Natural Disaster WebQuest

1. Natural Disaster WebQuest Mr. Cole 7th Grade

2. 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 a lot of death and devastation. Your states has recently come under “attack” from several different natural disasters. The Federal and Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), recently received $50 million from the federal government to spend on educating people on the worst disaster to hit that area. But, there is a big problem; no one could decide which disaster is the worst. Is it hurricane, flood, thunderstorms, lightning, tornado, or a blizzard? • You are part of a research team that will investigate and decide which one is the worst. You will then present your information to the directors of FEMA. You will create a newsletter to inform the public of your findings.

3. Task • Your task is to decide which disaster is the worst to hit the Gulf region of the United States. You will compare and contrast the disasters in terms of the amount of deaths, injuries, environmental damage and property damages caused. You will be working in groups of four to investigate the possible disasters. Each group must investigate at least three different disasters using the Disaster Worksheet before deciding which is the worst. • You will answer the questions related to your specific job. • You will present your newsletter to the Directors of FEMA explaining which disaster is best to invest the money.

4. Process • You will be assigned to a team of four members. You will decide within their group, what roles you would have. These roles are: • Science Specialist • Safety Specialist • Geographic Researcher • Disaster Analyst

5. 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.

6. Safety Specialist Questionnaire • Find as much evidence as possible supporting that your disaster is the damaging to property, environment and people. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

12. Lightning • http://www.weather.com/ready/lightning/risk.html?from=wxready_severe • http://skydiary.com/kids/lightning.html • http://www.fema.gov/hazard/thunderstorm/index.shtm • http://www.stormwise.com/striking.htm • http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=368088 • http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/lightning-facts/

13. Thunderstorms • http://www.fema.gov/hazard/thunderstorm/index.shtm • http://sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/thunderstorms.html • http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm.html • http://www.wtnzfox43.com/Global/story.asp?S=818756 • http://www.ussartf.org/thunderstorms.htm

14. 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

15. Blizzard • http://volweb.utk.edu/school/sumnercs/ellism/mel.htm • http://www.infoplease.com/spot/blizzard1.html • http://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm • http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/blizzard.html • http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4912

16. Conclusion • So, which disaster is the worst? Did you convince the director of you choice? Congratulations! Because of your hard work, people will be better prepared for the next disaster.