#355. Natural Disaster Blooms Taxonomy

other, level: Elementary
Posted by Andrea Simms (smile_sonrisa@hotmail.com).
Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, OK
Materials Required: various
Activity Time: various
Concepts Taught: Higher level thinking about Natural Diasters

This is Natural Disaster Blooms Taxonomy. It could be used with a unit on weather. The information on the different disasters is for information cards that could be included in the Blooms folder. I mounted my cards on construction paper and then laminated them. I also included several investigative reports and blank outline maps of the United States.

Natural Disasters
floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes

Choose a Disaster and answer the following questions about it.

1. Read about your disaster. List what happens during it.
2. Locate and shade in the area on the US map where this disaster is most likely to occur.
3. Illustrate your disaster.
4. Investigate a real occurrence of your chosen disaster. Fill out an INVESTIGATIVE REPORT.
5. Prepare a list of things you might need for you disaster safety kit. Also include where you should go to be safe at home and at school.
6. Decide whether your family is ready for your disaster. Tell why or why not.

EARTHQUAKE
A sudden, transient motion or trembling of the earth's crust, result from the waves in the earth caused by faulting of the rocks or by volcanic activity.

Earthquakes are caused by the release of energy deep within the earth and are a terrifying threat to life and property across the United States. Although the earth feels solid, it is really only partly so. The earth's crust is made up of giant plates of solid material that is riding on top of a more liquid portion of the earth's mantle. The plates have been moving slowly for millions of years. These gradual movements have shaped the physical features of the earth, leaving scars or "faults" where they have split or come together. A fault is a fracture in the crust of the earth along which rocks on one side have moved relative to those on the other side. It is a thin zone of crushed rock between two blocks of rock, and can be any length, from centimeters to thousands of kilometers. Most faults are the result of repeated displacements over a long period of time. They are areas of stress that cause a crack in the rock or soil along the earth's surface. Some may extend deep underground, towards the earth's interior. Many earthquakes occur where the earth's crustal plates grind and shift along one another.

Did you know the Richter Scale can measure the magnitude of an earthquake?

Information found at the Weather Channel (www.weather.com)

FLOOD
High water flow or an overflow of rivers or streams from their natural or artificial banks inundates adjacent low lying areas.

FLASH FLOOD
A flood that rises and falls quite rapidly with little or no advance warning, usually as the result of intense rainfall over a relatively small area. Flash floods can be caused by situations such as a sudden excessive rainfall, the failure of a dam, or the thaw of an ice jam.

During recent years, floods and flash floods have caused billions of dollars in damage each year. They are among the most common and widespread of all natural hazards. Even more importantly, they're the number one weather-related killer. A flood can happen anywhere -- along the Mississippi, in New England, even in the desert.

A Flood (commonly called River Flood) is a high flow or overflow of water from a river or similar body of water, occurring over a period of time too long to be considered a flash flood. Flooding is caused in a variety of ways. Winter or spring rains, coupled with melting snows, can fill river basins too quickly. Torrential rains from decaying hurricanes or other tropical systems can also produce river flooding. The Mississippi River Flood of 1993 was caused by repeated heavy rain from thunderstorms over a period of weeks.

Information found at the Weather Channel (www.weather.com)

HURRICANE
The name for a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 74 miles per hour (65 knots) or greater in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. This same tropical cyclone is known as a typhoon in the western Pacific and a cyclone in the Indian Ocean.

HURRICANE WARNING
A formal advisory issued by forecasters at the National Hurricane Center when they have determined that hurricane conditions are expected in a coastal area or group of islands within a 24-hour period. A warning is used to inform the public and marine interests of the storm's location, intensity, and movement.

HURRICANE WATCH
A formal advisory issued by forecasters at the National Hurricane Center when they have determined that hurricane conditions are a potential threat to a coastal area or group of islands within a 24 to 36 hour period. A watch is used to inform the public and marine interest of the storm's location, intensity, and movement

Tropical storms and hurricanes are easily tracked and characteristically have as long an advance-warning period as any weather system. However, their intensity, and speed and direction of motion can quickly change.

Hurricanes just don't appear overnight! Although tropical storms may rapidly intensify into hurricanes, there are different stages of development. Very few tropical disturbances actually become hurricanes. "Tropical Cyclone" is a generic term for any organized low-pressure system which develops over tropical and sometimes subtropical waters, and "warm-core" (temperatures in the center of the system are warmer than in its periphery). Tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes are examples of tropical cyclones. The tropical season is June through November.
Where do tropical storms and hurricanes form? Most that affect the United States originate as tropical disturbances over the tropical or subtropical Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico. These disturbances build strength when the right set of atmospheric conditions are present.
Tropical storms and hurricanes also form over the eastern Pacific Ocean, and sometimes their remnants reach the southwestern U.S.

Information found at the Weather Channel (www.weather.com)

TORNADO
A violently rotating column of air in contact with and extending between a convective cloud and the surface of the earth. It is the most destructive of all storm-scale atmospheric phenomena. They can occur anywhere in the world given the right conditions, but are most frequent in the United States in an area bounded by the Rockies on the west and the Appalachians in the east.

TORNADO ALLEY
A geographic corridor in the United States which stretches north from Texas to Nebraska and Iowa. In terms of sheer numbers, this section of the United States receives more tornadoes than any other.

Tornadoes are generally spawned by thunderstorms, though have been known to occur without the presence of lightning. The stronger tornadoes attain an awe-inspiring intensity, with wind speeds that exceed 200 mph and in extreme cases may approach 300 mph. The United States has the highest incidence of tornadoes worldwide, with about 1,000 occurring every year. Tornadoes can come one at a time, or in clusters, and they can vary greatly in length, width, direction of travel, and speed. They can leave a path 50 yards wide or over a mile wide. They may touch down for only a matter of seconds, or remain in contact with the ground for over an hour.

Information found at the Weather Channel (www.weather.com)

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Reporter___________________________________ Date______
Natural Disaster___________________________
Year disaster happened_____________________
What the disaster was called_________________________________________
Where the disaster happened_________________________________________
Tell about the disaster______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Reporter___________________________________ Date______
Natural Disaster___________________________
Year disaster happened_____________________
What the disaster was called_________________________________________
Where the disaster happened_________________________________________
Tell about the disaster______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________