Natural Disasters

Disaster Database

• Avalanche • Earthquakes• Hurricanes• Landslides• Thunderstorms• Tornados• Tsunami• Volcanoes

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•Resources•Concept Map•About the Author

Avalanches

• Avalanches Happen on every continent• Avalanche Season is during the “winter time”

or December-April in the United States• A large scale can release up to 300,000 cubic

yards of snow• Avalanches are more commonly released by

recreationists than by natural causes• The biggest factor of avalanche possibility is

the accumulation snow over the winter season– More snow = bigger avalanche

Click on Image for An Avalanche

Video

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Earthquakes

• Earthquakes are caused by the release of built up pressure caused by the shifting of tectonic plates

• Earthquakes usually occur on fault lines, or areas where tectonic plates meet

• The size of an earthquake is measured using the logarithmic based Richter scale

An aerial view of the San Andreas fault in the

Carrizo Plain, Central California Quit

Hurricanes• A hurricane is a tropical storm

with winds over 74mph• Hurricanes occupy the most

intense level of the three levels of tropical storms

• Hurricanes rotate or circulate counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere

• Hurricanes can only occur over the Atlantic ocean, Caribbean sea, and gulf of Mexico

View of a Hurricane from Space

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Landslides• Landslides are the movement of land

down a slope by gravity• Landslides are mother nature’s way

of redistributing land• They can be triggered by rain, floods,

and earthquakes as well as man-made factors such as slope grading or mining

• Landslides have the potential to happen anywhere a steep slope is present

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Thunder Storms• Every Thunderstorm produces

lightning• There is wet thunder and dry

thunder, the difference being whether or not rain in produced

• Warm humid conditions favor thunderstorms

• Only 10% of thunderstorms are classified as severe

• Your chance of being struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000

Multiple Lightning Strikes and a Supercell Thunderstorm formation

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Tornados• A tornado is defined as a violently

rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground

• Tornados are found in almost every part of the world

• Tornados are most common in the United States, just east of the Rocky Mountains in an area called Tornado Ally

• Waterspouts are weak tornados over water and can move inland and become tornados

Click on Image to View a Tornado Chaser’s

Video

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Tsunamis

• On the seafloor, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and even landslides can lead to tsunamis

• Tsunamis can travel over 300mph

• Tsunamis can have an amplitude of up to 32ft

• Hawaii is the most vulnerable place in the world for tsunamis

Click On Image To view Some Tsunami Footage

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Volcanoes

• Volcanoes are lava filled mountains that erupt when the pressure becomes to great for them to hold it inside

• The contents that a volcano spews forth is called magma when it’s below the surface and lava once it reaches the surface

• Only a fraction of the world’s volcanoes are actually on land, the rest are on the ocean floor

• Indonesia has the most volcanoes of all the countries in the world

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ResourcesINFO•http://nsidc.org/snow/avalanche/ •http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/ •http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml •http://www.fema.gov/hazard/thunderstorm/index.shtm •http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html•http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/tsunami.htm •http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/tsunami.htm •http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4886 •http://www.ussartf.org/landslides.htm IMAGES•http://bp2.blogger.com/_6Y-NXZmDcxU/R00BlI_HOCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/BQb-y1gOOag/s1600-h/tornado_lightning.jpg•http://environmentdebate.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/extreme-weather.jpg•http://theconservativemanifesto.blogtownhall.com/2008/01 •http://www.floridalightning.com/files/Supercell_Thunderstorm.jpg •http://www.thelmagazine.com/lmag_blog/files/Images/lightning.jpg •http://rumela.com/travel/paricutin_volcano_index.htm •http://current.com/items/88903589_colombian_volcano_erupts_thousands_flee•http://blog.lib.umn.edu/salwa002/architecture/ •http://www.destination360.com/central-america/costa-rica/arenal-volcano.php •http://kshitija.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/landslides-prevention/

VIDEO•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0RWLxOFGLY •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEUXr6FMtWk•http://livesaildie.com/2007/04/

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Concept Map

About the Author•Ben Darin 19 yrs old and is currently in his second

year at Grand Valley State University

•He is studying Elementary Education with an emphisis in Integrated Science and hope to

eventually be able to teach 3rd grade some day

•Ben has one younger brother, Eric who is currently a senior at Comstock Park High School

•If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact him at

darinbe@student.gvsu.edu Quit

Click On the Image For Video of AvalanchesReturn to

Avalanches