Question.
When can a hazard become a disaster?
(Chapter 7 Natural Hazards and Disasters, Class 11 NCERT geography "India Physical Environment")
Answer.
Hazards are possibilities that have the potential to cause harm to people or property, or both. When these possibilities come true and cause large-scale destruction of property and human beings, then hazards become a disaster.
For example,
Having a big dam is not a disaster but a hazard as it is prone to floods as well as earthquakes. When a dam bursts it brings flooding (which is a disaster) and causes extensive damage to humans and property.
Having a house on a sloping surface is a hazard, not a disaster, as having a house at such a location is prone to damage to both life and property in the event of a landslide or earthquake.
In simple words, the hazard becomes a disaster when the possibility of a loss of property and human life becomes true.
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