• Fire detectors
• SOUE
• Control and reception devices
• Control devices
• Other equipment

Equipment

• fire barrels
• Means of saving people
• GASI
• Fire tool (PTV)

Fire-fighting equipment

• fire extinguishers
• Fire extinguishing installations
• Fire extinguishing agents
• Other

firefighter equipment

• breathing apparatus
• Means of protection
• Technical means

life safety fundamentals

• civil defense
• Actions in case of fire
• Actions in case of emergency
• Actions in case of accidents
• Evacuation in case of fire

fire protection

Smoke removal

Water supply

barriers

Profession

• Responsibilities
• About firefighters and rescuers

Story

• Firefighters
  towers
• Fires and disasters

Common topics

• DIY
• Awards

Natural emergencies: types and classification

Support the project

Under an emergency (ES) It is customary to understand the situation in a certain territory that has developed as a result of an accident, natural or other disaster that may or have caused human casualties, damage to human health or the environment, significant material losses and violation of the living conditions of the population. Emergencies do not occur immediately, as a rule, they develop gradually from man-made, social or natural incidents.

Natural disasters are usually unexpected. In a short time they destroy territories, dwellings, communications, and bring hunger and disease in their wake. In recent years, emergencies of natural origin have been on the rise. In all cases of earthquakes, floods, landslides, their destructive power increases.

Natural emergencies are subdivided

• Geophysical (endogenous) hazardous phenomena: volcanic and geyser eruptions, earthquakes, underground gas releases to the surface of the earth;
• Geological (exogenous) hazardous phenomena: collapses, scree, landslides, avalanches, mudflows, slope washout, subsidence of loess rocks, soil erosion, abrasion, subsidence (failure) of the earth's surface as a result of karst kurum, dust storms;
• Meteorological hazards: hurricanes (12 - 15 points), storms, storms (9 - 11 points), tornadoes (tornadoes), squalls, vertical whirlwinds, large hail, heavy rain (shower), heavy snowfall, heavy ice, severe frost, severe snowstorm, severe heat, heavy fog, drought, dry winds, frosts;
• Hydrological hazards: high water levels (floods), high water, rain floods, traffic jams and ice dams, wind surges, low water levels, early freezing and ice formation on navigable reservoirs and rivers;
• Marine hydrological hazards: tropical cyclones (typhoons), tsunamis, strong waves (5 points or more), strong fluctuations in sea level, strong draft in ports, early ice cover and fast ice, pressure and intense ice drift, impenetrable (hard to pass) ice, icing of ships and port facilities , detachment of coastal ice;
• Hydrogeological hazards: low groundwater levels, high groundwater levels;
• Natural fires: forest fires, peat fires, fires of steppe and grain massifs, underground fires of fossil fuels;
• Infectious diseases in humans: isolated cases of exotic and especially dangerous infectious diseases, group cases of dangerous infectious diseases, epidemic outbreak of dangerous infectious diseases, epidemic, pandemic, infectious diseases of people of unknown etiology;
• Infectious diseases of animals: isolated cases of exotic and especially dangerous infectious diseases, epizootics, panzootics, enzootics; infectious diseases of farm animals of unknown etiology;
• Infectious plant diseases: progressive epiphytoty, panphytoty, diseases of agricultural plants of unknown etiology, mass distribution of plant pests.

Patterns of natural phenomena

• Each type of emergency is facilitated by a certain spatial confinement;
• The more intense the dangerous natural phenomenon, the less often it happens;
• Each natural origin has predecessors - specific features;
• The appearance of a natural emergency, for all its unexpectedness, can be predicted;
• It is often possible to provide for both passive and active protection measures against natural hazards.

The role of anthropogenic influence on the manifestation of natural emergencies is great. Human activity disturbs the balance in the natural environment. Now, when the scale of the use of natural resources has sharply increased, the features of the global ecological crisis have become very noticeable. An important preventive factor that makes it possible to reduce the number of natural emergencies is the observance of natural balance.

All natural disasters are interconnected, these are earthquakes and tsunamis, tropical cyclones and floods, volcanic eruptions and fires, poisoning of pastures, death of livestock. Taking protective measures against natural disasters, it is necessary to minimize the secondary consequences, and with the help of appropriate training, if possible, eliminate them completely. The study of the causes and mechanisms of natural emergencies is a prerequisite for successful protection against them, the possibility of their prediction. An accurate and timely forecast is an important condition for effective protection against hazardous phenomena. Protection from natural phenomena can be active (construction of engineering structures, reconstruction of natural objects, etc.) and passive (use of shelters),

Dangerous geological natural phenomena

• earthquakes,
• landslides,
• sat down,
• snow avalanches,
• collapses,
• precipitation of the earth's surface as a result of karst phenomena.

earthquakes- these are underground shocks and vibrations of the earth's surface, resulting from tectonic processes, transmitted over long distances in the form of elastic vibrations. Earthquakes can cause volcanic activity, the fall of small celestial bodies, collapses, dam breaks, and other causes.

The causes of earthquakes are not fully understood. Stresses arising under the action of deep tectonic forces deform the layers of earth rocks. They shrink into folds, and when overloads reach critical levels, they tear and mix. A break in the earth's crust is formed, which is accompanied by a series of shocks and the number of shocks, and the intervals between them are very different. Shocks include foreshocks, mainshock and aftershocks. The main push has the greatest force. People perceive it as very long, although it usually lasts a few seconds.

As a result of research, psychiatrists and psychologists have obtained data that often aftershocks have a much more severe mental impact on people than the main shock. There is a feeling of inevitability of trouble, a person is inactive, while he should defend himself.

The epicenter of the earthquake- is called a certain volume in the thickness of the Earth, within which energy is released.

the center of the hearth is a conditional point - hypocenter or focus.

Earthquake epicenter is the projection of the hypocenter onto the Earth's surface. The greatest destruction occurs around the epicenter, in the pleistoseist region.

The energy of earthquakes is estimated by magnitude (lat. value). is a conditional value that characterizes the total amount of energy released in the earthquake source. The strength of the earthquake is estimated according to the international seismic scale MSK - 64 (Merkalli scale). It has 12 conditional gradations - points.

Earthquakes are predicted by recording and analyzing their "predecessors" - foreshocks (preliminary weak shocks), deformation of the earth's surface, changes in the parameters of geophysical fields, changes in the behavior of animals. Until now, unfortunately, there are no methods for reliable earthquake prediction. The time frame for the beginning of an earthquake can be 1-2 years, and the accuracy of predicting the location of an earthquake varies from tens to hundreds of kilometers. All this reduces the effectiveness of earthquake protection measures.

