DISASTER WATCH Natural disasters can destroy whole areas and kill thousands of people The only protection from them is to go on disaster watch This means knowing the warning signs that a disaster might be about to happen and having a plan for what to do if one strikes We cannot stop natural disasters from happening but being prepared can help reduce the harm caused by a disaster That Are Natural Disasters Natural disasters are nature's most damaging events They include wildfires In earthquakes extreme storms floods tsunamis say soon ah mee and volcanic eruptions Preparing for Natural Disasters Preparing for natural disasters helps us to reduce their effects in three key ways by N I increasing our chances of survival is making our homes as disaster proof as possible Co the reducing long term effect of the
FLOODS Floods are the world's deadliest natural disasters If you add together all the people killed by the worst volcanic eruption earthquake tsunami extreme storm and fire it is less than half the number killed by the world's deadliest floods in Central China in 1931 what is a flood EYEWITNESS WORDS CO A flood happens when water spreads In 2009 Sarah Nimmo Scott helped rescue beyond its normal areas For example people trapped by floods in England heavy rainfall may cause a river to Last night was dreadful It was dark spread beyond its banks or a storm and windy we were dealing with deep may drive seawater ashore Floods fast flowing turbulent water but we turn into disasters when evacuated dozens of people the water has covered a large area of normally dry land the flood has happened very DISASTER WORDS quickly or flow speed of movement the flow of water has been ECO react act in response very destructive evacuated helped to leave a dangerous area Preparing for Floods There are three key ways to prepare for floods You must know the warning signs that a flood may be about to happen and how to react the safest places to be if a flood arrives the challenges facing those who survive a flood Floods can affect massive areas disrupting the everyday lives of thousands of people and sometimes causing terrible loss of life
WHERE DO FLOODS HAPPEN Floods can happen almost anywhere in the world usually in areas close to bodies of water Two key areas are affected places close to oceans and places near rivers Floods near Oceans This map shows the world's biggest floods since 1991 In some parts of the world flooding from the ocean regularly poses a big danger The places most at risk are low lying islands such as Kiribati or the Seychelles and low lying coasts such as Bangladesh's Here storms regularly drive ashore big waves that drench the land in seawater North America 2005 almost 2 000 people died when Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans Europe 2010 floods and mudslides caused the deaths of at least 50 people on the Portuguese island of Madeira Asia 1998 the Yangtze River flooded killing more than 3 000 people and leaving 14 million people homeless North Americ A Asia frica Extreme floods 2002 No1 South America 1998 Australia 1993 2000 miles Antarctica Africa 2009 floods in West Africa killed about 200 people and affected one million more South Asia 2008 floods hit India from July to September causing more than 200 deaths Australia 2007 the Hunter River flooded causing 11 deaths and the evacuation of thousands of people
Floods near Rivers DISASTER WORDS catchment area where rainfall flows into a system of rivers tributaries rivers that flow into other rivers Floods can happen on almost any river However larger rivers which carry more water are most likely to cause floods Areas that are particularly at risk from flooding are those near a river that gathers water from a large catchment area flows out of high mountains has many tributaries flowing into it In each of these the flow of water down the river can suddenly increase causing floods flow speed of movement Huge areas of New Orleans United States were flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 In I Hurricane Katrina Date August 23 30 2005 Location Gulf of Mexico United States 6 6 Hurricane Katrina caused some of the most disastrous floods ever to hit the United States Heavy rainfall swelled the rivers which combined with seawater blown ashore by the hurricane and overcame flood defenses Large areas of New Orleans were flooded and almost 2 000 people
