Starter Activities in Geography
EXTREME NATURAL EVENTS/
DISASTERS
1. Geography Songs:
Volcanic Eruptions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9PgmUcaCDM
Continental Drift
Earthquake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saxh_mGHt1I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA6oZ4YgKCA
Earthquakes – rock moves aside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcVwAn8W‐jo
Ring of Fire – eruption http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnilQsno2WI
Hurricanes and Twisters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOw6ONcKk4g
Earthquake – aftershocks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DppbibMhAXU
Pangea’s moving apart again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyT8Xs6Ab‐k
Volcanoes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=‐nEUUVPTtUI
2. http://video.about.com/geography/The-Pacific-Ring-of-Fire.htm - Pacific ring
of fire
3. http://video.about.com/geography/All-About-Hurricanes.htm - all about
hurricanes
4. A good one for those of you who integrate geographic issues into your
teaching. It superimposes the size of several disasters over areas that students
recognize to bring home the scale of the disaster.
http://howbigreally.com/#New_Zealand
5. This is a map showing the tracks of hurricanes over the last 170 years that
clearly identifies the regions at most risk in each hemisphere.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/08/hurricane-tracks/
6. Try the following images to discuss the concept of change. It shows a before
and after shot of world wide events including 9/11 so topical.
http://mashable.com/2013/09/03/google-earth-beforeafter/#gallery/shocking-google-earth-before-and-afterimages/5226552312d2cd32b3000519
7. A great article in the NZ Herald on the threat of a tsunami in Wellington. Be
good for ENE
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11130692
8.If students have ever asked if there is a relationship between earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions then this new 'island' that appeared off the coast of Pakistan
confirms it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUM6Y6hNObU
6.There are some great videos on Volcanos and Earthquakes and Erosion
processes in the Earth Science section of the high school courses.
http://education-portal.com/academy/course/index.html
7. This is on the melting of the ice-caps and the effect on the world in the long
term. Some fabulous, albeit frightening information here especially for those of
us in the north Island! The original interactive map can be seen at:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map
The NZ herald article from this is at:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11154043
8. One of the most severe ENE in 2013 was the typhoon in the Philippines. Here
are several articles on this:
9. A video that is not too graphic but gives a good understanding of the scale of
the typhoon:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/08/typhoon-haiyan-battersphilippines
10. Some amazing before and after shots of the areas most affected. Roll over the
image to see the change:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/typhoon-haiyan-photos-before-after/
11. A great article that looks at the link between the typhoon and climate change
and compares this storm to others. Some great global patterns here also:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/typhoon-haiyan-climatechange_n_4269640.html?1384446743
12. This is the most comprehensive of the articles looking at the areas affected
and tracking the storm:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24891456
13. Another map tracking the path of typhoon Haiyan
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/11/interactivemaptracking-typhoon-haiyan-20131191288605973.html
14. Especially for juniors is this 'all you need to know about cyclones' sheet
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=1115434
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2014 Term 1
15. If you have students wondering if the rise in Extreme Natural Events in NZ is
something to be worried about direct them to this recent article in the NZ Herald
saying why we should not move to Australia yet!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195726
16. An article that was in the NZ Herald that has some wonderful maps looking at
the risk of natural disasters in NZ.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11200063 T
his is fabulous for those of you doing tsunami, earthquakes or volcanoes or even
if you don't would be a great discussion point.