In seismically hazardous areas, the design and construction of buildings and structures is carried out taking into account the possibility of earthquakes. Earthquakes of 7 points and above are considered dangerous for structures, so construction in areas with a 9-point seismicity is uneconomical.

Rocky soils are considered the most reliable in seismic terms. The stability of structures during earthquakes depends on the quality of building materials and work. There are requirements to limit the size of buildings, as well as requirements to take into account the relevant rules and regulations (SP and N), which boil down to strengthening the structure of structures built in seismic zones.

Groups of anti-seismic measures

1. Preventive, preventive measures are the study of the nature of earthquakes, the determination of their predecessors, the development of methods for predicting earthquakes;
2. Activities that are carried out immediately before the start of an earthquake, during it and after it ends. The effectiveness of actions in earthquake conditions depends on the level of organization of rescue operations, the level of training of the population and the effectiveness of the warning system.

A very dangerous immediate consequence of an earthquake is panic, during which people, out of fear, cannot meaningfully take measures for salvation and mutual assistance. Panic is especially dangerous in crowded places - at enterprises, in educational institutions and in public places.

Death and injury occur when debris from destroyed buildings falls, as well as as a result of people being in the rubble and not receiving timely assistance. Earthquakes can cause fires, explosions, emissions of hazardous substances, traffic accidents and other dangerous phenomena.

Volcanic activity- This is the result of active processes that constantly occur in the bowels of the Earth. called a set of phenomena that are associated with the movement of magma in the earth's crust and on its surface. Magma (Greek thick ointment) is a molten mass of silicate composition, which is formed in the depths of the Earth. When magma reaches the earth's surface, it erupts as lava.

Lava does not contain gases that escape during an eruption. This is what distinguishes it from magma.

Types of winds

Vortex storms are caused by cyclonic activity and spread over large areas.

Among the vortex storms are distinguished:

• dusty,
• snowy.
• squall.

Dust (sand) storms occur in deserts, in plowed steppes and are accompanied by the transfer of huge masses of soil and sand.

snow storms move large masses of snow through the air. They operate on a strip from several kilometers to several tens of kilometers. Snow storms of great strength occur in the steppe part of Siberia and on the plains of the European part of the Russian Federation. In Russia in winter, snow storms are called snowstorms, blizzards, snowstorms.

Flurries– short-term wind amplification up to the speed of 20-30m/s. They are characterized by a sudden beginning and the same sudden end, a short duration of action and great destructive power.

Squall storms operate in the European part of Russia both on land and at sea.

stream storms- local phenomena with a small distribution. They are divided into stock and jet. During katabatic storms, air masses move down the slope from top to bottom.

jet storms characterized by horizontal movement of air or its movement up the slope. Most often they occur between chains of mountains that connect valleys.

A tornado (tornado) is an atmospheric vortex that occurs in a thundercloud. Then it spreads in the form of a dark "sleeve" towards land or sea. The upper part of the tornado has a funnel-shaped extension that merges with the clouds. When a tornado descends to the Earth's surface, its lower part sometimes expands, resembling an overturned funnel. The height of the tornado is from 800 to 1500m. Rotating counterclockwise at a speed of up to 100 m/s and rising in a spiral, the air in the tornado draws dust or water. The decrease in pressure inside the tornado leads to the condensation of water vapor. Water and dust make the tornado visible. Its diameter above the sea is measured in tens of meters, and above land - hundreds of meters.

According to the structure, tornadoes are divided into dense (sharply limited) and vague (indistinctly limited); in time and spatial effect - on small tornadoes of mild action (up to 1 km), small (up to 10 km) and hurricane whirlwinds (more than 10 km).

Hurricanes, storms, tornadoes are extremely powerful elemental forces, in their destructive effect they are comparable only to an earthquake. It is very difficult to predict the place and time of the appearance of a tornado, which makes them especially dangerous and does not allow predicting their consequences.

Hydrological disasters

high water- annually recurring seasonal rise in water level.

high water- a short-term and non-periodic increase in the water level in a river or reservoir.

Floods following one after another can cause floods, and the last floods.

Flooding is one of the most common natural hazards. They arise from a sharp increase in the amount of water in the rivers as a result of the melting of snow or glaciers, due to heavy rains. Floods are often accompanied by blockage of the river bed during ice drift (jam) or blockage of the river bed by an ice plug under a fixed ice cover (jamming).

On sea coasts, floods can be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Floods caused by the action of winds that drive water from the sea and raise the water level due to its retention at the mouth of the river are called surge floods.

Experts believe that people are in danger of flooding if the water layer reaches 1m and its flow speed is more than 1m/s. If the rise of water reaches 3 m, this leads to the destruction of houses.

Flooding can occur even when there is no wind. It can be caused by long waves arising in the sea under the influence of a cyclone. In St. Petersburg, the islands in the Neva delta have been flooded since 1703. more than 260 times.

Floods on rivers differ in the height of the water rise, the area of ​​flooding and the magnitude of damage: low (small), high (medium), outstanding (large), catastrophic. Low floods can be repeated in 10-15 years, high ones in 20-25 years, outstanding ones in 50-100 years, catastrophic ones in 100-200 years.

They can last from several to 100 days.

The flood in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, which happened 5600 years ago, had very serious consequences. In the Bible, the flood was called the Flood.

Tsunamis are marine gravity waves of great length, resulting from shifts of large sections of the bottom during underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other tectonic processes. In the area of ​​their occurrence, waves reach a height of 1-5 m, near the coast - up to 10 m, and in bays and river valleys - more than 50 m. Tsunamis propagate inland to a distance of up to 3 km. The coast of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans is the main area of ​​tsunami manifestation. They produce very large destruction and pose a threat to people.

Breakwaters, embankments, harbors and jetties protect against tsunamis only partially. On the high seas, tsunamis are not dangerous for ships.

Protection of the population from tsunamis - warnings of special services about the approach of waves, based on advanced registration of earthquakes by coastal seismographs.

Forest, steppe, peat, underground fires are called landscape or natural fires. Forest fires are the most common, causing huge losses and leading to human casualties.

Forest fires are uncontrolled burning of vegetation, which spontaneously spreads through the forest area. In dry weather, the forest dries up so much that any careless handling of fire can cause a fire. In most cases, the culprit of the fire is a person. Forest fires are classified according to the nature of the fire, the speed of propagation and the size of the area covered by the fire.

Depending on the nature of the fire and the composition of the forest, fires are divided into grassroots, riding and soil fires. At the beginning of their development, all fires are ground fires, and when certain conditions arise, they turn into crown or soil fires. Mounted fires are subdivided according to the parameters of the edge advancement (burning band bordering the outer contour of the fire) into weak, medium and strong. Ground and crown fires are divided into stable and runaway fires according to the speed of fire spread.

