Natural Disaters

POWERS OF NATURENATURAL DISATSTERS

NATURAL DISATSTERSAVALANCHES

EARTHQUAKES

FLOODS

HURRICANES

TORNADOS TSUNAMI VOLCANO

S

WILDFIRES

AVALANCHES

• An AVALANCHE is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity.

• It is typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending snow.

• Avalanches kill more than 150 people worldwide each year. Most are snowmobilers, skiers, and snowboarders.

FLOODS

• A FLOOD results from days of heavy rain and/or melting snows, when rivers rise and go over their banks.

• What is a FLASH FLOOD?

It is sudden flooding that occurs when floodwaters rise rapidly with no warning within several hours of an intense rain. They often occur after intense rainfall from slow moving thunderstorms.

EARTHQUAKES

• EARTHQUAKES are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth’s surface.

• They are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress.

• More than a million earthquakes rattle the world each year.

• The West Coast is most at risk of having an earthquake, but earthquakes can happen in the Midwest and along the East Coast.

• EARTHQUAKES can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted - although scientists are working on it!

TORNADOS• A TORNADO is a violent

rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.

• The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300 mph.

• They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards.

• In an average year, 1000 tornadoes are reported nationwide.

• What is a funnel cloud?

A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-shaped column of air extending downward from the base of a thunderstorm, but not touching the ground. When it reaches the ground it is called a tornado.

VOLCANOS

• A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth.

• When pressure builds up, eruptions occur.

• Gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments.

• Eruptions can cause lateral blasts, lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods.

• Volcano eruptions have been known to knock down entire forests.

• An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rock falls.

HURRICANES• A hurricane is a huge storm! It can

be up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiralling inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each hurricane usually lasts for over a week, moving 10-20 miles per hour over the open ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an "eye." The center of the storm or "eye" is the calmest part. It has only light winds and fair weather. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars.

The Eye of the Hurricane

WILDFIRES• A wildfire also known as a wild

land fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire, bushfire (in Australia), or hill fire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wild land areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources.

• Wildfires often begin unnoticed, but they spread quickly igniting brush, trees and homes.

• Common causes of wildfires include lightning, human carelessness, arson, volcano eruption, etc.

• More than four out of every five wildfires are caused by people.

TSUNAMI• Tsunami (pronounced soo-

nahm-ee) is a series of huge waves that happen after an undersea disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcano eruption. (Tsunami is from the Japanese word for harbor wave.)

• The waves travel in all directions from the area of disturbance, much like the ripples that happen after throwing a rock.

• The waves may travel in the open sea as fast as 450 miles per hour. As the big waves approach shallow waters along the coast they grow to a great height and smash into the shore.

• They can be as high as 100 feet.

• They can cause a lot of destruction on the shore.

• They are sometimes mistakenly called "tidal waves," but tsunami have nothing to do with the tides.

POWERS OF NATURE

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