Why does God allow natural disasters?

Many of the recent earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes have been attributed to God, causing many to question God’s goodness. It is interesting to note that natural disasters are often called “acts of God” whereas no credit is given to Him for decades of peaceful weather. To start out, natural disasters are normally due to the laws of nature that God put into place when He created the universe. Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely. Sometimes He does influence the weather (Deuteronomy 11:17, James 5:17). Sometimes natural disasters are judgments against sin (Numbers 16:30-34). But is every natural disaster a punishment from God? No way.
So why does He allow them? Sometimes because it’s the result of a fallen world, other times it’s judgment. But we should trust first and foremost that God is good. Romans 8:28 makes it clear that God can bring great good out of certain tragedies.