Methods of fighting forest fires. The main conditions for the effectiveness of fighting forest fires are the assessment and forecast of fire danger in the forest. State forestry authorities control the state of protection in the territory of the forest fund.

To organize fire extinguishing, it is necessary to determine the type of fire, its characteristics, the direction of its spread, natural barriers (places that are especially dangerous for intensifying the fire), the forces and means necessary to fight it.

When extinguishing a forest fire, the following main stages are distinguished: stopping, extinguishing the fire and guarding the conflagration (preventing the possibility of catching fire from unexplained sources of combustion).

There are two main methods of fighting a fire according to the nature of the impact on the combustion process: direct and indirect fire extinguishing.

The first method is used for extinguishing medium and low intensity with a propagation speed of up to 2 m/min. and a flame height of up to 1.5 m. An indirect method of extinguishing a fire in a forest is based on the creation of barrier strips along the path of its spread.

An epidemic is a widespread infectious disease among people, significantly exceeding the incidence rate usually recorded in a given area.

- an unusually large spread of morbidity, both in terms of level and scale of distribution, covering a number of countries, entire continents and even the entire globe.

All infectious diseases are divided into four groups:

• intestinal infections;
• respiratory tract infections (aerosol);
• blood (transmissible);
• infections of the outer integument (contact).

Types of biological emergencies

Epizootics. Infectious animal diseases are a group of diseases that have such common features as the presence of a specific pathogen, the cyclical nature of development, the ability to be transmitted from an infected animal to a healthy one, and to take on epizootic spread.

All infectious diseases of animals are divided into five groups:

• The first group - alimentary infections are transmitted through soil, feed, water. The organs of the digestive system are mainly affected. Pathogens are transmitted through infected feed, soil, manure. Such infections include anthrax, foot and mouth disease, glanders, brucellosis.
• The second group - respiratory infections - damage to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and lungs. These include: parainfluenza, exotic pneumonia, sheep and goat pox, canine distemper.
• The third group - transmissible infections, the mechanism of their transmission is carried out with the help of blood-sucking arthropods. These include: encephalomyelitis, tularemia, infectious anemia of horses.
• The fourth group - infections, the causative agents of which are transmitted through the outer integument without the participation of carriers. These include: tetanus, rabies, cowpox.
• Fifth group - infections with unexplained pathways of damage, i.e. unqualified group.

Epiphytotics. To assess the scale of plant diseases, the following concepts are used epiphytoty and panphytoty.

Epiphytoty – the spread of infectious diseases over large areas over a period of time.

Natural emergency - the situation in a certain territory or water area that has developed as a result of the occurrence of a source of a natural emergency that may cause or has caused human casualties, damage to human health and (or) the natural environment, significant material losses and violation of people's living conditions.

Natural emergencies are distinguished by the scale and nature of the source of occurrence, they are characterized by significant damage and death of people, as well as the destruction of material values.

Earthquakes, floods, forest and peat fires, mudflows and landslides, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, snow drifts and icing - all these are natural emergencies, and they will always be companions of human life.

In natural disasters, accidents and catastrophes, a person's life is in great danger and requires the concentration of all his spiritual and physical strength, the meaningful and cold-blooded application of knowledge and skills for action in a particular emergency.

Landslide.

A landslide is a detachment and sliding displacement of a mass of earthen, rocks downwards under the action of its own weight. Landslides occur most often along the banks of rivers, reservoirs and on mountain slopes.

Landslides can occur on all slopes, but on clay soils they occur much more often, for this, excessive moisture of the rocks is sufficient, so they mostly disappear in the spring and summer.

The natural cause of the formation of landslides is an increase in the steepness of the slopes, washing away their bases with river waters, excessive moisture of various rocks, seismic shocks and a number of other factors.

Mudflow (mudflow)

Mudflow (mudflow) is a rapid stream of great destructive power, consisting of a mixture of water, sand and stones, which suddenly appears in mountain river basins as a result of intense rains or rapid snowmelt. glaciers, breakthrough of reservoirs, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as the collapse of a large amount of loose soil into the riverbed. Mudflows pose a threat to settlements, railways and roads and other structures located on their way. Having a large mass and high speed of movement, mudflows destroy buildings, roads, hydraulic and other structures, disable communication and power lines, destroy gardens, flood arable land, and lead to the death of people and animals. All this lasts 1-3 hours. The time from the occurrence of a mudflow in the mountains to the moment it reaches the foothills is often estimated at 20-30 minutes.

Collapse (mountain collapse)

Collapse (mountain collapse) - separation and catastrophic fall of large masses of rocks, their overturning, crushing and rolling on steep and steep slopes.

Landslides of natural origin are observed in the mountains, on the seashores and cliffs of river valleys. They occur as a result of the weakening of the coherence of rocks under the influence of the processes of weathering, washing, dissolution and the action of gravity. The formation of landslides is facilitated by the geological structure of the area, the presence of cracks and zones of crushing of rocks on the slopes.

Most often (up to 80%), modern collapses are formed during improper work, during construction and mining.

People living in hazardous areas should know the outbreaks, the possible directions of movement of flows and the possible strength of these dangerous phenomena. If there is a threat of a landslide, mudflow or collapse, and if there is time, an early evacuation of the population, farm animals and property from threatening zones to safe places is organized.

Avalanche (snow avalanche)

An avalanche (snow avalanche) is a rapid, sudden movement of snow and (or) ice down the steep slopes of mountains under the influence of gravity and posing a threat to human life and health, causing damage to economic facilities and the environment. Snow avalanches are a type of landslide. When an avalanche forms, the snow first slides off the slope. Then the snow mass quickly picks up speed, capturing more and more snow masses, stones and other objects along the way, growing into a powerful stream that rushes down at high speed, sweeping away everything in its path. The movement of the avalanche continues to more gentle sections of the slope or to the bottom of the valley, where the avalanche then stops.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are tremors and vibrations of the earth's surface resulting from sudden displacements and ruptures in the earth's crust or the upper part of the Earth's mantle and transmitted over long distances in the form of elastic vibrations. According to statistics, earthquakes rank first in terms of economic damage and one of the first places in terms of the number of human casualties.

During earthquakes, the nature of the damage to people depends on the type and density of the building of the settlement, as well as on the time of the earthquake (day or night).

At night, the number of victims is much higher, because. most people are at home and resting. During the day, the number of the affected population fluctuates depending on which day the earthquake occurred - on a working day or on a weekend.

In brick and stone buildings, the following character of people's injuries prevails: injuries of the head, spine and limbs, compression of the chest, soft tissue compression syndrome, as well as injuries of the chest and abdomen with damage to internal organs.