17. A series of fabulous photos taken during typhoon Haiyan last year which
give you a great insight as to the effects of the disaster on
people http://www.newsweek.com/instagramming-typhoon-haiyan224166?%3F%3F%3F
18. If you cover earthquakes for your ENE this little gem was produced by
Minute Earth explaining liquefaction. It has a great title of 'What Happened to
this car?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uwxr42JqYQ
19. For those of you doing volcanic Eruptions for your ENE is this 10 minute
video on Volcanic Landforms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tigRGNgaWE
20. This one is on volcanoes - it shows an aerial photograph of major volcanoes
in the world that allows you to discuss different volcanic
features http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/volcanosatellite-images/?ar_a=4
21. This deals with disaster response and looks at the recent flooding in the UK
but is updated as new disasters occur. http://www.esri.com/services/disasterresponse/floods/uk-flooding-maps
22. This site has personal stories of how residents coped with the recent flooding
in Christchurch. http://publicaddress.net/up-front/floodland/
23. Some great photos of the massive earthquake off Chile in April
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2014/04/earthquake_off_the_coast_of_chile
.html
24. This resource explains how recent science has helped to mitigate the effects
of an earthquake
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/07/earthquake_shield_how_science_could_defl
ect_the_big_one/
25. This is a link to the updated geonet page that monitors present
quakes http://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/geonet
26. Plus this one also earthquake related looks at the global pattern from
different angles http://uxblog.idvsolutions.com/2012/06/earthquakes-since1898.html
27. Another great resource is this one that is an animation of all the major
earthquakes in the world since 2011 (including Christchurch)
http://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/video/video-incredible-animation-globalearthquakes-2011
2014 Term 2
28. Another great map showing earthquakes over the past 100 years
http://flowingdata.com/2014/04/15/mapping-a-century-of-earthquakes/
29. This is a wonderful video on Tsunamis http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-tsunamiswork-alex-gendler?utm_source=TED-Ed+Subscribers&utm_campaign=692caa8df52013_09_219_19_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1aaccced48692caa8df5-39897441
30. Some dramatic shots of the sinkhole that opened up last week in Baltimore, USA
showing the effect of excessive rainfall http://www.nbcnews.com/news/usnews/block-long-sinkhole-swallows-cars-baltimore-n94096
31. This link shows some stunning volcanic activity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQrUwFn6bU It’s by NZ
photographer/videographer Geoff Mackley.
32. This map identifies the evacuation sites in case of a national emergency re a
tsunami. You can click on your own region to determine where to go. Be fabulous for
bringing the ENE close to home!
http://www.aucklandcivildefence.org.nz/community/tsunami-evacuation-maps/
33. Also on the topic of ENE are these NZ Herald articles on
cyclones http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=1125
5392
34. This site has some amazing footage of a supercell thunderstorm in the US as
shown by a time lapse camera. Great for
processes http://www.iflscience.com/environment/time-lapse-footage-supercellthunderstorm
35. An interesting article about why we need to be worried about cyclones this
year! http://www.citylab.com/weather/2014/05/hurricane-amanda-just-set-anominous-new-record/371664/
36. Another video that traces all the earthquakes in the world over the last year.
Great to show temporal and spatial patterns
together! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noWHjU-sxWk&app=desktop
37. A TED video on super volcanoes that is well worth showing if you cover volcanic
eruptions as your ENE. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-colossal-consequences-ofsupervolcanoes-alex-gendler
38. You may have seen in the news about the luxury house in Texas that had to be
abandoned as it started to 'fall' into a lake. Here are some spectacular images
showing the power of erosion. http://www.khou.com/news/texasnews/slideshows/Photos-Home-clings-to-collapsing-cliff-in-N-Texas262686811.html?gallery=y&c=y&img=0&c=y&c=y#/news/texasnews/slideshows/Photos-Home-clings-to-collapsing-cliff-in-N-Texas262686811.html?gallery=y&c=y&img=15&c=y&c=y&c=y&auto=slide
39. Plus the double tornado pictures that hit Nebraska in the
USA http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=1127601
1
40. National Radio insight programme again provided some wonderful up to date
information for geographers last Sunday with its investigation into the aftermath of
the Christchurch earthquake. You can access this
at http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2600442/insightfor-22-june-2014-burden-of-christchurch-rebuild.
