​The course broadly introduces Natural and Environmental disasters that engineers might encounter in their careers and describes the physical processes involved. The course focuses on the physical mechanisms in Nature that create disasters that affect people and the built and natural environment on a large scale. The Earth Ocean and Atmospheric system will be introduced and we will discuss the dynamic effects that create motion in the core, mantle, atmosphere, oceans, on rivers, snow and mud, driving almost every large scale disaster on the planet - all disasters occur because of motion, normally because of the actions rotation of the Earth and of gravity on different scales. Topics will be selected from events such as Hurricanes, Volcanic ash dispersion, tsunamis, surge waves, oil spills, pollution release and urban heat island, industrial accidents, volcanoes, breaking dams, snow avalanches. Earthquakes will not be covered. This module also relates to the topic of disaster risk reduction: relating specifically to case studies from recent disaster events, which have been well documented and researched. The course will introduce a risk assessment framework and discuss issues such as risk, exposure, and vulnerability to disasters. Students will be expected to carry out independent research on a topic that interests them and to work in groups.