Volcano

A volcano is a geological formation that occurs above channels or cracks in the earth's crust, through which red-hot lava, ash, hot gases, water vapor, and rock fragments erupt onto the Earth's surface and into the atmosphere.

Most often, volcanoes form at the junction of the Earth's tectonic plates. Volcanoes are extinct, dormant, active. In total, there are almost 1,000 dormant and 522 active volcanoes on land.

About 7% of the world's population lives dangerously close to active volcanoes. More than 40,000 people died as a result of volcanic eruptions in the 20th century.

The main damaging factors during a volcanic eruption are red-hot lava, gases, smoke, steam, hot water, ash, rock fragments, a blast wave and mud-stone flows.

Lava is a hot liquid or very viscous mass that erupts onto the surface of the Earth during volcanic eruptions. The temperature of the lava can reach 1200°C or more. Together with lava, gases and volcanic ash are ejected to a height of 15-20 km. and up to 40 km. and more. A characteristic feature of volcanoes is their repeated multiple eruptions.

Hurricane

A hurricane is a wind of destructive force and considerable duration. A hurricane occurs suddenly in areas with a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure. The speed of a hurricane reaches 30 m/s or more. In terms of its harmful effects, a hurricane can be compared with an earthquake. This is explained by the fact that hurricanes carry colossal energy, its amount released by an average hurricane in one hour can be compared with the energy of a nuclear explosion.

The hurricane wind destroys strong and demolishes light structures, devastates sown fields, breaks wires and knocks down power transmission and communication poles, damages highways and bridges, breaks and uproots trees, damages and sinks ships, and causes accidents on utility and energy networks.

A storm is a type of hurricane. The wind speed during a storm is not much less than the speed of a hurricane (up to 25-30 m/s). Losses and destruction from storms are significantly less than from hurricanes. Sometimes a strong storm is called a storm.

A tornado is a strong small-scale atmospheric vortex with a diameter of up to 1000 m, in which the air rotates at a speed of up to 100 m/s, which has great destructive power (in the USA it is called a tornado). In the internal cavity of the tornado, the pressure is always reduced, so any objects that are in its path are sucked into it. The average speed of the tornado is 50-60 km / h, when it approaches, a deafening rumble is heard.

Thunderstorm

A thunderstorm is an atmospheric phenomenon associated with the development of powerful cumulonimbus clouds, which is accompanied by multiple electrical discharges between the clouds and the earth's surface, thunder, heavy rain, and often hail. According to statistics, 40,000 thunderstorms occur daily in the world, 117 lightning flashes every second.

Thunderstorms often go against the wind. Just before the start of a thunderstorm, there is usually a calm or the wind changes direction, sharp squalls fly in, after which it starts to rain. However, the greatest danger is "dry", that is, not accompanied by precipitation, thunderstorms.

blizzard

A snow storm is one of the varieties of a hurricane, characterized by significant wind speeds, which contributes to the movement of huge masses of snow through the air, and has a relatively narrow band of action (up to several tens of kilometers). During a storm, visibility deteriorates sharply, and transport communication, both intracity and intercity, may be interrupted. The duration of the storm varies from several hours to several days.

Blizzard, blizzard, blizzard are accompanied by sharp temperature changes and snowfall with strong gusts of wind. The temperature difference, snowfall with rain at low temperatures and strong winds, creates conditions for icing. Power lines, communication lines, roofs of buildings, various supports and structures, roads and bridges are covered with ice or sleet, which often causes their destruction. Ice formations on the roads make it difficult, and sometimes completely hinder the operation of road transport. Pedestrian movement will be difficult.

The main damaging factor of such natural disasters is the impact of low temperature on the human body, causing frostbite, and sometimes freezing.

floods

Floods are significant flooding of an area resulting from a rise in the water level in a river, reservoir or lake. The causes of floods are heavy rainfall, intensive snowmelt, breakthrough or destruction of dams and dams. Floods are accompanied by human casualties and significant material damage.

In terms of frequency and area of ​​distribution, floods rank first among natural disasters, in terms of the number of human casualties and material damage, floods rank second after earthquakes.

high water- a phase of the water regime of the river, which can be repeated many times in different seasons of the year, characterized by an intense, usually short-term increase in water flow and levels, and caused by rain or snowmelt during thaws. Floods following one after another can cause floods. Significant flooding can cause flooding.

catastrophic flood- a significant flood that occurs as a result of intensive melting of snow, glaciers, as well as heavy rains, forming a severe flood, as a result of which there was a mass death of the population, agricultural animals and plants, damage or destruction of property, and also caused damage to the environment. The term catastrophic flood is also applied to floods that cause the same consequences.

Tsunami- giant sea waves resulting from the upward or downward displacement of extended sections of the seabed during strong underwater and coastal earthquakes.

The most important characteristic of a forest fire is the speed of its spread, which is determined by the speed of its edge advance, i.e. streaks of burning along the contour of the fire.

Forest fires, depending on the scope of the spread of fire, are divided into ground, crown and underground (peat).

A ground fire is a fire that spreads along the ground and through the lower tiers of forest vegetation. The temperature of the fire in the fire zone is 400-900 °C. Ground fires are the most frequent and account for up to 98% of the total number of fires.

Horse fire is the most dangerous. It starts with a strong wind and covers the crowns of trees. The temperature in the fire zone rises to 1100°C.

An underground (peat) fire is a fire in which the peat layer of waterlogged and swampy soils burns. Peat fires are characterized by the fact that they are very difficult to extinguish.

The causes of fires in the steppe and grain massifs can be thunderstorms, accidents of ground and air transport, accidents in grain harvesting equipment, terrorist attacks and careless handling of open fire. The most fire-hazardous situation develops in late spring and early summer, when the weather is dry and hot.

It is known that the earth's crust, together with part of the upper mantle, is not a monolithic shell of the planet, but consists of several large blocks (plates) with a thickness of 60 to 200 km. In total, 7 huge slabs and dozens of smaller slabs are distinguished. The upper part of most plates is both the continental and oceanic crust, that is, on these plates there are continents, seas and oceans.

The plates rest on a relatively soft, plastic layer of the upper mantle, over which they slowly move at a rate of 1 to 6 cm per year. Neighboring plates approach, diverge or slide one relative to the other. They "float" on the surface of the plastic layer of the upper mantle, like pieces of ice on the surface of water.

As a result of the movement of plates in the depths of the Earth and on its surface, complex processes constantly occur. So, for example, when plates collide with the oceanic earth's crust, deep-water depressions (troughs) can occur, and when plates, which are the base of the continental earth's crust, collide, mountains can form. When there is a convergence of two plates with the continental crust, their edges, together with all the sedimentary rocks accumulated on them, are crushed into folds, forming mountain ranges. With the onset of critical overloads, the folds are displaced and torn. Breaks occur instantly, accompanied by a push or a series of pushes that have the character of blows. The energy released during the rupture is transmitted in the thickness of the earth's crust in the form of elastic seismic waves and leads to earthquakes.

