We have spent years trying to find ways to predict weather patterns, but unfortunately there's still a long way to go because windstorms, earthquakes, floods, diseases, and other types of natural disasters are still striking the earth with a great range in death tolls. Here’s a list of the few catastrophic natural disasters that have changed the lives of many on earth:
Tornadoes:
Tornadoes form in conjunction with thunderstorms in places where there is moist, warm air ahead of easterly-heading cold fronts. A large thunderstorm that encounters certain atmospheric conditions can produce tornadoes. Tornadoes are one of the most ferocious and fascinating natural weather phenomena. These remarkable weather patterns are famed both for their savage
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The greater the magnitude, the higher the level of casualties and destruction of buildings. The seismicity of an area refers to the frequency of an earthquake. The first main danger of earthquake is the effect of ground shaking. Buildings can be damaged by the shaking or by the grounds beneath them parting. This is also known as ground displacement. If a building or road is built above a fault, the earthquake can fatally rip apart the structure. In addition to this, earthquakes can also cause flooding. Earthquakes can break dams which would cause flooding around the area. This can damage buildings and drown a lot of people as well. Lastly, a major earthquake hazard is fire. Fires can be started by broken gas lines and power lines, or electric shocks. It is also important to note that most of the dangers in earthquake originate from man-made structures themselves. Hence, people should stay alert all the …show more content…
It can cause damages, killing some plants and occasionally animals. Fires also destroy houses and almost anything in it’s’ way. Additionally, the city spends millions of money to fight them with chemicals, logistics, aircrafts and trucks, time and personnel. The economic loss can be huge. The effect wildfires have on watershed is also key. Burned organic matter in the soil also affects the natural layering of the soils. This negatively affects infiltration and percolation, making the soil surfaces water repellent. Water therefore is unable to drain into water tables and the run-offs on the surfaces cause
Earthquakes. They shake buildings, they wobble structures, they dismantle even the most stable construction. They leave people without homes, destroy possessions. The San Francisco earthquake in 1906 left at least half of the population homeless.
They can be natural, accidental, incendiary, or undetermined. Natural fires can begin because of nitrogen levels in soil, lightning strikes, or dry conditions. Accidental fires are caused by situations such as gas leaks or candles being left burning. Incendiary fires are set on purpose with the intention to cause damage or death. Many times these are fueled by flammable liquids such as gasoline.
Just like in the “Night of The Twisters” we have tornados here in Iowa two. A tornado is violently rotating column of air that spins while in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Many parts of this disaster are common to the Mapleton Iowa tornado. The Mapleton Iowa tornado happened on April 9th, 2011. Mapleton Iowa is located in the western part of Iowa.
Fire was thought to be bad, and wildfires were immediately suppressed. Wildfires are an important part of the ecosystem. Fire has shaped forests and grasslands for thousands of years, and many plants and animals depend on it. As human interference continued, forest health declined (Fire Ecology in Colorado). Forests here may become overgrown when fire isn’t allowed to move through.
More plants will grow and be able to be inhabited by other organisms if they are healthy. “Fire removes low-growing underbrush, cleans the forest floor of debris, opens it up to sunlight, and nourishes the soil. Reducing this competition for nutrients allows established trees to grow stronger and healthier” (Document 2). The environment as a whole will be able to perform more effectively. Forest fires can kill disease and small prey
Earthquakes are the biggest threat to Juneau. The city has a history of very violent earthquakes. The earthquakes in Juneau are caused by crustal stress accumulated by the North American and Pacific plates. The city also experiences activity from the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system. This fault system has caused large earthquakes in the past.
How the Science of earthquakes was started in North America after the California Earthquake of 1906 The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 is one of the most significant earth quakes of all time. The 7.9 magnitude earthquake ruptured the northernmost 477 kilometers of the San Andreas Fault from the northwest of San Juan Bautista to the triple Junction of Cape Mendocino. The earthquake caused severe damage with reports indicating that it caused more than 3,000 deaths and destroyed more than 28,000 buildings (Borcherdt, & Gibbs, 1976).
Wildland fires have played an important role in North American history. Theyhave helped shape our public and private lands. Wildfires have causedthousands of deaths, destroyed millions of acres of timber and evenseveral towns in their path. However, wildland fire is not solely adestructive force. It is necessary for the growth of some plantspecies, and is part of an ecological cycle.
The text asserts that there were no sweeping fires to blame, only the earthquake. This event led to the first major legislative initiative in California to recognize seismic issues: the Field Act of 1933. Steinberg contends that although this was a step in the right direction, seismic enlightenment was still difficult. The author notes that regardless of awareness, many built in areas vulnerable to harmful seismic activity (i.e. near fault lines). The author also states that California is not the only area prone to earthquakes and that typically the poor suffer more from these events wherever they happen.
A tragic thing was that after the earthquake a multitudes of fire followed right after. The situation led to the water mains being destroyed and the firefighter being left with no water to settle the growing
In conclusion, prescribed fires help out a lot. they can make our everyday life better if we use them more for the good of all living things. If we didn't use them, we might not be able to enjoy such a future. We might have many more wildfires than we ever expected in the future if we don't use prescribed fires.
INTRODUCTION Catastrophes affect humanity all the time but two of the most memorable in history are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey. Hurricanes are first seen from the satellite. This means that the hurricanes are spotted right away, it gets predicted where its going to impact first and how strong it can be when it hits the ground. These hurricanes are extremely dangerous because of its high-speed winds it comes with and the amount of rain produced by them, this makes it worst because they can last for days.
Since most of the buildings was made out of wood the fire burned it easily and spreaded quick.(”Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire, but other theories is that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for the event that left an area in flames’’).(McHugh, Janet. ebscohost)
The earthquake of 2010 was a 7.0 on the Richter Scale. This large earthquake caused the death of 230,000 people. This was due to poor building structure and little warning. There were too many bodies to move and so few people who were capable of moving them (due to injuries) that the bodies would just be piled up on roads and in city squares. As a result of the earthquake, a total of 10,000 children were left orphaned.
Hot and dry conditions cause earth surface to be drier and this lead to massive wildfires which destroy wildlife habitat and inject huge amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There are some positive impacts of wildfires on the environment, wildfires clean up a forest of dead and decaying matter. They maintain ecosystem balance by removing diseased plants and harmful insects and regeneration of seeds through sunlight. They kill invasive species, allowing for indigenous species to continue thriving. Wildfires can engender flash flood conditions and enable soil erosion, with an increase in water runoff.