The document provides information about various natural disasters including avalanches, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, thunderstorms, tornados, tsunamis, and volcanoes. For each type of disaster, it describes what causes it and includes one or more relevant images. It also provides additional resources and links for further information. The document was written by Ben Darin, a 19-year-old studying elementary education, who included his contact information.

1. Natural Disasters By Ben Darin

2. Disaster Database Avalanche Earthquakes Hurricanes Landslides Thunderstorms Tornados Tsunami Volcanoes Quit Resources Concept Map About the Author

3. Avalanches Avalanches Happen on every continent Avalanche Season is during the “winter time” or December-April in the United States A large scale can release up to 300,000 cubic yards of snow Avalanches are more commonly released by recreationists than by natural causes The biggest factor of avalanche possibility is the accumulation snow over the winter season More snow = bigger avalanche Click on Image for An Avalanche Video Quit

4. Earthquakes Earthquakes are caused by the release of built up pressure caused by the shifting of tectonic plates Earthquakes usually occur on fault lines, or areas where tectonic plates meet The size of an earthquake is measured using the logarithmic based Richter scale An aerial view of the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain, Central California Quit

5. Hurricanes A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds over 74mph Hurricanes occupy the most intense level of the three levels of tropical storms Hurricanes rotate or circulate counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere Hurricanes can only occur over the Atlantic ocean, Caribbean sea, and gulf of Mexico View of a Hurricane from Space Quit

6. Landslides Landslides are the movement of land down a slope by gravity Landslides are mother nature’s way of redistributing land They can be triggered by rain, floods, and earthquakes as well as man-made factors such as slope grading or mining Landslides have the potential to happen anywhere a steep slope is present Quit

7. Thunder Storms Every Thunderstorm produces lightning There is wet thunder and dry thunder, the difference being whether or not rain in produced Warm humid conditions favor thunderstorms Only 10% of thunderstorms are classified as severe Your chance of being struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000 Multiple Lightning Strikes and a Supercell Thunderstorm formation Quit

8. Tornados A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground Tornados are found in almost every part of the world Tornados are most common in the United States, just east of the Rocky Mountains in an area called Tornado Ally Waterspouts are weak tornados over water and can move inland and become tornados Click on Image to View a Tornado Chaser’s Video Quit

9. Tsunamis On the seafloor, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and even landslides can lead to tsunamis Tsunamis can travel over 300mph Tsunamis can have an amplitude of up to 32ft Hawaii is the most vulnerable place in the world for tsunamis Click On Image To view Some Tsunami Footage Quit

10. Volcanoes Volcanoes are lava filled mountains that erupt when the pressure becomes to great for them to hold it inside The contents that a volcano spews forth is called magma when it’s below the surface and lava once it reaches the surface Only a fraction of the world’s volcanoes are actually on land, the rest are on the ocean floor Indonesia has the most volcanoes of all the countries in the world Quit

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12. Resources INFO http://nsidc.org/snow/avalanche/ http ://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml http://www.fema.gov/hazard/thunderstorm/index.shtm http:// www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/tsunami.htm http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/tsunami.htm http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4886 http://www.ussartf.org/landslides.htm IMAGES http://bp2.blogger.com/_ 6Y-NXZmDcxU/R00BlI_HOCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/BQb-y1gOOag/s1600-h/tornado_lightning.jpg http:// environmentdebate.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/extreme-weather.jpg http://theconservativemanifesto.blogtownhall.com/2008/01 http://www.floridalightning.com/files/Supercell_Thunderstorm.jpg http://www.thelmagazine.com/lmag_blog/files/Images/lightning.jpg http://rumela.com/travel/paricutin_volcano_index.htm http:// current.com/items/88903589_colombian_volcano_erupts_thousands_flee http://blog.lib.umn.edu/salwa002/architecture/ http://www.destination360.com/central-america/costa-rica/arenal-volcano.php http://kshitija.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/landslides-prevention/ VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0RWLxOFGLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEUXr6FMtWk http://livesaildie.com/2007/04/ Quit

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14. About the Author Ben Darin 19 yrs old and is currently in his second year at Grand Valley State University He is studying Elementary Education with an emphisis in Integrated Science and hope to eventually be able to teach 3 rd grade some day Ben has one younger brother, Eric who is currently a senior at Comstock Park High School If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact him at [email_address] Quit

15. Click On the Image For Video of Avalanches Return to Avalanches