IntroductionIncreased media coverage of the impacts of catastrophic events has caused a renewed interest in natural disasters (Hamilton and Press, 2009). This article attempts to demonstrate that what the masses perceive as natural disasters is due to a number of factors. The focus is on human activities that create a favorable environment for drought to become a natural disaster in arid areas (Giorgis, 2005). Socioeconomic and environmental exposure can lead to disastrous consequences even due to unassuming vulnerability. Koffi Annan (Alexander, 2009) agrees with this. He states that human behavior mostly results in what we call natural disaster. The research paper examines the evolution of the disaster field and illustrates the factors contributing to drought conditions in the north-eastern regions of Kenya. The Evolution of the Disaster Field Alexander (2009) defines natural disasters as elements foreign to the environment that are harmful to humans. This is in accordance with the traditional view of risks as “acts of God”, against which man has no control (Alexander, 2009). Humans were believed to have no fault in allowing natural hazards to occur and were equally thought to have no power to mitigate them (Hamilton and Press, 2009). In the 20th century, the development of technologies to mitigate the impacts of disasters led to a desire to reconsider the naturalness of catastrophic events (Giorgis, 2005). Research has focused on studying the environmental triggers of natural disasters such as “geotectonics, climates and biological factors” (Boonzaier et al., 2007). However, over time we have come to realize that most disasters are due to interactions between human beings. This has led to the emergence of new theories...... middle of paper ......we invest in land reclamation and nomadic pastoral lifestyles are perceived as the biggest obstacle to converting the arid area into a 'useful agricultural land.ReferencesAlexander, WJ (2009) Coping Study on Risk and Society. Paper presented at the 1999 IDNDR Program Forum “Partnerships for a Safer World in the 21st Century”. Boonzaier, A., S. Edelstein, K. Fara, S. Kuiper, A. Speiser and S. van der Merwe (2000) Analysis of the environmental situation with regard to land degradation in the area of ​​the Orange and Fish River basins ( OFCA), Environmental Assessment Unit (EEU), Cape TownBryant, EA (2006) Natural hazards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Giorgis, DW (2005) Drought and sustainable development. In Moorson, R. (ed.) Tackling Aridity. NEPRU, Windhoek.Hamilton, R. M. and F. Press (2009) Mitigating natural disasters. Science, vol. 1284.