A natural hazard differs from a catastrophic as well as a natural disaster. before taking this course I thought they all pretty meant the same thing but I was sadly mistaken. A Natural hazard is an event that happens natural but becomes a hazard when human life is affected or loss due to it. A Catastrophe on the other hand is a violent and tragic even that often leaves a change in a feature of the earth like Hurricane Katrina which also happened to be the most costly catastrophe in history. A natural disaster is a major event caused by the forces of nature like landslides, floods and fires.