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/natural-disasters/ http://www.illiniweather.com/pages/kids_weather_links.htm 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.html http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/readiness.asp http://miami.about.com/od/weather/a/hur_facts.htm 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/emergencymanagement/floodawareness/floodfacts.htm http://www.dola.state.co.us/dem/public_information/flash_flood.htm

Earthquakes http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/plate-tectonics.html http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Seismicity/what_causes_earthquakes.html http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/earthquakes/earthquakedamage.shtml http://quake.usgs.gov/prepare/future/reduce/index.html http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html

Volcanoes http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Home.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/632130/volcano/253597/Secondary-damage http://www.statefarm.com/learning/disasters/ins_learning_volcano.asp http://www.emergencydude.com/volcano.shtml

Tornadoes http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.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.html http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00477/NatDisasterPages/Thinkquest%20G.S.P./Thinkquest/avalanche_causes.htm http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/info/avalanche-causes.asp

Avalanche Con’t http://planning.utah.gov/CriticalLands/Critical%20Lands%20PDFs/avalanches.pdf http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/avalanches/casestudies.shtml

Tsunamis http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/content65.aspx http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/en/disaster/tsunami/damage.html