity: 6)

• Description: Rapidly descending masses of snow or severe snowstorms that block transportation and isolate communities.
• Explanation: Avalanches and snowstorms can cause fatalities, disrupt transportation networks, and strain emergency services in affected regions.

6. Volcanic Eruptions (Severity: 6)

• Description: The release of magma, ash, and gases from volcanoes, with the potential to cause local and global effects.
• Explanation: Volcanic eruptions can destroy nearby areas, disrupt air travel, and temporarily alter global climate patterns through ash emissions.

7. Permafrost Thawing (Severity: 5)

• Description: The melting of permafrost due to rising global temperatures, releasing stored greenhouse gases and destabilizing terrain.
• Explanation: Thawing permafrost contributes to climate change, damages infrastructure, and threatens ecosystems in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

8. Infrastructure Collapse During Disasters (Severity: 7)

• Description: The failure of critical infrastructure, such as bridges, dams, and buildings, during natural disasters.
• Explanation: Infrastructure collapse exacerbates the impact of disasters, endangering lives, delaying recovery efforts, and increasing economic losses.

9. Lightning Strikes (Severity: 5)

• Description: Electrical discharges from storms that can cause fires, injuries, and power outages.
• Explanation: While localized, lightning strikes pose risks to individuals and infrastructure, especially in areas with high thunderstorm activity.

10. Geological Events (Severity: 8)

• Description: Earthquakes, landslides, and other geological phenomena that disrupt the earth’s surface.
• Explanation: Geological events can cause massive destruction, especially in densely populated areas, and often lead to secondary disasters like tsunamis.

11. Rising Sea Levels and Coastal Erosion (Severity: 6)

• Description: The gradual rise of sea levels and erosion of coastlines due to climate change.
• Explanation: Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, reduce available land, and increase the vulnerability of areas to flooding and storm surges.

12. Wildfires (Severity: 10)

• Description: Uncontrolled fires that spread through forests, grasslands, or urban areas, often fueled by dry conditions.
• Explanation: Wildfires destroy ecosystems, property, and infrastructure while producing harmful smoke that impacts air quality and health.

13. Tsunamis (Severity: 6)

• Description: Large, powerful waves generated by undersea earthquakes, landslides, or volcanic activity.
• Explanation: Tsunamis can devastate coastal areas, causing loss of life, displacing populations, and destroying infrastructure.

14. Urban Heat Island Effect (Severity: 5)

• Description: The phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas due to human activity and infrastructure.
• Explanation: This effect exacerbates heatwaves, increases energy demand, and negatively affects health, particularly in vulnerable populations.

15. Hailstorms and Tornadoes (Severity: 6)

• Description: Severe weather events characterized by hailstones or rapidly rotating columns of air.
• Explanation: Hailstorms and tornadoes cause localized destruction, damage property and crops, and pose risks to life and safety.

16. Mudslides and Landslides (Severity: 6)

• Description: The movement of earth, rock, and debris down slopes, often triggered by heavy rainfall or earthquakes.
• Explanation: These events destroy property, block transportation routes, and threaten lives, particularly in mountainous or deforested areas.

17. Secondary Disasters (Severity: 7)

• Description: Disasters that occur as a result of a primary disaster, such as fires after earthquakes or disease outbreaks after floods.
• Explanation: Secondary disasters amplify the impacts of primary disasters, complicating recovery efforts and increasing human and economic losses.

18. Crop Failures Linked to Natural Disasters (Severity: 6)

• Description: The loss of agricultural productivity due to events like droughts, floods, or hurricanes.
• Explanation: Crop failures lead to food shortages, higher prices, and increased economic stress, particularly in regions heavily reliant on agriculture.