Introduction
Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters
100
What is a natural disaster?
A force of nature with catastrophic consequences- including loss of life, economic destruction, and property damage.
100
A forest fire is measure by how many ________ it has burned.
acres
100
90% of earthquakes and hundreds of volcanoes are located in the ____________________.
Ring of Fire
100
Three types of floods?
Slow onset, fast onset, and flash.
100
Safest place to be during an earthquake? Safest place to be during a flood? Safest place to be during a tornado?
EQ- no where is really safe, but you could try Under a table or desk Flood- high ground, upstairs, Tornado- basement, cellar, windowless secure room
200
What is a geological, meterological and biological disaster?
Geological - a natural disaster caused by the earth's movements/changes Meteorological- caused by extreme weather conditions Biological - caused by a virus that spreads through humans, animals, or plants.
200
Give two causes of a tsnumai.
Underwater earthquake, underwater explosion, volcanic eruption.
200
What is the scale used to measure an earthquake (or tsunami)?
The Richter Scale- 0-10 0= not even felt, 10= most severe (never been reached, highest on scale has been a 9.5 in history)
200
True or False? Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones are the same thing?
True, but in different océans. Hurricanes - Atlantic Ocean Typhoon- Pacific Ocean, Cyclone- Indian Ocean
200
Warning signs that a volcano may explode?
Smoke/steam coming out of the volcano Small tremors/mini earthquakes before eruption
300
Earthquakes, floods, plague, tsunami, volcano, avalanche, drought - what classification are these natural disasters?
EQ- geological Flood- meteo Tsunami- geo Volcano- geo Avalanche- geo or meteo Drought - meteo
300
What is an earthquake and what are the causes?
An earthquake is the sudden shaking of the earth's surface, caused by the sliding, separating, colliding tectonic plates.
300
What is the process of naming a hurricane?
Alternate boy/girl names, alphabetically. After a few years names will be reused, but a tragic hurricane's name (ex. Katrina) will be retired.
300
Three types of volcanoes and explain each.
Active, Dormant, Extinct, Active- had a "recent" eruption and will have another again Dormant- hasn't had a "recent' eruption, but will erupt some time in the future Extinct - will never erupt again (magma chamber is empty)
300
What is the scale to measure a tornado?
Fujita Scale- F0-F5 F5 is the most destructive
400
Hurricane season is when?
Most occur in the autumn months - but can occur from June 1- November 30
400
Forest fires has two main causes - natural and humans. Describe both.
Natural - dry, arid conditions, lightning strikes in a vulnerable area. Humans- arson (intention fire, criminal behavior) or Carelessness (humans making mistakes, forgetting about their fire, or starting a fire when they shouldn't!)
400
Define drought - and how would a drought affect Canada?
A prolonged period with very little/no rainfall (or precipitation). Would affect Canada economically before it affected people. Damaged agriculture industry
400
How has technology helped us in terms of hurricanes?
With radar systems we can now see hurricanes forming, where they are going, their intensity, when they will strike and approximately at what force. We can prepare,evacuate, board Windows, leave the area, prep hospitals, etc.
400
Where are most of the world's tornadoes located?
United States- in Tornado Alley (includes states such as Kansas, Oklahoma)
500
The Haiti earthquake in 2010 was a 7 on the scale and killed approximately 200,000 people. Why were so many people killed and why was the damage so catastrophic?
Haiti's infrastructure is very poor and not designed to withstand a strong earthquake. Buildings crumbled and fell instantly, killing and trapping thousands of people. After the earthquake they didn't have the resources to help people, (medical supplies, etc.) An extremely poor country will probably have more casulties - logically
500
Canada is stereotyped as being cold, flat, boring, etc. However, we are very Lucky to live in Canada in terms of natural disasters. Why?
Most of Canada except for BC is not located near the edge of a tectonic plate, therefore we are "safe" from earthquakes, we don't have volcanoes, most tornadoes are in the USA and the ones we have in Canada are generally small. We live in a country with a lot of fresh water - so droughts are rare. Flooding can occur, with technology hopefully we can see it in advance, but it does cause a lot of damage like in Calgary. In general we are safe from any true harm, Lucky us!
500
Why is our society obsessed with natural disasters ( in TV, movies, music, etc)?
Natural disasters are unpredictable, emotional, tragic and suspenseful. They add a lot of drama, action, and emotion to any movie. It captures an audience and we can "sort of" relate since everyone is vulnerable to some type of disaster.
500
There are about ______(#) tectonic plates constantly moving and shifting.
20
500
In North America, how is a tornado formed?
Combination of cool dry air from the Rocky Mountains (in Canada) meeting with the wet, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico- when the two systems collide they create instability and possibly tornadoes.
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