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• • • • • • • • Natural Catastrophe Notes Tornado: a rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth’s surface, usually leaving a destructive path • Most damaging have winds >250mph; Damage paths in excess of 1 mile wide and 50 miles long Hurricane: tropical storm with winds at least 119 mph • Start out as tropical storms where moist, warm air above the ocean rises and spirals upward; Winds blow in a spiral around a calm center called the eye; Torrential rains, high winds, storm surge; May last a week or more Flood: the overflowing of a river’s channel due to the increase of the volume of water in the river • Caused by thunderstorms, hurricane storm surges, melting snow and ice; Last minutes to months; Amount of flooding is controlled by amount of water, how porous the soil is, and the amount of water already in the soil; Most flooding is due to humans altering the landscape • Flooding is the most common of all natural hazards. Wildfire: any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area • Lightning causes 1 out of 5 wildfires.; Drought, wind, high temps and low humidity help wildfires spread.; Wind gives fire more oxygen, which dries the fuel and pushes the fire faster.; Wildfires can produce their own winds 10X stronger than winds around them. Drought: water shortage caused by long periods of low precipitation in an area • Caused by an interruption of the water cycle Volcano: an opening or rupture in the planet’s crust that allows hot magma, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from below the surface • Can be slow and quiet or violently explosive; New land can be created • Hazards: hot, poisonous gases; lava flows, landslides, mudflows, earthquakes, fire hazard, explosions, rock slides, flash flooding, and tsunamis • Volcanic ash can affect breathing, contaminate water, collapse roofs, disrupt machinery, and cause jet engines to fail while flying. Earthquake: shaking results from the movement of rock beneath Earth’s surface. • Energy is stored as stress builds in Earth’s plates. • When the rocks move, the stored energy is released as kinetic energy. • Can be caused by a volcanic eruption or plate collisions • Can open large cracks in the ground, causing bodies of water to disappear Tsunami: series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large amount of water, usually after an earthquake or volcanic eruption • Can also be caused by meteorite impact or underwater landslides • Waves 450-600 mph; Get slower and taller as the wave approaches coast • Often come ashore as a rapidly rising turbulent surge of debris filled water • Areas of risk are less than 25 ft above sea level and within 1 mile of shore