1) The document defines and describes several types of natural disasters including tornadoes, volcanoes, wildfires, avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
2) It explains the mechanisms that cause these events such as the release of gases in volcanic eruptions, snow flowing rapidly down slopes to cause avalanches, and the sudden release of energy in the earth's crust that generates seismic waves in earthquakes.
3) Many natural disasters can have devastating impacts through their ability to destroy infrastructure and threaten human lives.