Singapore Introduction

 Hi all,

The country that I have chosen for the semester is Singapore. Singapore is a small tropical country in South-east Asia. There are around five million inhabitants in the country and there is a strong diversity of language in this country. English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil are the four most popular languages on this Island. When it comes to natural disasters and hazards, there are quite a few. Singapore can experience flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, tropical cyclones, and many more. All of which come from being near a plate and being a tropical island/country as well. Although Singapore has its share of natural hazards, I would definitely love to visit this country due to its beautiful scenery and cleanliness.

Hazards, disasters, and catastrophes are all quite similar and related, but quite different. A hazard is the potential threat of an event. Things such as landslides, earthquakes, and flooding. Think of it as a potential for danger. A disaster is the after effect when people are now being affected by it negatively. Say that a landslide wipes out a few houses. That would be a hazard that has become a disaster. Finally a catastrophe is similar to a disaster but on a larger scale. For instance, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that wiped out many cities and ended up killing many people. As you can see, these are all related to each other but have a huge difference in effect.