Objective: to investigate the effects of extreme weather on our lives

Avalanches Avalanches can also be triggered by skiers, snowmobilers, animals or explosives. Seismic activity may also cause failure in the snowpack and avalanches. In Alaska alone, 30 people have died from avalanches in the last 10 years.

Mount Everest avalanche

Wildfires

Wildfires Wildfires can move at great speed across vegetation such as forests, bushes and grass. They can change direction rapidly, depending on wind factors. Bush fires are especially common in Australia during hot dry summer months. They pose great danger to animal life, human life and properties. Forest Ranger services have to drop buckets of water from helicopters to put out the fires. Unfortunately sometimes the fires can be so big and hot that the water is separated in hydrogen and oxygen (h2o). The oxygen then feeds the fire even more.

One method of reducing wildfires is controlled burning, used on areas of bush and grass around Ayers Rock and also with gorse bushes on the Curragh. Causes of wildfires are both manmade and natural. Natural causes include spontaneous combustion due to high temperatures and lightning. Manmade causes can be accidental such as dropping cigarettes and dumping of fuel. Setting things on fire on purpose is called arson.

Hurricanes and Tornadoes Hurricanes can be hundreds of miles wide. They form only over warm ocean water. They can last for days or even over a week. They produce rain and wind as well as flooding. The winds from a hurricane can range from 70 to 200 miles per hour. Tornadoes are smaller. They are rarely over a mile wide. They usually form over land and last a few minutes normally. The winds from a tornado range from 70 to 300 miles per hour. Most deaths caused by tornadoes are from flying debris.

Hurricane Causes Warm air rises and brings water vapour with it. This air cools as it rises in the atmosphere and releases heat energy which speeds up the hurricane.

Hurricanes

tornadoes

Hurricane and tornado damage

The movement of hurricanes will cause static electricity, which causes lightning.

Tsunamis Tsunamis are caused by movement of tectonic plates under the water, which causes giant tidal waves.

Japan tsunami 2011 What do you notice about the graphs?

Earthquakes Earthquakes are caused by moving of tectonic plates under the Earth’s crust. Earthquakes can cause terrible amounts of death and destruction. The largest recorded earthquake was in Chile in 1960 (9.5 on the Richter scale) while the deadliest recorded earthquake was in China in 1556 causing over 800 000 deaths.

Worst Earthquakes since 1900

Sandstorms Sandstorms occur most in the driest areas of the world such as the Sahara Desert and Arabian dry areas.

A Saharan sandstorm gusting from Africa into the Atlantic

Mudslides Mudslides occus after large amounts of rainfall or great collection of groundwater. The largest recorded mudslide was in 1980 because of the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in Washington State. Mudslides can wipe out whole villages within minutes.