Coastal hazards

Coastal Hazards are physical phenomena that expose a coastal area to risk of property damage, loss of life and environmental degradation. Rapid-onset hazards last over periods of minutes to several days and examples include major cyclones accompanied by high winds, waves and surges or tsunamis created by submarine earthquakes and landslides. Slow-onset hazards develop incrementally over longer time periods and examples include erosion and gradual inundation. Coastal Hazards are physical phenomena that expose a coastal area to risk of property damage, loss of life and environmental degradation. Rapid-onset hazards last over periods of minutes to several days and examples include major cyclones accompanied by high winds, waves and surges or tsunamis created by submarine earthquakes and landslides. Slow-onset hazards develop incrementally over longer time periods and examples include erosion and gradual inundation. Since early civilisation, coastal areas have been attractive settling grounds for human population as they provided abundant marine resources, fertile agricultural land and possibilities for trade and transport. This has led to high population densities and high levels of development in many coastal areas and this trend is continuing into the 21st century. At present, about 1,2 billion people live in coastal areas globally, and this number is predicted to increase to 1,8–5,2 billion by the 2080s due to a combination of population growth and coastal migration. Along with this increase follows major investments in infrastructure and the build environment. The characteristics of coastal environments, however, pose some great challenges to human habitation. Coastlines are highly dynamic natural systems that interact with terrestrial, marine and atmospheric processes and undergo continuous change in response to these processes. Over the years, human society has often failed to recognize the hazards related to these dynamics and this has led to major disasters and societal disruption to various degrees. Even today, coastal development is often taking place with little regard to the hazards present in these environments, although climate change is likely to increase the general hazard levels. Societal activities in coastal areas can also pose a hazard to the natural balance of coastal systems, thereby disrupting e.g. sensitive ecosystems and subsequently human livelihood.