Evaluating- Pros and Cons of a Natural Disaster

Some horribly hazardous reasons why living near a volcano is dangerous.

• Hundreds of millions people have been killed by volcanoes alone.
• Lava can burn and bulldoze everything in its path.
• Ash can suffocate people, cut off communications and destroy farmer's fields and crops.
• In an eruption, you could lose your house, even your life. It takes a few minutes to destroy an area, but hundreds of years to recover.
• A volcanic eruption can affect the world's weather. It blocks out the sun causing famine, and also cause disease because of ash.
• It costs millions and millions of dollars to clean up and rebuild.

Some remarkable reasons for living near a volcano

• Fantastically fertile soil. Volcanic soil is the richest on the earth. It is full of nutrients to help plants grow
• Cheap central heating. Near a volcano, underground water gets heated to about 150 degrees centigrade. This can be pumped up to people's houses directly for instant hot water, or be converted into cheap electricity. It's called geothermal energy, and it won't run out. This means you can grow bananas and pineapples in geothermal greenhouses
• Marvellous Metals. Copper, lead, tin, silver and gold are some of the few metals that are found in magma.
• Gorgeous Gemstones. Gems are found deep inside the earth. So when a volcano erupts so do some gems. Diamonds and red beryls are found in volcanoes too. Find one of these gems and you could be seriously rich

Evaluating-Earth-Shattering Earthquake Warning Signs

Could you be a seismologist?
Take a look at the clues before a volcano erupts.

1. Gigantic Geysers. Geysers are massive jets of steam and boiling water heated up by underground rocks. Geysers are usually found near a volcano. The rocks are heated by the heat of magma of mantle material. Water bursts into the air. Old Faithful in California, USA, usually erupts every 40 minutes. Before an earthquake, the geyser erupts once every 2 hours or more. Scientists aren't sure why this happens but they're not taking any chances. They've got a computer and satellite monitoring the geyser 24 hrs a day.
2. Ghastly Gases. Radon is gas given off by underground rocks.It rises to the surface sometimes, but especially before an earthquake. This is what happened before the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan. Sadly, authorities ignored the warning signs.
3. Freaky Foreshocks. Before the main earthquake, there are often lots of mini earthquakes called foreshocks. They get stronger as it gets closer to the earthquake.
4. Frightful Fractoluminescence. If the sky is filled with bright lights (and it's not January 1st), it might be a sign that an earthquake is on its way. An hour before the Kobe earthquake, people remembered seeing streaks of red, green and blue across the sky. The technical name for this is fractoluminescence which means broken lights. Scientists think they are caused by crushed up bits of quartz, a crystal found in rocks. This hasn't been approved by scientist as a valid earthquake waring sign yet.

Creating- Job description for a volcanologist.

Could you be a volcanologist?

Do you have the skills and determination to become a volcanologist? Take this test to find out.

1. Do you love heights?


2. Are you fit and strong?


3. Are you a willing learner?


4. Are you fond of travelling?


5. Are you good at spelling?


6. Great at maths?


7. Keen about physics?


8. Great at map reading?


9. Awesome with gizmos, gadgets and computers?


10. Are you very observant?

How did you go?

8-10 yeses- Great! You are a stunning volcanologist! Find out what to wear below.

5-7 yeses- Not Bad. Maybe you should try something a little less dangerous.

0-4 yeses- Forget it ! You'll end up killing yourself if you take the job!

Answers:

1. You need it. Some volcanoes are very high. Guallatiri in Chile is over 6 km tall.


2. There will be a lot of climbing involved.


3. You will need to learn how to use new equipment.


4. There is a volcano in almost every continent in the world.


5. You'll need to know how to spell terms such as a phreatomagmatic eruption.


6. You'll need to do extremely hard calculations


7. You'll need to know how volcanoes erupt and for things like that.


8. You'll need to find volcanoes. Some volcanoes are horribly hard to spot.


9. You'll need to know how to use a satellite, seismometer and a pyrometer.


10. You might need to write a report of what you study and discover.

Creating

WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION


Before a volcano erupts

Develop an emergency communication plan- If family members are separated during a volcanic eruption

Have disaster supplies on hand: -

Flashlight and extra batteries
First aid kit and manual
Emergency food and water
Non-electric can opener
Essential medicines
Dust mask
Sturdy shoes
Goggles
Breathing Mask
Warm Clothes

During a Volcanic event

Follow the evacuation order issued by authorities.
If caught indoors:
Close all windows and doors
Put all machinery inside a garage or barn.
Bring animals and livestock into closed shelters.
If trapped outdoors:
Try to get indoors.
If you are caught in a rock fall, roll into a ball to protect your head.
Protect yourself during ash fall:
Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
Use goggles to protect your eyes.
Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help to filter out ash.
Stay out of the danger zones made by government officials.
You can experience the effects of a volcano from hundreds of kilometres away. Mudflows and flash flooding, wildland fires, and even deadly hot ash flow can reach you even if you can’t see the volcano during an eruption.

If you see the water level of a stream begin to rise, quickly move to high ground.
Mudflows are powerful "rivers" of mud that can move 20 to 40 miles-per-hour. Hot ash or lava from a volcanic eruption can rapidly melt snow and ice at the top of a volcano. The water quickly mixes with falling ash, soil and debris.

Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for the latest emergency information

After a volcano erupts

If possible, stay away from volcanic ash fall areas.
When outside:
Cover your mouth and nose. Volcanic ash can cause pneumonia and damage your respiratory system.
Wear goggles to protect your eyes.
Keep skin covered. Ash can cause skin disease if exposed to a prolonged time.


Clear roofs of ash fall:
Ash fall is very heavy and can cause buildings to collapse.
Avoid driving in heavy ashfall.
Driving will clog engines and stall vehicles.

Applying-Layers of the Earth

Analysing-Earthquake-Proof Buildings

The way buildings stand up to an earthquake depends on its overall shape and size. This is not all as some earthquakes might be big, and some might be small. So it all depends on how big the earthquake is. Because we don’t know how or when an earthquake is going to strike, we must do our best to earthquake-proof a building.

Size of Buildings: In tall buildings, the horizontal movement of the floors during ground shaking is large. In short but very long buildings (Figure 1b), it is the other way round. Remember this: the side of the building with the most area is the side that is going to carry the least of the seismic waves. Buildings with large floors. like warehouses (Figure 1c), the horizontal seismic waves can be too much to be carried by columns and walls.

Horizontal Layout of Buildings: buildings with simple shapes (Figure 2a) have stood up well during

strong earthquakes. Buildings with curves and corners (Figure 2b), usually are badly damaged. Buildings with these features tend to twist during earthquakes.