41. Having endured some very heavy rainfall this week if you ever wondered what
effects this can have on roads then watch this video on erosion –
scary! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_uqPR4Ir5o
42. This Guardian article is on the follow up to the Japanese
tsunami http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/29/tsunami-wall-japandivides-villagers. I do hope you also managed to listen to National Radios
programme on the same topic I alerted you to last week. It contained some of the
most interesting long term effects of a disaster I have heard of. You can listen to this
at http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight
2014 Term 3
43. For those of you who do Extreme Natural Events is this Radio NZ website. Called
"When The Siren Goes' it covers the 6 main hazards NZ faces with visuals, audios,
causes, effects, specific details etc on each.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/collections/u/when-the-siren-goes
44. A great resource which comprises interactive visuals that looks at how
Christchurch has changed in the most deprived and least deprived areas. Some
wonderful geography here! http://origin-interactives.stuff.co.nz/how-we-live/#1
45. Some fabulous videos on Christchurch showing the effects of the earthquake
with real student interest - the first a rap called "One more City"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRcCzdHzZUg and one called 'Quaked' on
skateboarding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2bvozq-KK8
46. Another set of before and after photos on hurricane Katrina. By sliding across the
photo you can see what the same scene is like
now. http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2014/08/hurricane_katrina_then_and
_now.html
47. A great little clip discussing the California quake and the Peru quake and if there
is any link and then discusses different types of vulnerability in the two
areas!. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/24/world/americas/peruearthquake/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
48. Before and after shots of Typhoon Haiyan – great for the concept of
'change' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/10804117/
Typhoon-Haiyan-aerial-footage-shows-how-Tacloban-has-recovered-six-months-onfrom-the-natural-disaster.html
49. How to follow the latest volcanic eruptions in Iceland and
PNG http://www.citylab.com/weather/2014/08/how-to-follow-the-iceland-andpapua-new-guinea-volcano-eruptions/379374/
50. You may have seen this fascinating video clip someone shot of a volcanic
eruption on the news – how many of you knew about the shock wave that happens
with an eruption http://wimp.com/volcanicmount/.
51. This article is of a reporter who actually goes into an erupting
volcano http://wimp.com/hikesvolcano/
52. Finally one that looks at the latest threats in Hawaii as a lava flow from Kilauea
volcano is less than a mile (1.6km) from a residential community.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29084490
53. A fabulous one for those of you who do earthquakes as your ENE - called the
anatomy of an earthquake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QNigxTN384
2014 Term 4
54. We have had this before but this gives a fascinating look at the latest
developments of cyclone Hudhud hitting India and Vongfong pounding Japan. You
need to rotate the earth to the correct locations to view
this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGL6YY6oMs&feature=youtu.be
55. An update on the Ebola virus from the BBC and sent to me by Michelle Harvey at
Ormiston http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28755033
56. Phil also sent some wonderful graphics on the Ebola
at http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/10/ebolagraphics?fsrc=nlw%7Cnewe%7C13-10-2014%7C
outbreak
57. A great info graphic for those of you who do earthquakes – called the science of
earthquakes http://www.wunderground.com/weatherinfographics/earthquakes?cm_ven=tw102114-2
58. For those of you covering the Ebola crisis one of the best resources can be found
through the geographical association at http://geography.org.uk/resources/ebola/.
59. Steve Mouldey has alerted us to the great resources on Ebola put out by the
geographical Association at http://geography.org.uk/resources/ebola/
60. A fascinating article that suggests that the process of plate tectonics has varied
considerably
in
its
operation
over
time http://www.heritagedaily.com/2014/06/studies-show-movements-ofcontinents-speeding-up-after-slow-middle-age/103648
61. Also in the NZ Herald this week is this article on how Auckland should prepare for
climate
change
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11368328
62. This BBC article looks at how Australians are reacting to the extreme heatwave
they have been experiencing http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30225276.
63. If you do volcanic eruptions then these images of the eruption of Fogo in the
Cape Verde Islands last week will be of interest. Thanks to Pieter Burger at Hastings
Christian
school
for
this. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84819&src=fb