Hazards Is an event whether natural or man-made that has potential for causing injury, loss of life and damage to the property or the environment. It can be grouped into two broad categories, namely natural and man-made.

Earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis etc. are the examples of natural hazards which have a natural origin whereas man made hazards are those which occur due to human negligence, war, explosion of bombs, industrial pollution, industrial accidents, leakage of toxic wastes, dam failure, rail, road and air accidents are some examples of man-made hazards.

Some forms of  hazard like landslides, floods, droughts and fires fall under the category of both natural and man-made hazards for instance-flooding can take place because of heavy rain which is a natural phenomenon or may be due to lack of drainage facility which is the result of human negligence.

If a hazards cause multiple casualties, it may be termed as a multiple hazards for example-if an earthquake causes landslides and consequently the flow of river is hindered, resulting in floods, then it is a multiple hazard.

Area of hazards:   different types of hazards occur in different areas for example earthquakes, landslides; avalanches are more common in mountainous regions while cyclones, floods are prevalent in coastal areas. Similarly, sandstorms take place in desert areas while droughts mostly occur in plateau region.