Environmental disaster defined

An environmental disaster is defined as an environmental emergency or ecologic disruption of a severity and magnitude resulting in deaths, injuries, illness, and/or property damage that cannot be effectively managed by the application of routine procedures or resources and that result in a need for additional assistance. The consequences of the damage to the environment will vary based on the type of hazard, the mechanism of its... 

Risk is the probability of harm or loss and can be considered to be a product of the probability and the severity of specific consequences. Risk, as it relates to hazardous wastes and groundwater contamination, may be defined as the chance that humans or other organisms will sustain adverse effects from exposure to these environmental hazards. Risk is inherent in the life of all organisms—humans, animals, and plants. Tornadoes, landslides, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters carry a risk of injury or death to any living thing in their path. Similarly, human-caused risks such as automobile accidents, plane crashes, and nuclear disasters occur with varying levels of severity. 

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