The Difference Between a Hazard, a Natural Disaster and a Catastrophe

As per stated by Keller, a hazard is "...a natural process and event that is a potential threat to human life and property." A natural disaster is "...a hazardous event that occurs over a limited time span within a defined criteria. Criteria for a natural disaster are (1) 10 or more people are killed, (2) 100 or more people are affected, (3) a state of emergency is declared, and (4) international assistance is requested. A catastrophe is defined as "...a massive disaster that requires significant expenditure of money and a long time (often years) for recovery to take place" (Paragraph 6).