The boundary regions between the lithospheric plates are called seismic belts. These are the most restless, mobile areas of the planet. Most active volcanoes are concentrated here and at least 95% of all earthquakes occur.

Thus, geological natural phenomena are associated with the movement of lithospheric plates and changes occurring in the lithosphere.

Dangerous geological phenomenon- an event of geological origin or the result of the activity of geological processes that occur in the earth's crust under the influence of various natural or geodynamic factors or their combinations that have or may have damaging effects on people, farm animals and plants, economic objects and the natural environment.

Hazardous geological natural phenomena include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and landslides.

Meteorological natural phenomena

Dangerous meteorological phenomenon- natural processes and phenomena that occur in the atmosphere under the influence of various natural factors or their combinations, which have or may have a damaging effect on people, farm animals and plants, economic facilities and the natural environment.

These processes and phenomena are associated with various atmospheric processes, and above all with processes occurring in the lower layer of the atmosphere - the troposphere. About 9/10 of the total air mass is in the troposphere. Under the influence of solar heat entering the earth's surface, and the force of gravity in the troposphere, clouds, rain, snow, and wind are formed.

Air in the troposphere moves in both horizontal and vertical directions. Strongly heated air near the equator expands, becomes lighter and rises. There is an upward movement of air. For this reason, a belt of low atmospheric pressure forms near the Earth's surface near the equator. At the poles, due to low temperatures, the air cools, becomes heavier and falls down. There is a downward movement of air. For this reason, near the Earth's surface near the poles, the pressure is high.

In the upper troposphere, on the contrary, above the equator, where ascending air currents predominate, the pressure is high, and above the poles it is low. Air is constantly moving from an area of ​​high pressure to an area of ​​low pressure. Therefore, the air rising above the equator spreads towards the poles. But due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis, the moving air does not reach the poles. As it cools, it becomes heavier and sinks at about 30° north and south latitudes, forming areas of high pressure in both hemispheres.

Large volumes of air in the troposphere with uniform properties are called air masses. Depending on the place of formation of air masses, four types of them are distinguished: equatorial air mass, or equatorial air; tropical air mass, or tropical air; moderate air mass, or temperate air; arctic (antarctic) air mass, or arctic (antarctic) air.

The properties of these air masses depend on the territories over which they formed. Moving, air masses retain their properties for a long time, and when they meet, they interact with each other. The movement of air masses and their interaction determine the weather in those places where these air masses come. The interaction of various air masses leads to the formation of moving atmospheric vortices in the troposphere - cyclones and anticyclones.

Cyclone is a flat ascending vortex with low atmospheric pressure in the center. The diameter of a cyclone can be several thousand kilometers. The weather during the cyclone is overcast, with strong winds.

Anticyclone is a flat descending vortex with high atmospheric pressure, with a maximum in the center. In an area of ​​high pressure, air does not rise, but falls. The air spiral unwinds in the northern hemisphere clockwise. The weather during the anticyclone is cloudy, without precipitation, the wind is weak.

With the movement of air masses, with their interaction, the emergence of dangerous meteorological phenomena that can cause natural disasters is associated. These are typhoons and hurricanes, storms, snowstorms, tornadoes, thunderstorms, droughts, severe frosts and fogs.

Hydrological natural phenomena

Water on the surface of the Earth is found in oceans and seas, in rivers and lakes, in the atmosphere in a gaseous state and in glaciers in a solid state.

All the waters on Earth that are not part of the rocks are united by the concept of "hydrosphere". The volume of all water on Earth is so large that it is measured in cubic kilometers. A cubic kilometer is a cube with each edge measuring 1 km, completely filled with water. The weight of 1 km 3 of water is 1 billion tons. The Earth contains 1.5 billion km 3 of water, 97% of which is the World Ocean. At present, it is customary to divide the World Ocean into 4 separate oceans and 75 seas with bays and straits.

Water is in constant circulation, while closely interacting with the air shell of the Earth and with land.

The driving force behind the water cycle is solar energy and gravity.

Under the influence of sunlight, water evaporates from the surface of the ocean and land (from rivers, reservoirs, soil and plants) and enters the atmosphere. Part of the water immediately returns with rain back to the ocean, part is carried by winds to land, where it falls to the surface in the form of rain or snow. Getting on the soil, water is partially absorbed into it, replenishing the reserves of soil moisture and groundwater, and partially flows into rivers and reservoirs. Soil moisture partly passes into plants, which evaporate it into the atmosphere, and partly flows into rivers. Rivers fed by surface and ground waters carry water to the World Ocean, replenishing its loss. Water, evaporating from the surface of the World Ocean, again finds itself in the atmosphere, and the cycle closes.

Such a movement of water between the constituent parts of nature and all parts of the earth's surface occurs constantly and continuously for many millions of years.

The water cycle in nature, like a closed chain, consists of several links. There are eight such links: atmospheric, oceanic, underground, river, soil, lake, biological and economic. Water constantly passes from one link to another, linking them into a single whole. In the process of the water cycle in nature, dangerous natural phenomena constantly arise that affect the safety of human life and can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Dangerous hydrological phenomenon- an event of hydrological origin or the result of hydrological processes arising under the influence of various natural or hydrodynamic factors or their combinations that have a damaging effect on people, farm animals and plants, economic objects and the natural environment.

Natural hazards of a hydrological nature include floods, tsunamis and mudflows.

Biological natural hazards

Living organisms, including humans, interact with each other and the surrounding inanimate nature. In this interaction, there is an exchange of substances and energy, there is a continuous reproduction, growth of living organisms and their movement.

Among the most dangerous natural phenomena of a biological nature, which have a significant impact on the safety of human life, are:

• natural fires (forest fires, fires of steppe and grain massifs, peat fires and underground fires of fossil fuels);
• infectious diseases of people (isolated cases of exotic and especially dangerous infectious diseases, group cases of dangerous infectious diseases, epidemic outbreak of dangerous infectious diseases, epidemic, pandemic, infectious diseases of people of unknown etiology);
• infectious animal diseases (single outbreaks of exotic and especially dangerous infectious diseases, enzootics, epizootics, panzootics, infectious diseases of farm animals of unknown etiology);
• defeat of agricultural plants by diseases and pests (epiphytoty, panphytoty, disease of agricultural plants of unknown etiology, mass distribution of plant pests).

natural fires include forest fires, fires of steppe and grain massifs, peat fires. The most common forest fires that occur annually, bring enormous losses and lead to human casualties.

