1. POWERS OF NATURE
NATURAL DISATSTERS

2. NATURAL DISATSTERS
AVALANCHES
HURRICANES
FLOODS WILDFIRES
EARTHQUAKES TORNADOS
TSUNAMI VOLCANOS

3. AVALANCHES
• An AVALANCHE is a rapid flow • Avalanches kill more than 150
of snow down a slope, from people worldwide each year.
either natural triggers or human Most are snowmobilers, skiers,
activity. and snowboarders.
• It is typically occurring in
mountainous terrain, an
avalanche can mix air and water
with the descending snow.

4. FLOODS
• A FLOOD results from days of • What is a FLASH FLOOD?
heavy rain and/or melting snows,
when rivers rise and go over It is sudden flooding that
their banks. 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.

5. EARTHQUAKES
• EARTHQUAKES are the • EARTHQUAKES can be felt
shaking, rolling or sudden shock over large areas although they
of the earth’s surface. usually last less than one minute.
• They are the Earth's natural Earthquakes cannot be
means of releasing stress. predicted - although scientists
are working on it!
• 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.

6. TORNADOS
• A TORNADO is a violent • What is a funnel cloud?
rotating column of air
extending from a A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-
thunderstorm to the ground. shaped column of air extending
downward from the base of a
• The most violent tornadoes are thunderstorm, but not touching
capable of tremendous the ground. When it reaches the
destruction with wind speeds ground it is called a tornado.
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.

7. VOLCANOS
• A volcano is a mountain that • Volcano eruptions have been
opens downward to a pool of known to knock down entire
molten rock below the surface forests.
of the earth. • An erupting volcano can trigger
• When pressure builds up, tsunamis, flash floods,
eruptions occur. earthquakes, mudflows and rock
• Gases and rock shoot up through falls.
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.

8. HURRICANES
• A hurricane is a huge storm! It can be
up to 600 miles across and have strong
winds spiralling inward and upward at
The Eye of the
speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each
hurricane usually lasts for over a week, Hurricane
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.

9. WILDFIRES
• A wildfire also known as a wild • Common causes of wildfires
land fire, forest fire, vegetation include lightning, human
fire, grass fire, peat fire, carelessness, arson, volcano
bushfire (in Australia), or hill eruption, etc.
fire is an uncontrolled fire often
occurring in wild land areas, but • More than four out of every five
which can also consume houses wildfires are caused by people.
or agricultural resources.
• Wildfires often begin unnoticed,
but they spread quickly igniting
brush, trees and homes.

10. TSUNAMI
• Tsunami (pronounced soo-nahm- • They can be as high as 100 feet.
ee) is a series of huge waves
that happen after an undersea • They can cause a lot of
disturbance, such as an destruction on the shore.
earthquake or volcano eruption.
(Tsunami is from the Japanese
• They are sometimes mistakenly
word for harbor wave.) called "tidal waves," but tsunami
have nothing to do with the
• The waves travel in all directions tides.
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.

11. POWERS OF NATURE
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