1. Introduction

Priyanka was sitting on the sofa along with her uncle. Her uncle inquired, 'why are you looking sad, dear?' . In reply, Priyanka said that her classmate Rasi is hospitalised due to a minor injury caused by a broken tree branch that fell on her knees while she was returning home after school.

Shocked by this, her uncle asked her how she is feeling now? He also cautioned her that she must be very careful to keep herself away from these hazards. Wondered by the new word "hazard", she asked what is mean by "hazard"?

 

 

Now, we are also eager to know what does hazard means, right? So, let's briefly introduce it here in this section and have a detailed understanding of it in the following sections.

 

Daily, while reading the newspaper, we come across several unpleasant events caused by nature or human beings that resulted in a loss of life, injury or damage to property. Despite having several warning systems, still, most of these events are unpredictable in nature. Sometimes these events cause widespread damage in a particular region or over a wide territory.

 

In this chapter, we will learn the meanings of hazard, disaster and catastrophe, the major types of hazards, their causes and effects, and develop awareness regarding hazards and related prevention measures.