Forest fires are uncontrolled burning of vegetation, spontaneously spreading through the forest area. In dry weather and wind, forest fires cover large areas.

In hot weather, in the absence of rain for 15-20 days, the forest becomes a fire hazard. Statistics show that in 90-97% of cases, the cause of forest fires is the vital activity of people.

Epidemic- the widespread spread of an infectious disease among people, significantly exceeding the incidence rate usually recorded in a given territory. The usual (minimal) incidence for a given area is most often isolated cases of diseases that do not have a connection with each other.

epizootics- mass infectious diseases of animals.

Epiphytoties- mass diseases of plants.

The mass spread of infectious diseases among people, farm animals or plants poses a direct threat to the safety of human life and can lead to emergencies.

infectious diseases- This is a group of diseases that are caused by specific pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi). Characteristic features of infectious diseases are: infectiousness, i.e., the ability to transmit pathogens from a sick organism to a healthy one; staging of development (infection, incubation period, course of the disease, recovery).

Space hazardous natural phenomena

The Earth is a cosmic body, a small particle of the Universe. Other cosmic bodies can have a strong influence on earthly life.

Everyone has seen “shooting stars” appear and go out in the night sky. This is meteors- small celestial bodies. We observe a short-term flash of hot luminous gas in the atmosphere at an altitude of 70-125 km. It occurs when a meteor enters the atmosphere at high speed.

Consequences of the fall of the Tunguska meteorite. Photo 1953

If during the time of movement in the atmosphere the solid particles of the meteor do not have time to completely collapse and burn out, then their remnants fall to the Earth. This is meteorites.

There are also larger celestial bodies that the planet Earth can meet. These are comets and asteroids.

Comets- these are the bodies of the solar system moving rapidly in the starry sky, moving in highly elongated orbits. As they approach the Sun, they begin to glow and they have a “head” and “tail”. The central part of the "head" is called the nucleus. The core diameter can be from 0.5 to 20 km. The core is an icy body of frozen gases and dust particles. The "tail" of a comet consists of gas molecules and dust particles that have escaped from the nucleus under the influence of sunlight. The length of the "tail" can reach tens of millions of kilometers.

asteroids- These are small planets, the diameter of which ranges from 1 to 1000 km.

Currently, about 300 space bodies are known that can cross the Earth's orbit. In total, according to astronomers' forecasts, there are approximately 300 thousand asteroids and comets in space.

The fall of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite

The meeting of our planet with large celestial bodies poses a serious threat to the entire biosphere.

The world of the natural environment around us is constantly changing, the processes of metabolism and energy are going on in it, and all this, taken together, gives rise to various natural phenomena. Depending on the intensity of the manifestation and the power of the ongoing processes, these natural phenomena can pose a threat to human life and the situation of a natural emergency.

Test yourself

1. Name the main groups of hazardous natural phenomena.
2. List the main natural phenomena of a geological nature and explain the reasons for their occurrence.
3. What are the main natural phenomena of a meteorological and hydrological nature? Specify their interdependence.
4. Describe natural hazards of a biological nature. Name the reasons for their occurrence.

After school

Learn from adults, look on the Internet and record in a safety diary the main natural phenomena of geological, meteorological, hydrological and biological origin in your area.

Man is accustomed to consider himself the ruler of the earth, the king of the universe and the duke of the solar system. And if in ancient times someone could experience superstitious fear at the sight of lightning or start burning redheads at the stake because of another solar eclipse, then modern man is sure that he is above such remnants of the past. But such confidence remains only until the first meeting with some truly formidable natural phenomenon.

If you think that only a hurricane, a tsunami or a volcanic eruption can be classified as such, you are greatly mistaken. There are more rare, refined and unusual phenomena that may not kill, but will make you roll on the ground in superstitious horror, pretending to be a primitive monitor lizard. In order to save readers from having to re-read banal things, such as: “a lightning strike and an avalanche are dangerous to health”, we will place various natural phenomena in this rating not by the number of people killed, but by how frightening they look. Even if they are relatively safe... After all, what kind of safety can we talk about if nerve cells are not restored?

Terrible natural phenomena that can scare anyone

It's nice to be able to add to the rating something familiar and native in its own way, like Odessa. Moreover, there is a reason: in February 2012, severe frosts hit and the Black Sea off the coast of Odessa successfully froze. The news was full of messages like: “Well, wow! For the first time in 30 years! Sensation! Watch everyone!!!" - and although the Odessans themselves kept their poker face and assured that such nonsense happens regularly every 5 years, no one listened to them ... They did not listen to the Odessans, but they heard the sea - the undercurrent made the ice make incredible sounds.

From a discussion at the Odessa forum of those times

• Why should you be afraid. There are many reasons. Here are just some of the plausible versions that can be found in the comments under the video: it is quite possible that a UFO fell into the sea. Or Optimus Prime is underwater. Or someone is trying to call Cthulhu (maybe already called?). Be that as it may, this sea will not interfere with WD-40 (a contraption for lubricating squeaky parts) ... But jokes aside - this phenomenon is completely unsafe. Most likely, this is how dub step appeared. And music lovers even noticed the similarity between the creak of the Black Sea and the Darude track "Sandstorm".

9. Asperatus

Meet these asperatus clouds (Undulatus asperatus), which means "wavy-hilly clouds", which in 2009 was identified as a separate species. This is a rather rare phenomenon, and therefore little studied. Wikipedia, as usual, pleases with information content and logic:

S - sequence

It is believed that in recent decades they began to appear more often than before. But what it is connected with is unknown. By the way, this is the first new type of cloud that has been discovered since 1951.

• Why should you be afraid. To begin with, no one really knows what asperatus is. Yes, it is insanely beautiful and exciting - as if a sea storm broke out overhead. At the same time, films about the Avengers have taught us one thing: such things always mark the appearance of Thor, the opening of a portal to other worlds and other phenomena associated with the destruction of New York. Or at least with a tropical downpour in Khabarovsk, which is also unpleasant.

8. Fires of St. Elmo

St. Elmo's fire is a corona discharge that occurs when there is a large voltage of the electric field in the atmosphere. I understand that this does not mean anything, so let's do it again: under certain conditions, for example, during a thunderstorm or storm, a small electrical discharge occurs on the tops of tall objects (matches of ships, on the tops of trees and rocks) in the air. The sailors took this phenomenon as a good sign and were not far from the truth. After all, such lights are really not dangerous - at most, some kind of electrical appliance will be disabled (and there is nothing to leave electrical appliances at matches). But here's what happened in 1982.

