Introduction

Tornadoes, hurricanes and eruptions, oh my!

With the rise of social media and TV news,
widespread panic over national disasters can occur
at a rapid rate. As a reporter for the New York Times,
your job is to investigate the impact, frequency and
effect these events can have as a concerned
community awaits your findings.

Task
You and your news team are to research a specific type
of natural disaster, of your choosing, and put together a
PowerPoint presentation of your findings to be
presented the concerned community at a town hall
meeting.

Process
Step 1. You and your group will chose a natural
disaster to investigate. Use the Investigation
handout and Internet resources provided as a guide
for your research.
Step 2. Record all your findings in your Science
Journal and your sources on the Investigation
handout. Be prepared to turn it in for a participation
grade.

Process
Step 3. Using your findings, create a PowerPoint
presentation to be presented at the Town Hall
Meeting to help ease the tension and feelings of the
concerned citizens (your classmates).
Step 4.Present your knowledge of your selected
natural disaster to the concerned citizens (your
classmates) at the Town Hall Meeting.

Resources
Volcanoes
http://www.britannica.com/searc
h?query=Volcanoes
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
weather-volcano.htm
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/ho
w_volcanoes_work/

Tornadoes
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/
svrwx101/tornadoes/
http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety
/safety.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/n
atural_disasters/tornado
http://www.chaseday.com/tornadoes.
htm

Resources
Hurricanes

Tsunamis

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/gen
eral/lib/hurricbro.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/ea
rth/natural_disasters/tsunami

http://skydiary.com/kids/hurrica
nes.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/w
hat-are-tsunamis-1.820058

http://www.weatherwizkids.co
m/weather-hurricane.htm

http://www.factmonster.com/spot
/tsunami.html

Resources
Earthquakes

General Information

http://www.tinynet.com/faults.h
tml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_n
atural_disasters_by_death_toll

http://www.weatherwizkids.co
m/weather-earthquake.htm

http://www.disastercenter.com/disast
er/TOP100K.html

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/lea
rn/kids/

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/
http://www.ready.gov/kids

Evaluation
Rubric

Conclusion
By completing this webquest, you should now:
Have an understanding of how natural disasters can effect your
life, ecosystems, and the environment, in general.
Understand that some natural disasters can have both benefits
and consequences for the environment.
Be aware to pay attention to warning signs and the behavior of
animals and other species to minimize the impact of natural
disasters on your own life.