1. Natural hazards and natural disasters

2. Let’s start off by looking at natural events and natural hazards.
A natural event is anything that is caused by natural processes. Rain and wind are examples of natural events. Some natural events are extreme and may be considered a natural hazard.
A natural event becomes a natural hazard when there is the risk of it being dangerous to people, for example, if it rains so much that it floods, or if the wind becomes so strong it turns into a cyclone.

3. When hazards become disasters
Queensland has many natural hazards. It has:
floods
cyclones
bushfires
severe storms
drought.
Natural hazards become natural disasters when people’s lives and properties are destroyed.

4. Floods
Floods cause a lot of damage in Queensland and occur frequently in the wet season. Major floods have occurred in Queensland in , 1974, 1927, 1916, and 1893.

5. Tropical cyclones also often hit Queensland and have been the source of major damage. They occur between November and April.
One of the worst cyclones to hit Queensland was Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Ferry terminal at Mission Beach after Cyclone Yasi.
Cyclones

6. Bushfires
Bushfires occur in Queensland but they happen less often and are far less destructive than in other states.

7. Severe storms
Severe storms cause damage through lightning and hail and are frequent in Queensland.

8. Drought
Droughts occur frequently in inland parts of Queensland and can often last for many years.

9. Using Indigenous knowledge
Disaster preparedness knowledge comes from local people’s observations of their land over generations. Knowledge has been handed down through stories, paintings, songs and rituals.
Some of the signs of hazards that Indigenous people used include:
changes in animal behaviours
changes in the appearance of the sky
watching the size of waves to predict cyclones
watching the flowering patterns of native plants.
Some of the ways that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples prepared for natural hazards include:
moving between habitats as hazards strike
relying on mangrove forests to absorb the force of tidal surges.

10. Warning methods Television advertisements Social media Text messages
How do we warn people about natural hazards?
Warning methods
Television advertisements
Social media
Text messages
Radio
SEWS (Standard Emergency Warning Signal)

11. Attributions
Slide 2
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Slide 5
Modified from: Toogood, P., Cyclone Yasi – the next few hours after CC BY 2.0
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Slide 8 Image courtesy of Joseph Sambono. Used with permission.