Natural disastersBy: Amaya A.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. What are natural disasters

3. What is the most common natural disaster in the world

4. Alabama 2011 vs. Alabama 2012

5. Can I make a volcano

6. When will the next tsunami will happen

7. How is is a hurricane made

8. Alaska 1664 or Haiti 2010

9. “Take action”

10. Pet Preparedness

11. Reflection

Project By: Amaya Aranda

introduction

When my teacher, Ms. Shay, told me to pick a topic for my new project,

I couldn’t think of a single topic I liked. When I went home for the weekend that

day, I heard that there was a tornado storm in mid western USA. Ignoring the

news, that Saturday, I happened to turn the TV, and to my surprise, it was the

news. The report was on the tornado storm that happened the day before. I saw

all of the houses destroyed by the storm and felt so bad for the owners of them.

I wanted to help. I remembered that on that Friday, Ms. Shay told me to “take

action” on my next project. I wanted to help the people who were hurt, mentally

and physically, from other disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.) as

well as tornado storms. At that moment, I decided, “I’m doing my project on

natural disasters.”

In this project, I will tell you my 7 questions and answers with resources

from books, websites, etc. The questions I will answer are: What are natural

disasters and what is the most common disaster in the world; What are the

similarities and differences between the tornado of Alabama 2011 and the

tornado of Alabama 2012; Can I make a volcano; Can I determine when the

next tsunami will happen; How is a hurricane made; Ask ISP, which earthquake

was stronger? Alaska, 1964 or Haiti, 2010; and, how are you going to “take

action” on this project? I will also include a reflection on what I think of this topic

now, an opinion survey, a model of an erupting volcano, a game, and a diorama

of a tornado that really works!

What are natural disasters

A natural disaster is a disaster caused by nature or the Earth.

Sometimes bacteria and virus epidemics are considered natural disasters. All of

the natural known to man are; epidemics, earthquakes, fires/wildfires, floods,

heat/heat waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides, thunderstorms,

snowstorms/blizzards, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, mudslides,

drought, sandstorms, famine, hail, and windstorms.

The most recent natural disaster was a ______ in _____ on

_____,2012.

What is the most common disaster

The most common natural disaster is a flood. Based on data collected from 1970-2005, 30.7% of all natural disasters were floods. In America, a flood has the “deadliest” weather condition with about 200 deaths (the most of any natural disaster) from them each year.

The top 5 natural disasters are:

1. Foods

2. Windstorms

3. Epidemics

4. Earthquakes

5. Drought

flood

Alabama 2011 vs. Alabama 2012A

lab

am

a 2

011

• The largest tornado storm ever

• April 25-28, 2011

• Hit 21 states

• 358 tornadoes

• 346 killed

• $11 billion to fix damages

• April 27 was the most damaging day

• Affected Canada Sim

ilaritie

s

• In USA

• HIT Midwest, USA

• Dangerous

• People were killed

• Property was destroyed

• Tornado storms

• Natural disasters

• On the had multiple tornados A

lab

am

a 2

012

• Not the largest tornado storm

• January 22-23, 2012

• Hit 8 states

• 25 tornadoes

• 2 killed

• $30 million to fix damages

• January 22 was the most damaging day

• Didn’t affect Canada

can I make a volcano

Before I put the clay around the bottle, I used the bottle by itself. I

added water, dishwashing detergent, baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar.

The first time I tried it didn’t work. I tried again and put less baking soda and it

worked. I realized that baking soda and vinegar caused the reaction but if you

put too much of one thing it dissolves in the water instead of erupting.

Much like a real volcano, the vinegar and the baking soda are like the

minerals inside the planet added to the high temperatures that create magma, a

fluid made of melted rock, gasses, and minerals. The bubbles that escape from

my volcano create a harmless bubbly mess. The power of the eruption of a real

volcano depends on the kind of gasses released as well as the magma’s

thickness. This natural disaster has killed up to 26,000 people in one deadly

eruption.

