Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters

During my earthquake unit, I have shown students photos and footage of the devastation of the Northridge Earthquake of 1994, an area only 2 hours from where we live.  Students are amazed at the amount of destruction locally an earthquake can create.  Bridges fell, freeways were destroyed, entire communities were red-tagged (unfit to return to even to gather belongings).  We happened to be studying earthquakes when the Japan earthquake hit 2 years ago and the ensuing tsunami.  I also accessed footage and information about the quake and tsunami during that time period.  Tsunami warnings were issued several times during the past couple of years for the CA coast, fearing they would be triggered by an undersea earthquake somewhere else in the Pacific Ocean.  Fortunately, we did not have a tsunami occur, but the students asked many questions about what would happen to our area.  We live far enough inland that we would be safe, but we discussed coastal areas and those that would potentially be affected.

During my volcano unit, we discuss the devastating eruption of Mt. St. Helens and view photos and footage of this catastrophic event.  Until students see the actual photos from the devastated area, they really do not understand the enormity of these disasters.  I think by introducing these topics of discussion during the units, students are more in tune with what can really happen.  

We live along the San Andreas fault in southern California.  I explain to students and show photos of areas along the fault line that can be seen on the ground; places where the road has shifted or the crack in the crust is big enough to stand inside of.  I would love to find resources to take the students on a field trip to one of the areas where the San Andreas fault is evident on Earth’s surface - give students an opportunity to view first hand what happens when “Mother Nature” unleashes her fury.

There are some great web resources that can be found.  One that I particularly like is kidshealth.org.  I’ll post the link below.  This site offers tips for parents and kids on ways they can help the relief effort.  Students can hold a fundraiser, donate items, and begin community events to help with relief efforts.  It also has links to other sites for donating money, if they are able.  It suggests starting off small, it says “you do not need a large group of people to help”.  I think that is the key.  So often, we think that a relief effort needs to be gargantuan to make a difference.  Not so.   If each school district in my area had a small fundraiser and even raised $500.00, that would be about $3000.00.  If all the areas held something, think about how much that would help.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/misc/natural_disaster.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/natural_disaster.html