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Dictionary

Flood
Hurricane classification: Saffir-Simpson Scale
Intensity and magnitude (Earthquakes)
Parametric insurance
Storm surge
Tsunami

UN/ISDR: Terminology of disaster risk reduction (http://www.unisdr.org/eng/terminology/terminology-2009-eng.html)

 ♦ Flood

→ Flash flood: sudden -even violent- flood as a result of heavy rainfalls or great amount of precipitations occurred in a delimited area and in a short period of time, causing saturation of soils and rivers and streams overflows.
 
The Saffir-Simpson Scale is a way of classifying the hurricanes (higher intensity than tropical storms) taking place in the Western Hemisphere (Atlantic Ocean and Northern Pacific Ocean).
 
→ Intensity indicates the effects of an earthquake: how is felt by population and type of damage produced by the shake. Several Scales are used around the world: Modified Mercalli Scale (MM) in the United States and Hong Kong; European Mocroseismic Scale (EMS) in Europe; the Shindo Scale in Japan and Taiwan; the Medvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik scale (MSK) in Russia, several former Soviet Republics, India and Israel; and the Liedu Scale in China.
→ Magnitude indicates the size of and earthquake according to the energy released. The scales more used around the world are: the Richter Scale (also known as Local Magnitude Scale) and the Moment Magnitude Scale.
 
This specific insurance does not protect the insured against total loss. It pays a predefined amount according to an ex ante agreement provided that a triggering event (normally a natural catastrophe) occurs.
 
It is an abnormal rise of the water level in the coast caused by the wind stress and/or by an atmospheric pressure decrease during a cyclonic event, and which can cause severe flooding in coastal areas.
 
Japanese word meaning “harbour wave”. It is a huge –large and high- ocean wave travelling very fast -up to 900 km/h.- and caused by great disturbances under the sea (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, underwater explosions...), meteorite impacts, etc.