world? Natural Disasters can have a harsh effect on our world. It affects our clean water because of pollution, destroys houses, buildings, shops, etc. They will leave heaps of people homeless and sad. Natural Disasters include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, droughts, tornadoes, cyclones, bushfires and acid rain. Every year around 500 natural disasters affect our world. Sometimes, people have to leave their homes because of these sad events. It causes thousands of people, if not more, dead and billions of dollars worth of damage.
Hurricanes Hurricanes are strong and powerful winds. The strength of a hurricane is measured in categories. There is actually no difference between a hurricane, cyclone and typhoon. The only difference is the place it occurs. In the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, it is known as a hurricane. The Northwest Pacific use the term typhoon and cyclones occur in the South Pacific and Indian ocean. Hurricanes affect our planet because it knocks down trees, which gives people less air. They knock down houses, which leave thousands of people homeless and they kills millions of people. Hurricanes are dangerous. Miami Florida was hit by a powerful hurricane on September, 1926. It was a category 4. The affected areas were Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Bahamas and Florida. The cost of damage was $18 billion and 372 people died. According to the National Hurricane centre, the storm was 76 th on the top most deadly storms. Hurricanes are deadly, but they are not the only natural disaster affecting our world.
Droughts Droughts occur when there is not enough water to sustain the energy of crops, animals and our wellbeing. Australias last drought was in 2003, known as big dry. During the drought, other natural disasters occurred, such as bushfires and heatwaves. Australia is often Hurricane Category measurement Claudia D 6M affected by droughts because of its changeable rainfall pattern. Australias rainfall is very low. Weather researchers watch closely for signs of droughts. Droughts affect our community by killing crops, loss of earnings for farmers and prices of food will rise in the city. Australias largest drought took place during 1958. It lasted for whole 10 years. During this horrid drought, crops dropped by 40%. There was a loss of 2 million sheep and a decrease of farm incomes of up to $500 million. 5 million people were affected. Droughts are scary things, but there are scarier. Tsunami Tsunamis are large and powerful waves that can houses, buildings and other objects. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts and other types of movements in the earths crust. Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning Harbour Wave. More than 75% of tsunamis are caused by undersea waves. Most tsunamis occur around the Pacific and Indian Ocean. They can go as fast as 950km per hour. On the 26 th of December 2004, a terrible tsunami hit Sumatra. The wave reached a height of 26 metres (80 feet). This wave killed nearly 300,000 people.
Overall, Natural Disasters are deadly. They can kill you and/or the people you love. Natural Disasters can occur anywhere. They can be Natural or Man-made. Without Natural Disasters, the world would have no continents, no mountains and no stable water cycle. Tectonic Plates help to give the earth the right amount of carbon dioxide.
Glossary
Carbon dioxide- a colourless, odourless gas Heatwaves- when air has a high Asteroid- Pollution- when the environment is contaminated, dirty, unclean. Australias rainfall Devastating 2004 Tsunami Claudia D 6M Tectonic plates- the sub-layers of the earths crust