Events that we consider disasters are often simply part of the normal physical processes of the earth, or else natural environmental responses to human activities.  Examples of marine related disasters include:

• Hurricanes
• Tsunamis
• Harmful algal blooms (HABs)
• Coral bleaching
• Invasive species
• Oil spills
• Coastal flooding / sea level rise

The majority of the impacts on humanity of these disasters occur in coastal areas, and range from property damage and food and water contamination to habitat destruction and loss of life.  The economic consequences of these impacts can be severe, and to the fragile economies of developing nations, crippling. These impacts are essentially unpreventable, as it is not within our technical capabilities to keep phenomena such as tsunamis and hurricanes from occurring; and while HAB’s, coral bleaching, invasive species and oil spills are linked to human activities, current patterns of human behaviour also make them difficult to prevent. Also, global climate change has been linked to an increase in extreme weather events, and many of the consequences of climate change (sea level rise, flooding, variations of weather patterns) will manifest themselves as disasters, particularly in the coastal areas.  Therefore, disaster mitigation is a priority for the IOC, and IOC activities involve not only promoting the use of science and technology for preparedness (via forecasting and planning), but also prevention (in the case of disasters caused by human activities).