Real volcano

When will the next tsunami happen

According to my research, tsunamis aren’t very common. I think the

next tsunami will be this year somewhere in Asia. I think the next tsunami will

be this year because while I was researching this question, I noticed that a

tsunami only happens 1-2 times every other year or every year and there hasn’t

been one since 2011. I think it will be in Asia because most of the tsunamis that

happened in the 2000’s were in different parts of Asia.

I wanted to get a different opinion on this question so I got an one from

the National Geographic website. It said that the next tsunami will come in April

of 2012 and is suposivly going to be a huge one. It also said that it will be in the

country of Japan, but there are different theories about this and there is still no

way to correctly predict a tsunami and many other natural disasters.

How is a hurricane made

A hurricane, or tropical cyclone, is a type of thunderstorm that is usually made along the area slightly near the top and the bottom of the equator (or the tropical region). They are formed when the water/ocean gets warm and starts to evaporate into the air. As the warm water goes into the air, the cold water replaces it, but then turns warm almost immediately. As the moist air goes up, it cools and condenses into storm clouds. Thunderstorms with less than 23mph begin to form and the warm water continues to build more thunderstorms while most cluster together.

The winds strengthen and start to blow in a circle. A rotating column of air begins to form in the center of the storm. Winds are now ranging from 23-34mph and cooler high pressure areas continue to push into warmer, low pressure areas. The storm then grows bigger and the winds get stronger (39-73mph). A well known column of air, or the “eye”, forms even bigger in the center of the storm and begins to pull in whatever comes close to it. If the hurricane is strong, it can release tornadoes onto the land closest to it (this is one of the main reasons tornadoes are formed). Scientists are trying to work on stopping this disaster but today, there is no working technique right now.

Hurricane katrina from space

Alaska 1964 OR HAITI 2010

77%23%

Haiti USA/Alaska

I was surprised to see that only 11

people (23%) guessed Haiti

instead of Alaska. I thought that

more people would guess Haiti

because it was the most recent

earthquake and it was all over the

news in 2010. I thought more

people would guess Haiti but then

I realize why most guessed

Alaska. It occurred to me that

Alaska is about half the size of the

US and Haiti is about 1/8 of the

US. So my classmates who

chose Alaska were correct and

know their geography.

“take action”

Midwest, USA : TORNADO STORM

I want to help the people who

suffered from the tornado storm of

Midwest, USA in 2012. I want to help

this cause because I researched this

for my project and saw that it would

take $30 million to fix all of the damage

done by the tornadoes. I’d like to help

at least one person get their life back to

normal. Once l collect all of the

money, I will donate all of it to the

American Red Cross and a percentage

will go to this cause and the rest will go

to the American Red Cross to keep the

program running.

Haiti : Earthquake

The second place I will help is Haiti because of the earthquake in 2010. I want to help these people because my mom told me that she had a friend who is a nurse named Lori Davis. She goes to Haiti about three times every year to help treat people who are hurt or have diseases (such as cholera) because of the damage the earthquake did to their country. I wanted to help her raise money so she can take the medicine she needs to help the people of Haiti. The money I raise for Haiti will be given to Lori so she can buy new medicine and supplies for her next trip to Haiti in July of 2012.

Pet preparedness

As I was researching these places, I came across an article about the pets that get lost or hurt during natural disasters. It said that there is a new device where you clip a tag onto your pet’s collar (and you keep a replica) so if your pet ever gets in a disaster or gets lost a certain day, you scan the replica of the tag with the Scan Life app on your iPhone, and it shows you exactly where your pet is! I went to my local American Red Cross to get more information about this and I found a book about how to prepare you and your dog for a disaster. At the end of my project, I will show you this book and will demonstrate how to care for your pet after a disaster using, my very own, pet dog.

reflection

In conclusion, I have learned a lot since I started this project. I learned

that a flood has the “deadliest” whether conditions in America, that the tornado

storm in the Midwestern USA was the biggest tornado storm ever recorded, and

that I could change a persons life by just donating $20 dollars to people who

need it most. Now that I’ve done this project, I realize that natural disasters can

strike at any time and anywhere, worldwide. I also realize that you can’t stop all

natural disasters that come your way and that even though you don’t think you

live in a disaster prone area, being prepared can save your life.

The end