Environmental Hazards

Natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and landslides are a common occurrence, but environmental hazards don't in themselves create a disaster. Despite this, every year, people die, homes are destroyed and economies are impacted by environmental disasters. 

In this module, you’ll learn about the complex interaction of environmental, social and political factors that can make individuals and communities vulnerable and result in an environmental hazard becoming a disaster.  

You’ll also explore how vulnerability to environmental hazards can be reduced in order to reduce disaster risk. You’ll study in detail some of the key environmental hazards including volcanoes, earthquakes, wildfires, coastal hazards and pollution and you’ll apply what you have learned about vulnerabilities and disaster risk reduction through real-life case study examples. 

The UN has defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which set out the world’s roadmap to ending poverty, reducing inequality and protecting the planet by 2030. In this module, you will consider the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction that directly addresses SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.