Which of the following natural hazards has the minimum short term duration?

Introduction / Context:
Natural hazards differ widely in both their intensity and their duration. Some hazards last for days or even weeks, while others are extremely brief but very intense. Competitive examinations often test basic conceptual understanding of which hazards are long lasting and which are almost instantaneous. This question focuses on identifying the hazard with the minimum short term duration among several common events such as blizzards, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and lightning strikes.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The options include a blizzard, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, a bolt of lightning, and a flood event.
• We are comparing the typical duration of each hazard as it is generally experienced on the surface, not the entire geological process behind it.
• The term minimum short term duration means the event that lasts for the smallest time interval for a single occurrence.

Concept / Approach:
The concept here is to rank natural hazards by the time scale of a single event. A blizzard is a snowstorm that usually continues for several hours to even more than a day. Earthquakes typically last from several seconds to a few minutes. A major volcanic eruption can continue for hours, days, or even longer with intermittent activity. Lightning, however, is an electrical discharge that lasts for a fraction of a second for each strike. Flood events may last from hours to days or weeks, depending on the size of the basin and rainfall patterns. Therefore, the approach is to identify which phenomenon is practically instantaneous compared to the others.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Consider a blizzard. A blizzard is a prolonged snowstorm with strong winds and heavy snowfall, typically lasting many hours. Step 2: Consider an earthquake. Although very sudden, most noticeable shaking in an earthquake persists for several seconds up to a few minutes. Step 3: Consider a volcanic eruption. An eruptive episode may last from minutes to days, releasing lava, ash, and gases over extended periods. Step 4: Consider a bolt of lightning. A lightning discharge usually lasts only a fraction of a second for each flash, making it an extremely brief event. Step 5: Compare these with widespread floods, which tend to persist for hours or days and do not match the very short duration of lightning.

Verification / Alternative check:
If we imagine a timeline of each hazard, we see that people can often safely measure the start and end of a blizzard, flood, or eruption in hours or days. For an earthquake, although brief, the shaking is clearly felt for more than a few seconds. For lightning, it is difficult even to time the event without instruments because the duration of each flash is extremely short. This thought experiment confirms that lightning is the shortest event among the choices.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• A severe blizzard lasts many hours and therefore cannot be the minimum duration hazard.
• A powerful earthquake, while short compared to some hazards, still lasts longer than a single lightning strike.
• A major volcanic eruption can be very prolonged and therefore has a much longer duration.
• A widespread flood event may persist for days, clearly much longer than a lightning strike.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to confuse suddenness with overall duration. Earthquakes are very sudden, so some students assume they are the shortest hazard, overlooking the fact that a lightning flash is even more instantaneous. Another pitfall is to think only of the danger or damage, rather than the time span. The question is about duration, not about which hazard is most destructive. Keeping the focus on time helps avoid such confusion.

Final Answer:
The natural hazard with the minimum short term duration is a bolt of lightning striking the ground.