I flew myself a Boeing 747 one evening over Java, did not touch anyone. Suddenly, the crew noticed the lights of St. Elmo on the windshield, although there was no thunderstorm. The pilots were so happy with such a good sign that they ordered the passengers to fasten their seat belts and turned on the de-icers. A few minutes later, the plane smelled of smoke and sulfur - it turned out that the plane had flown into a cloud of volcanic ash. 4 engines, one after another, stalled and the plane began to rapidly decline. Despite the almost zero visibility and the failure of some instruments, the crew was able to successfully land the plane in Jakarta and none of the passengers were injured.

• Why should you be afraid. If you are on a plane and notice the fires of St. Elmo, there are two options: either you are caught in a thunderstorm, or in a few minutes the plane's engines will stall and it will crash down. But in general, this, of course, is a very good sign.

7. Blood rush

Moses, stop

This phenomenon is actually called a red tide, but "bloody" sounds much more dangerous. Something similar happens to water during the flowering of a certain type of algae. Or during the release of a certain type of slaves from Egypt. Often a red tide is observed where coastal waters are polluted - they say, when there is nothing to lose ... Although in reality there are losses - water pigmentation leads to the death of various marine creatures and organisms (all according to the Bible).

In 2001, in India, this trouble took on a new look - in the state of Kerala, it rained "bloody" for 2 months. As studies have shown, there were spores of red algae in the raindrops. So the red tide may be taking on a more frightening shape - the locals were horrified when the heavens decided to arrange an unexpected "prank".

• Why should you be afraid. One of the pigments that turns water red is toxic - it releases a powerful paralytic poison, saxitoxin. It would seem that what is simpler: just do not drink blood-colored salty water - natural selection in action. But even if a person is smart enough not to drink the Red Sea, he is not immune from poisoning. Shellfish and other marine life, having picked up toxins, successfully poison people - there are real cases of fatal poisoning by such seafood. And one more thing: you can not step on the rake of history. The Egyptians know how the transformation of water into blood ends - beware, firstborn!

6. Whirlpool

As a result of the terrifying tsunami that hit the coast of Japan in 2011, a huge whirlpool appeared near the port of Oarai. A video of a funnel spinning a small yacht has spread around many media outlets - however, no one has been able to provide an ending to this story ... But this did not stop Rossiya 24 from reporting that it was a ship that disappeared during the tsunami, on which there were 100 people.

Searches for full versions of this video in other languages ​​did not give so much - the boat appears in many reports, but it is not shown anywhere whether the funnel is dragging it in or not. We can definitely say that 100 people definitely won’t fit on this yacht, and, apparently, he just drifted with the engine off. That is, most likely, there was no one on board. That's how the story, which was supposed to scare, turned into a myth debunking. But do not rush to mock whirlpools - they are not weaklings at all.

• Why should you be afraid. In addition to temporary funnels on the water after the tsunami, there are permanent whirlpools. One of the most famous is the Malsterm whirlpool in the Norwegian Sea, which was mentioned by Jules Verne in. Strong water eddies regularly occur in the Malsterm Strait, due to which ships are advised to bypass these waters. Although the speed of "pulling" water does not exceed 11 km / h, which is clearly less than the speed of modern ships, the danger is quite real. Whirlwinds on the water appear unpredictably and can throw the ship off course, sending it to the rocks. This, of course, is not as epic as pulling to the bottom, but no less effective.

5. Killer Waves

Among the dangerous and destructive phenomena one could mention the tsunami. But this choice is too obvious, and we are not looking for easy ways. Therefore, instead of a tsunami, our rating will include its close relative - a killer wave. Until 1995, few people suspected its existence - stories about hefty waves walking around the ocean were considered tales and urban legends. Until one such beauty came across the Dropner oil platform on January 1, this New Year will be remembered by the platform workers for a long time!

The height of the Dropner wave was about 25 meters - before that, there was an opinion that waves of more than 20 meters were not found on our planet, and any eyewitnesses who claim the opposite should drink less. Now they believed the eyewitnesses, and the newly-born giants began to be suspected of the death of ships, the cause of the crash of which could not be established before. Despite further study of this phenomenon, the reason for the appearance of such waves is not completely clear. But it is known that such a wave (or a group of waves) has a small width, up to 1 km, and can move regardless of the general disturbance of the sea surface - that is, it can appear from any direction.

• Why should you be afraid. If we put together all the mental conclusions of oceanologists, we get a deep, like the Mariana Trench, thought: these waves appear from time to time in different places. Extremely rare, but with a certain pattern. But you can’t predict it ... In general, if you find yourself on a ship in the open ocean, try to stay close to the boats - you never know.

4. Web in Pakistan

After another flood in Pakistan, which turned 1/5 of this country into a swamp, local spiders decided: “Oh, fuck it!” - abandoned their usual habitats and moved to the trees, capturing all the thickets in the area.

The largest web that has been recorded was 183 meters long - just imagine this nightmare of arachnophobes! Curiously, spiders are loners, seen in cannibalism and prefer not to connect their web with others. In the same case, experts found in the web 12 different types of spiders that lived in harmony with each other - you just won’t do anything to intimidate people.

Tell them that only girls are afraid of insects

That feeling when you choose to walk over a bike ride

• Why should you be afraid. To begin with, the flood version is a weak explanation of what is happening. Floods happen constantly and all over the world, but this is not a reason to capture human settlements. So we do not know the true spider motives. Perhaps they just wanted to do it - and no one could stop them. The photo above evokes persistent associations with the abode of the giant spider Shelob, who hunted Frodo and Sam - I think it’s not worth explaining why such places are dangerous?

3 Volcanic Ash Lake

Puehue - similar sounds are made by my drunk neighbor on payday. And this is also the name of a volcano in southern Chile, which in the summer of 2011 pleased the inhabitants of South America with a fresh eruption. True, not only Chile suffered, but also neighboring Argentina. More specifically, Lake Nahuel Huapi, which is the largest and deepest body of water with clean water in this country. And so, this lake was covered with volcanic ash to the very “do not indulge” ... Unlike ordinary ash, such ash does not dissolve in water.

• Why should you be afraid. If a diver is afraid to go waist-deep into water without an oxygen tank, then there is probably good reason. A volcanic eruption is always unpleasant, and if you imagine that such nonsense can suddenly fly in from abroad and cover a couch while relaxing on your favorite beach, it becomes terribly unpleasant.

2. Firestorm

A fire tornado is a rare and truly dangerous natural phenomenon. It appears as a result of the coincidence of several factors, the most important of which, obviously, is a large-scale fire. High temperatures, several fires and cold air currents can accompany the formation of a fiery whirlwind that sweeps away everything in its path. The fire tornado does not disappear until it burns everything around, because the flames are constantly fanned by a stream of air that acts like giant bellows.

A fiery tornado was observed in 1812, when Moscow burned, and a little earlier in Kyiv (1811, Podolsk fire). Other major cities of the world experienced a similar disaster: Chicago, London, Dresden and others.

