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Natural disasters are a fact of our world, and have occurred, and will continue to occur, and while we may never be able to prevent these disasters, we are getting close to being able to predicting them. The prediction of natural disasters requires scientists to study and analyze past disasters and attempt to find patterns [All02]. To do this they track radars such as the Doppler radar, which is able to able to indicate the wind direction, wind speed and boundaries between warm fronts and cold fronts and compare data to predict the likelihood of these events happening again [Natnd1]. Scientists also use observation tools off shore to track the size of waves and wind patterns, and by monitoring ocean currents, weather patterns can be predicted and surrounding populated areas can be evacuated [The12]. Ships and airplanes are also used as moving weather stations, recording weather data at their current position. In addition, each day 1800 lightweight cylinders loaded with sensors, known as dropsondes, are dropped and they collect weather information [Natnd]. Weather is also predicted using mathematical calculations using supercomputers that are capable of high-speed calculations, are fed weather information from multiple sources. They perform calculations that take into account many factors such as air pressure differences, solar radiation, the Earth's rotation, and the water cycle, as well as the current information [Natnd1]. .
100 years ago earthquakes were only just being recorded, however the first device built to detect earthquakes was in China 135ce [Abb12]. Scientists have tried and failed over the years, using various different methods, to predict earthquakes. All scientists can say is that if there is a fault line there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when that will happen. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake prone countries, and they experience hundreds of tremors each year.
