CATASTROPHIC EVENTS

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FLOODING Flood – any relatively high stream

flow overtopping the natural or artificial banks in a water system.

Common Causes: Long-lasting rainfall over a broad area

Locally intense thunderstorm - generated rainfall

Rapid melting of large snow pack with or without accompanying rainfall

FLOODING A “100 – year flood” is

a flood that has a 1 in 100 chance of reaching a certain level in a given year.

Flash floods can occur from heavy rainfall, but they can ALSO occur without any rain due to things like large amounts of snow or ice melting.

Flash floods occur within 6 hours whereas “normal” floods take a longer time frame to accumulate water.

WORST TEXAS FLOOD

The Hurricane of 1900 in Galveston, TX was the worst natural disaster in American History. It killed nearly 8,000 people, mainly due to storm surge from the hurricane.

For comparison: Hurricane Katrina killed around 1,200 people.

A storm surge is flooding caused by hurricane winds pushing the ocean’s water to land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxAUoXTUtS8 – Australia clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceym2c18OQM – Tsunami flooding – Japan 2011

TORNADOES

Tornado – a localized, violently destructive windstorm occurring over land, especially in the Mid-West U.S. They normally have a long, funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground.

Tornado from April 3, 2012 in Fort Worth.

TORNADOES

HOW:- When warm, moist air rises and meets cooler, drier air, a strong front develops. Strong winds from the jet stream push the horizontal cylindrical vortex down, making it vertical. When it touches the ground, a tornado has formed.

Tornado from April 3, 2012 in Fort Worth.

TORNADOES

- Tornado strength is measured by the Enhanced Fujita Scale (F-Scale)- About 1,000 tornadoes a year form in the U.S.- 2% (or 20) become F4 and F5

WORST TORNADO IN U.S. HISTORYThe “Tri-State Tornado”

On March 18, 1925, this tornado formed around 1:00pm and stayed touching down for 3.5 hours! It set records for both path (219 miles) and speed across land (73mph) with wind speeds in excess of 300mph. Close to 1 mile wide path width. 695 people died, a record for 1 tornado.

TORNADO EXAMPLES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPTXqzMVFUA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwxKFHZigRw

HURRICANES

A hurricane – forms when a giant, spinning rain – and windstorm that forms over warm ocean water reaches at least 74 mph.

HURRICANES

As warm water evaporates, the warm, moist air rises. At the same time, cooler, drier air fills in below. As this builds strength and rotates you first get a tropical depression (40 mph), and then a hurricane when winds reach 74 mph.

HURRICANES: WHERE Hurricanes most

frequently form in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

Hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere rotate counter clockwise.

Hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere rotate clockwise due to the Coriolis Effect.

HURRICANES: DAMAGE/DURATION

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is used to categorize hurricane strength.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php animated wind speed

HURRICANES: DAMAGE/DURATION Hurricanes can usually last a couple of weeks. The

longest recorded hurricane lasted 31 days in 1994! The deadliest hurricane was in 1970, in

Bangladesh, killing 300,000 people. About 8,000 people died from the Hurricane in

Galveston in 1900. Hurricane Katrina was 3rd in number of deaths,

killing about 1,200 people and was, by far, the most expensive costing $105.8 billion.

VIDEO OF HURRICANES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL-bpKCZgdM – Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JuQDsDJZ-I – Hurricane Wilma 10-24-2005

EARTHQUAKES An earthquake is a sudden and violent

shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movement in the Earth’s crust.

HOW: When the Earth’s tectonic plates collide or slide against each other, a large amount of energy is released from built up pressure or friction.

EARTHQUAKESWHERE:- 80% of earthquakes on Earth occur on the rim of the Pacific Ocean, called the “Ring of Fire”.- Most earthquakes occur near fault lines (where tectonic plates meet)

EARTHQUAKES: DAMAGE/DURATION Scientists assign a magnitude

to earthquakes based on the strength and duration of their seismic waves. 3 to 5 = minor or light 5 to 7 = moderate to strong 7 to 8 = major 8 or higher = greatThere are an estimated 1.3 million very minor earthquakes a year that people will most likely not even notice.On average, there is only 1 earthquake that is 8 or higher per year.They kill around 10,000 people per year. (usually from building collapse)

WORST OF THE WORSTWORST in U.S. history:- 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska – Magnitude 9.2- The ground rose about 12 ft in some areas.

WORST in history: Chile, 1960 – Magnitude

9.5 1,665 deaths Also triggered a tsunami

that hit Hawaii, Japan, and the Phillipines

VOLCANOES