• Why should you be afraid. In 1923, after a large-scale earthquake in Tokyo (the great Kanto earthquake), a fiery tornado rose from multiple fires. The flame reached a height of 60m. On one of the squares, surrounded by buildings, a crowd of frightened people were trapped - in just 15 minutes, about 38,000 people died in a fiery whirlwind.

1. Sandstorm

A sandstorm, whatever you say, looks more epic than any other natural phenomenon. Someone might think: there is nothing wrong with it - it will bring sand for free and only. However, the historian Herodotus describes how in 525 BC. A sandstorm in the Sahara buried 50,000 troops alive.

But someone naive will object again: the time was dense then, people died from absolutely everything - in the era of the Internet and video bloggers, sand does not scare us. Nothing like that: in 2008, a sandstorm in Mongolia claimed the lives of 46 people. A year earlier, in 2007, such a phenomenon ended even more tragically - about 200 people died.

Our old, but already a little frightened naive friend will not calm down on this - he will begin to console himself that away from the desert, you can relax and not be afraid of dust. No matter how: in 1928 a dust storm swept through Ukraine, giving 15 million tons of Ukrainian black soil for long-term use to the nearest western neighbors. And on May 9, 2016, the residents of Irkutsk were able to enjoy a festive dust storm - Happy Victory Day, th…

• Why should you be afraid. Sandstorm kills. In addition, it can appear almost anywhere on our planet - the sands of the Sahara regularly travel across the Atlantic to please the inhabitants of the States with an unexpected visit. So no one is immune from this joy.

natural catastrophic danger emergency

On the territory of Russia there are more than 30 natural hazards and processes, among which the most destructive are floods, storm winds, downpours, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires, landslides, mudflows, snow avalanches. Most of the social and economic losses are associated with the destruction of buildings and structures due to insufficient reliability and protection from natural hazards. The most frequent on the territory of Russia are natural catastrophic atmospheric phenomena - storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, squalls (28%), followed by earthquakes (24%) and floods (19%). Dangerous geological processes, such as landslides and collapses account for 4%. The remaining natural disasters, among which forest fires have the highest frequency, total 25%. The total annual economic damage from the development of the 19 most dangerous processes in urban areas in Russia is 10-12 billion rubles. in year.

Of the geophysical extreme events, earthquakes are one of the most powerful, terrible and destructive natural phenomena. They arise suddenly, it is extremely difficult, and most often impossible, to predict the time and place of their appearance, and even more so to prevent their development. In Russia, zones of increased seismic hazard occupy about 40% of the total area, including 9% of the territory belong to 8-9-point zones. More than 20 million people (14% of the country's population) live in seismically active zones.

There are 330 settlements within seismically dangerous regions of Russia, including 103 cities (Vladikavkaz, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, etc.). The most dangerous consequences of earthquakes are the destruction of buildings and structures; fires; releases of radioactive and emergency chemically hazardous substances due to the destruction (damage) of radiation and chemically hazardous facilities; transport accidents and disasters; defeat and loss of life.

A striking example of the socio-economic consequences of strong seismic events is the Spitak earthquake in Northern Armenia, which occurred on December 7, 1988. This earthquake (magnitude 7.0) affected 21 cities and 342 villages; 277 schools and 250 healthcare facilities were destroyed or were in emergency condition; more than 170 industrial enterprises ceased to function; about 25 thousand people died, 19 thousand received various degrees of mutilation and injury. The total economic losses amounted to $14 billion.

Of the geological emergency events, landslides and mudflows are of great danger due to the massive nature of the distribution. The development of landslides is associated with the displacement of large masses of rocks along the slopes under the influence of gravitational forces. Precipitation and earthquakes contribute to the formation of landslides. In the Russian Federation, from 6 to 15 emergencies associated with the development of landslides are created annually. Landslides are widespread in the Volga region, Transbaikalia, the Caucasus and Ciscaucasia, Sakhalin and other regions. Urbanized areas are especially hard hit: 725 Russian cities are subject to landslides. Mudflows are powerful streams, saturated with solid materials, descending through mountain valleys at great speed. Mudflows are formed with rainfall in the mountains, intensive melting of snow and glaciers, as well as breakthrough of dammed lakes. Mudflow processes are manifested in 8% of the territory of Russia and develop in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, in Kamchatka, the Northern Urals and the Kola Peninsula. Under the direct threat of mudflows in Russia there are 13 cities and 42 more cities are located in potentially mudflow-prone areas. The unexpected nature of the development of landslides and mudflows often leads to the complete destruction of buildings and structures, accompanied by casualties and large material losses. Of the hydrological extreme events, floods can be one of the most common and dangerous natural phenomena. In Russia, floods rank first among natural disasters in terms of frequency, area of ​​distribution, material damage, and second after earthquakes in terms of the number of victims and specific material damage (damage per unit area affected). One severe flood covers an area of ​​the river basin of about 200 thousand km2. On average, up to 20 cities are flooded every year and up to 1 million inhabitants are affected, and in 20 years almost the entire territory of the country is covered by serious floods.

On the territory of Russia, from 40 to 68 crisis floods occur annually. The threat of floods exists for 700 cities and tens of thousands of settlements, a large number of economic facilities.

Floods are associated with significant material losses every year. In recent years, two major floods have occurred in Yakutia on the river. Lena. In 1998, 172 settlements were flooded here, 160 bridges, 133 dams, 760 km of roads were destroyed. The total damage amounted to 1.3 billion rubles.

Even more devastating was the flood in 2001. During this flood, the water in the river. Lene rose to 17 m and flooded 10 administrative districts of Yakutia. Lensk was completely flooded. About 10,000 houses were under water, about 700 agricultural and more than 4,000 industrial facilities were damaged, and 43,000 people were resettled. The total economic damage amounted to 5.9 billion rubles.

A significant role in increasing the frequency and destructive power of floods is played by anthropogenic factors - deforestation, irrational agriculture and economic development of floodplains. The formation of floods can be caused by improper implementation of flood protection measures, leading to the breakthrough of dams; destruction of artificial dams; emergency discharges of reservoirs. The aggravation of the problem of floods in Russia is also associated with the progressive aging of fixed assets of the water sector, the placement of economic facilities and housing in flood-prone areas. In this regard, the development and implementation of effective flood prevention and protection measures may be an urgent task.

Among the atmospheric hazardous processes occurring on the territory of Russia, the most destructive are hurricanes, cyclones, hail, tornadoes, heavy rains, snowfalls.

Traditional in Russia is such a disaster as a forest fire. Every year, from 10 to 30 thousand forest fires occur in the country on an area of ​​0.5 to 2 million hectares.