Why do scientists study natural disasters?

Question

I'm doing a research project for school and my teacher said I should mention why scientists study natural disasters.

Answer 1

Scientists study natural disasters for many reasons.  They try to learn more about those disasters to see if there are any patterns that can help predict the occurrence of the disaster.  For example, by learning more about tornadoes and the weather conditions that cause them, predicting the possibility of tornadoes has improved.   Tools such as Doppler radar has let meteorologists look inside a storm to see wind circulation patterns.  This has improved the warning lead time that is given to people in the potential path of a tornado.

     Scientists also look at the aftermath of a disaster to assess the impact of the disaster on the general population.  For example, tornado severity is assessed by looking at damage done to buildings, trees, power poles and other indicators after the tornado has gone.  By assessing this impact after an event, scientists can not only figure out how severe a storm was, but also gather data that can be used by the housing industry to improve building design to weather a tornado, and gather data on potential injuries or deaths to try to determine what could have been done to avoid these injuries or deaths in future storms.  

     This kind of analysis happens in almost all natural disasters (volcanoes, tidal waves, earth quakes, hurricanes, etc), but I chose to use tornadoes as an example since you asked this question in the weather board.

     Thanks, and hope this helps!

Answer 2

We study disasters to prepare for the future.  How to evacuate a community,  provide food and shelter and how even to restore electric after a storm.   It also helps to better predict future events.