Natural Disaster
WebQuest
Introduction
►
Natural Disasters are catastrophic events that are extreme and usually
sudden. They not only can cause millions of dollars in damage, but
they can also cause death and devastation.
►
People throughout the United States become victims of natural
disasters each year.
►
The Federal and Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is tasked
with handling all possible disasters. This includes both natural
disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and man-made ones,
such as hazardous substance spills, bombings and war. Although most
people associate FEMA with disaster response, the agency has also put
a great deal of effort into disaster preparation.
Task
►
You are part of a research team that will investigate one
particular natural disaster.
►
You will answer the questions related to your specific job.
►
You will then prepare a Powerpoint presentation to present
your information to the directors of FEMA.
►
You will create a newsletter to inform the public of what
to do in case of a natural disaster.
Process
► You
will be assigned to a team of four
members. You will decide within your
group, what role(s) you will have. These
roles are:
► Science Specialist
► Safety Specialist
► Geographic Researcher
► Disaster Analyst
Science Specialist Questionnaire
► What
is your disaster?
► How does your disaster form? How does it work
and/or why does it happen?
► Identify some general characteristics of the
disaster.
► Where your disaster does takes place?
► What time of the year is it most likely to occur?
► Identify an intensity scale or a classification
system for your disaster.
Safety Specialist Questionnaire
► What
is the economic effect of your natural
disaster? (How much does the natural disaster
cost individuals, insurance companies, and/or the
government? Your evidence should contain
statistics about property damage, lives lost,
injuries, occurrences, and environmental damage.
► Compile a list of safety tips and precautions that
could be used to prevent or reduce the number of
deaths, injuries and the amount of property
damage.
Geographic Researcher
Questionnaire
► On
a map of the world, show all the areas
that are affected by the disaster.
► On a map of North America and Central
America, show the areas that experienced
your storm this year to date.
► If your disaster has developmental stages,
find pictures of each stage.
Disaster Analyst Questionnaire
► Find
a personal story that gives firsthand account
of the disaster. Find 1 picture of the effects of the
disaster.
► Find examples of the disasters for the last 25
years in the United States.
► Make a bar graph of all the disasters that occurred
last year and record the number per month.
► Find examples of the worst documented occurance
of the disaster.
Resources
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage3_Modules
/disasters2/web.htm
► http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/naturaldisasters/
► http://www.illiniweather.com/pages/kids_weather_links.ht
m
► http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm
► http://www.ready.gov/kids/step3/index.html
► http://www.easternct.edu/depts/amerst/disasters.htm
► http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hurricanes.html (See
Great Weather Disasters)
►
Hurricanes
► http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/0308/
hurricane/
► http://www.albany.edu/~jd4226/project2/facts.ht
ml
► http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/readin
ess.asp
► http://miami.about.com/od/weather/a/hur_facts.h
tm
► http://science.howstuffworks.com/hurricane.htm
► http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/hurricane/index
.html
Floods
► http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/index.shtm
► http://www.weather.com/ready/flood/index.html
► http://mcswa.org/floodfacts.aspx
► http://www.pbcgov.com/publicsafety/emergencym
anagement/floodawareness/floodfacts.htm
► http://www.dola.state.co.us/dem/public_informati
on/flash_flood.htm
Earthquakes
► http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/10
0/plate-tectonics.html
► http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Seismicity/wha
t_causes_earthquakes.html
► http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/eart
hquakes/earthquakedamage.shtml
► http://quake.usgs.gov/prepare/future/reduce/inde
x.html
► http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html
Volcanoes
► http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcano
es_work/Home.html
► http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic
/632130/volcano/253597/Secondarydamage
► http://www.statefarm.com/learning/disaster
s/ins_learning_volcano.asp
► http://www.emergencydude.com/volcano.sh
tml
Tornadoes
► http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguid
e.html
► http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/index.shtm
► http://www.tornadofacts.net/
► http://www.livescience.com/environment/050322_
tornado_season.html
► http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tornado1.html
► http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment
/natural-disasters/tornado-safety-tips.html
Avalanche
► http://www.avalanche.org/accidents.php
► http://www.avalanche.org/tutorial/tutorial.h
tml
► http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00477/N
atDisasterPages/Thinkquest%20G.S.P./Thin
kquest/avalanche_causes.htm
► http://www.abc-ofsnowboarding.com/info/avalanchecauses.asp
Avalanche Con’t
► http://planning.utah.gov/CriticalLands/Critic
al%20Lands%20PDFs/avalanches.pdf
► http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/englis
h/avalanches/casestudies.shtml
►
Tsunamis
► http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/
► http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/tsun
ami/index.html
► http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/conte
nt65.aspx
► http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/e
n/disaster/tsunami/damage.html