EARTH 270Disasters and Natural Hazards
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Earth Sciences
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
The course will examine the physical causes and affects of natural disasters including landslides, snow avalanches, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, subsidence, volcanic eruptions, and asteroid impacts. Illustrated by case histories, the course will analyze the factors that lead to disasters. The effect of climate change, human activity, and population growth on the magnitude and frequency of disasters will be explored. The course will introduce the basic principles of Geo-Risk management and its applications in natural hazards engineering, in the development of mitigation strategies and in the re-insurance industry.
Prerequisites
None listed.
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 081 | 6951 | 0 / 300 | Online or by arrangement |
| LEC 701 | 2603 | 177 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
67% liked it78% easy47% useful
From 55 ratings and 19 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Took this course W25 for its first run as an online course with Nahyan Rana. Course is structured VERY similarly to EARTH 122, since it was designed by Dr. Keith Delaney. Grades were 5x5% quizzes (20 m/c 1 mark each, 5 short answer 2 marks each), 4x5% discussion posts, 15% individual case study, 15% group case study (pick a group member's individual case study and make a presentation... 14% presentation, 1% peer review), and a 25% final exam. Each week has a required reading (that you can just skim), which do not appear in the final exam but may appear as a short answer question in the quizzes. Quizzes were fairly straightforward, with a couple questions that were sometimes bizarrely…
Apr 2025 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Had the course for its first online offering. I would not recommend taking it; the online quizzes were very time-constrained, the discussion posts were graded harshly (especially at the start), and the online group video assignment involves randomised group members, so if you get unlucky with incompetent members, good luck! It took the TAs a long time to grade the work as well, which did not help in learning off of feedback. There is also an individual project which was quite fun and easy, but takes a lot of research. Oh, and there's a cumulative final worth 25% of your grade. Have fun!
Apr 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
easy course. predictable tests. nice prof. didn't feel any part of the content was hard to understand, having taken EARTH122 there was a bit of overlap of content with that course. also, i thought it was cool how we talked about recent/current events in the class like 2024 taiwan earthquake or 2023 turkey-syria earthquake.
Apr 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Great course for anyone that wants to learn about natural disasters that are happening in our world and ways that we deal with them. Really enjoyed the last topic of this course on asteroid impacts.
Apr 2017 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Taken in S26 with Chris Houser, the Dean of Science. Fake online course. Walked into the exam with 20 minutes of studying over the entire term and got high 80s.
Jul 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
17 posts and comments in 15 threads mention EARTH 270, October 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Spring 2024
Easiest Science / Sustainability Elective 2 points, 1 comment
u/ArbitraryAxolotl: “… EARTH270 - Disasters and Natural Hazards ENVS200 - Field Ecology SCI200 - Energy - Its Development, Use, and Issues SCI201 - Global Warming and Climate Change BIOL489 - Arctic Ecology”
Waiting for that last grade to appear in Quest be like: 139 points, 7 comments
u/natthatt: “me w EARTH270 lol”
Winter 2024
No Learn access for EARTH 270? 3 points, 1 comment
u/Elcinkayi: “Anyone else don't see EARTH 270 in their Learn? It's in my calendar on Quest :/”
Winter 2023
How do people manage to finish an exam in 30 minutes? (EARTH270) 9 points, 1 comment
u/colaroga: “There were literally 25 short answer questions, 30 T/F and no multiple choice - I've never seen somebody write that quickly in my life. After the 1hr mark a whole group of people walked out and only a few stayed till the end.”
Winter 2021
EARTH270 Exam 1 point, 3 comments
EARTH 270 Final is is less than 2 weeks, no midterm marks released yet. 24 points, 7 comments
u/zgadgu: “Like come on, where is my tuition going. The midterm was over a month ago and this is the only thing that we submitted so far in this course.”
EARTH 270 Midterm 4 points, 3 comments
Bird courses without required textbook? 6 points, 12 comments
u/LonelyBiochemMajor: “EARTH270”
Fall 2019
What’s an elective course that you found super enjoyable? 31 points, 41 comments
“It doesn’t have to be a bird course. Just any course you didn’t have to take but ended up liking it.”
u/Hahaimalwayslikethis: “EARTH 270 Disasters and hazards. Took it because it was a bird course but it was actually interesting, even the final report didn't make me want to off myself.”
Fall 2018
SCI 238 or Earth 270 as an "easy" elective 4 points, 11 comments
“Help the boy decide! Side A vs. Side B pretty much on Scorpion”
u/YoSeanyBoii: “Took both courses and got 91 vs 93 so I can confirm "easy" elective. SCI 238 is definitely more interesting, but EARTH 270 wasn't bad because he shows a lot of examples on historical disaster events.”
u/purplebucket21: “Tbh EARTH 270 was extremely easy and didn’t really have many assignments I took it last winter and got a 90”
Fall 2017
Bird courses recommendations (easy to get >90%) for next term? 8 points, 31 comments
“Have a lot of hard courses next term, looking for something to balance them out. Some courses are easy to pass but hard to get over 90 in, and I'm not looking for those. …”
u/YoSeanyBoii: “take EARTH 270. No pre-reqs and it is very easy. Once a week and 2.5% bonus for attending class, pm me if u need more details”
What are some easy electives, EARTH270? 1 point, 3 comments
u/spookynarutoCS: “… I was thinking of taking EARTH 270 (Disasters and Natural Hazards) but was not sure if its as easy as it sounds. Just for reference I took EARTH 121 last semester but found it kind of hard. …”
u/Caladbolgll: “EARTH 270 is easy ONLY IF you attend to all lectures. The slide barely includes any details, so don't even attempt to study at home. Also, there's a 30 page-ish report you have to do for a term. I wouldn't call it a bird course. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them