The difference between Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes... also Indonesia

First of all we should look at the definitions of these words.

 A hazard is danger or risk that can occur.
 A disaster is a sudden event that causes damage or death.
 A catastrophe is an escalated disaster.

Obviously a hazard is something that does necessitate immediate threat, rather it is an indicator that something has the potential to cause harm. For example: a fire is a hazard that can cause both burns and suffocation.

A disaster is when something suddenly happens that inflicts harm to a person or their belongings. For example: if a set of clothes were to be set on fire, that is a disaster as belonging were damaged.

A catastrophe on the other hand, is when a disaster escalates into something much more dangerous to a greater number of people. For example: if a building was set on fire that is a catastrophe as more people are being directly harmed.

Note all these definitions come before reading the book and are more layman terms rather than strictly geological terminology.

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Indonesia is a cluster of tropical islands and archipelagos located off the coast of southeast Asia. It is part of the "Ring of Fire" and as such is an incredibly geologically active region wherein volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis are prone to happen. This coupled with the lush jungle and many animals and diseases associated with them makes the region a dangerous place to inhabit. And yet it has been a place of human habitation for at least several thousand years.