Game

I found a little game online about planning to protect people from natural hazards. Its a bit of fun.

Stop Disasters - Courtesy of International Strategy for Disaster Reduction 

Floods

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land. There are three types of floods:

1) Slow onset flood - occur along flood-plains or inland rivers. They are caused by heavy rain and run-off upstream ad the water can take days and even weeks to affect farms or towns downstream.

2) Rapid onset flood - occur in mountain areas of larger inland rivers or rivers flowing to the coast. Water flows rapidly and are more damaging.

3) Flash floods - occur during heavy rainfall of short duration. This type of flooding causes the greatest risk of property damage and loos of life as it can occur so quickly.

Tropical Cyclone Question

What are the main destructive forces associated with tropical cyclones?

Tropical Cyclones

A tropical cyclone is a particular type of low pressure system. Tropical cyclones are areas of warm, moist air rising rapidly. The upward flow of air is deflected by the Coriolis effect (winds deflected by the Earth's rotation), creating a rotation around a central core, known as the 'eye'. 

 

 Watch this video for further explanation on the formation of tropical cyclones

Causes of Drought

The cause of drought is generally related to the amount of rainfall. Australia has one of the most variable rainfall climates in the world. Over the long term we have about three good years and three bad years out of ten. These fluctuations have many causes, but the strongest is the climate phenomenon called the Southern Oscillation. This is a major air pressure shift between the Asian and east Pacific regions - its best-known extreme is El Niño.

El Niño: refers to the extensive warming of the central and eastern Pacific that leads to a major shift in weather patterns. In Australia El Niño events are associated with drier conditions.

The Opposite

La Niña: refers to the cooling of the central and eastern Pacific. In Australia, La Niña events are associated with wetter conditions.

Drought

A drought is a prolonged period of below average rainfall. It is a period of continuous dry weather when there is not enough water for users' normal needs. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region.

How may we be affected by drought?

Website Links

I've just added some really helpful websites that provides information, pictures, and videos about Australian natural disasters. If you find other helpful websites please let us know.

Question

What are some things we can do to help make our communities safer from wildfires?

 

Types of Wildfires

Surface Fires: burn in grass, low shrubs and ground litter.

Crown Fires: occur when the surface fire ignite the upper branches and leaves (the crown) and usually spreads at the same speed as surface fires. Unless, there is strong hot winds and dry vegetation.

Wildfires

Wildfires are the most destructive forces of nature. Firefighters risk their lives each year to control and eventually extinguish them. Even though some wildfires occur naturally from lightning strikes or spontaneous combustion, most are started by the activities of people.

Real footage of the devastating Victorian wildfires that took place in February 2009.

The black Saturday bushfires were a series of fires burning across Victoria on and around the 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire weather conditions, and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire, whereby 173 people died and 414 people were injured.

Assessment

Think about a natural hazard you find interesting. You are to complete a research assignment on the chosen natural hazard. I will hand out more details in class this week as well as post it on the blog.

What is a natural hazard?

Natural hazards include fires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes, droughts, and landslides. These events can cause great financial hardship for individuals and communities, and can result in loss of human and animal life.

New Topic

Today, we are going to start learning about Australian natural hazards... Please share any experiences you may have had....

Just remember, the idea of this blog is to keep you up to date with the information in class, and also as a guide for your final research assignment. Feel free to contact me if you require assistance.