Catastrophic

Events

What is a catastrophic event?

A catastrophic event is a sudden,
natural or man-made situation where
change and destruction of the land
may occur without prior knowledge or
preparation.
Example:
Tornado and Hurricanes

THINK PAIR - SHARE

Take 1 minute with a partner and

list as many natural
disasters/catastrophic event that
occur on this planet.

What are examples of natural

disasters/catastrophic events?

Tsunami
Earthquake
Flood
Mud Slide
Blizzard/Ice Storm
Hurricane
Tornado

Monsoon
Forest Fire
Landslide

What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is
a severe
thunderstorm
with high
winds (above
120 mph).

Hurricanes cause damage in

3 ways:
1. Storm surge and tidal flooding
Storm surge is the rising wall of
water that comes ashore with a
land falling hurricane, and is
responsible for 90 percent of all
hurricane related deaths.

Storm surge

Storm Surge

Examples of Storm Surge:

2. High Winds
High Winds determine:
how powerful the storm is
how much storm surge and
damage it can cause (can reach up
to 200 mph).


Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale
Determines what category a
hurricane is

High winds from a hurricane:

3. Heavy rain and flooding

Heavy rain and flooding:
After hurricanes make landfall, and
their winds slow down, the amount of
rainfall becomes a major factor
A large amount of rain can cause
significant flooding.

Flooding:

What is Beach Erosion?

The movement
of beach
materials by
wave action,
currents and
tides, or wind
from one place
to another.
It can move
slowly or quickly.

Example of Beach Erosion:

What areas of Texas are

affected by hurricanes and
flooding?

What is a tornado?
A tornado is a
column of
swirling wind
An extremely
destructive
funnel-shaped
rotating column
of air

What are the effects of

tornadoes?
Destruction to buildings, bridges and
anything in the tornados path
death
flooding
hail damage
wind damage (can reach 140 mph)

Tornado damage:

What areas of Texas are

affected by tornados?

What is an earthquake?
A sudden and
violent shaking of
the ground,
sometimes causing
great destruction,
as a result of
movements within
the earth's crust or
volcanic action.

What causes an earthquake?

It is caused by the
sudden breaking and
movement of large
sections (tectonic plates)
of the earth's rocky
outermost crust.
Most earthquakes occur
along the fault lines when
the plates slide past each
other or collide against
each other.

What are the effects of an

earthquake?
The shaking from
earthquakes
causes damage to
building structures
Damage is worse
close to the
epicenter
Earthquakes can
trigger mudslides
and tsunamis

What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a
series of ocean
waves produced
by sudden
displacements in
the sea floor
(earthquakes),
landslides, or
volcanic activity.

How is a tsunami formed?

What are tsunami waves like?

The tsunami wave may come gently
ashore or may increase in height to
become a fast moving wall of
turbulent water several meters high.
Tsunami waves travel at 400 500
mph which is the speed a jet plane
travels.

What damage do tsunamis cause?

Tsunamis cause massive flooding and
destruction.

What is a drought?
A drought is a
lack of rainfall
over an
extended period
of time resulting
in a shortage of
water.

What are the effects of drought?

Hunger and famine - Drought conditions
often provide too little water to support
food crops and grain for livestock
Wildfires - The low amount of rain can
create hazardous conditions in forests and
across range lands

What are the effects of drought?

Where in Texas would a drought

occur?