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Practice Unpacking the Prompt and

Writing a Claim
Argumentative
Prompt:
After reading the texts Hurricanes and
Earthquakes, think about how people
respond to the challenges of surviving
hurricanes and earthquakes. Write a multiparagraph essay arguing which natural disaster
is more dangerous.

Step 1: In the space above or on the back, unpack the

prompt using
skills/knowledge, PAC, Raft, or whatever works for
you.
Step 2: Read the two texts.
Step 3: Make a decision of which natural disaster is
more dangerous.
Step 4: Write your claim or thesis statement below:

Effects of a Hurricane

HURRICANE EFFECTS can create major problems. The maximum effects

of a hurricane are usually felt within the right-front quadrant. Here the
winds are usually the strongest, storm surge is highest, and the possibility
of tornadoes is greatest. It is important to know whether or not your
area will be affected by the right-front quadrant. It could mean the
difference between maximum hurricane conditions or a glancing blow.
STORM SURGE is the fast uprising of sea level that happens when a
hurricane approaches the coast. Two
factors that cause storm surge are:

Strong winds that push the water

toward the coast and

Suction created by the storm's low pressure.

Galveston Island on the Texas coast has suffered much damage due to
hurricane-caused storm surges. A large sea wall has been built to help
reduce the damage caused by the surges. The frequent occurrence of
storm surges has also played a part in the destruction of Highway 87
along the Texas coast, which was used by many local beach-goers.
HEAVY RAINFALL is produced by hurricanes. The amount of rainfall
usually varies between 6 and 12 inches. The most
deadly rainfall occurs inland because a hurricane
produces destructive floods. The flooding is the
major cause of hurricane-related deaths. The
danger from flooding depends on the storm's speed,
other weather systems in the same area, the ground
saturation, and the terrain.

Rains are heaviest in the six hours before and the six hours after the
hurricane reaches landfall. Sometimes a hurricane can last for days and
produce floods. These floods can occur more than 100 miles inland. One
way to estimate the total inches of rainfall is to divide 100 by the
forward speed of the hurricane in miles per hour.
Sometimes the remnants of the hurricane may join with other storm
systems causing severe rainfall in states far away from where the
hurricane came inland. Hurricane Camille in 1969 came into the Gulf Coast
area, but the remnants combined with a cold front in the mountains of
Virginia and produced 30 inches of rain. This storm also killed 109 people.

HIGH WINDS is another effect of hurricanes.

The wind speed and potential damage of a hurricane is expressed as
categories according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
These high winds can easily destroy homes and buildings. Debris, such as
signs or broken materials, can become airborne and penetrate just about
anything with missile-like force.

TORNADOES are often produced by hurricanes.

Even though the tornadoes most likely form in the right-front quadrant
of the hurricane, they can appear elsewhere. Some hurricanes develop
several tornadoes, while others create none at all. During Hurricane
Beulah in 1967, 141 tornadoes developed on the Texas coast. It is true,
though, that more than one-half of hurricanes that make landfall will

develop at least one tornado. There is no way to predict which hurricanes

will produce tornadoes. Generally, tornadoes do not occur with hail or a lot
of lightning. If a low pressure system remains for days after landfall,
tornadoes can still develop. However, after twelve hours, they tend to
appear mainly during the day.
RIP TIDES are another effect of hurricanes. Rip tides are strong sea
currents. They push away from the shore as a strong storm is near. Rip
tide warnings are often the first indication of a nearby hurricane. They
are formed by the strong winds pushing water towards the shore. The
wind of a tropical cyclone can push waves up against
the shoreline even if it is hundreds of miles away.
.

Earthquakes: effects
The energy released from an earthquake can be up to 10,000 times more powerful than the
first atomic bomb. Its side-effects can be:

Ground shaking
Shaking of the ground caused by the passage of shock waves especially surface waves near the
center of the earthquake are responsible for the most damage during an earthquake. The
intensity of ground shaking depends on:
o

o
o

conditions of the local geology influence events: solid bedrock is far less subject to
intense shaking than loose dirt;
duration and intensity of the earthquake are related to the size of the earthquake;
distance: As the distance from the center increases, the intensity of the shaking
decreases. This depends on the type of material underlying the area. There are however some
exceptions. The 1985 Earthquake in Mexico City (magnitude 8.1) had its center 100s of miles
away to the south on the coast. Damage to city was extensive as Mexico City is built on a
former lake made up of soft dirt.

Landslides and ground subsidence

Avalanches, landslides, slumps and rock slides are triggered by ground shaking. These
landslides are often more destructive than the earthquakes. A residential area in Alaska
(Turnagain Heights) as well as areas in downtown Anchorage were destroyed by a shock
induced landslide.

Damage to man-made structures

Damage to man-made structures, such as roads, bridges, dams and buildings from ground
motion depends on the type of construction:
o

concrete and masonry structures are brittle and thus more susceptible to damage and
collapse;
damage to wood and steel structures is far less because of its flexibility.

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Image: San Fernando earthquake

This aerial photograph of the San Fernando earthquake in Feb 1971 shows the extensive
damage to the freeway bridge as the Earth's crust shook.
"Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do". This quote is from scientists who believe that
human construction and buildings crashing down during earthquakes are the cause of most
deaths.

Image: Seismic shaking and related dangers

This photo shows the extreme danger presented by earthquakes to people in the open around
buildings and on the street. Complete sides of buildings, electric wires and poles and windows
crash and collapse onto the street below. It is known to be far safer to shelter under strong
furniture than to run out onto the street.

Fires
Fires, often associated with broken electrical and gas lines, is one of the common side effects
of earthquakes. Gas is set free as gas lines are broken and a spark will start large fires. To
complicate things water lines are broken and so there is no water to extinguish the fire. The
San Francisco earthquake of 1906 caused 90% of damage by fire.

Image: Fires started by broken gas lines

Radioactivity from damaged nuclear power plants

If an earthquake damages a nuclear power plant, radioactivity can poison the air and water
killing plants, animals, and people. It can also make the land unfit for living for some time.

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Image: Radioactive water leaks from Fukushima nuclear power plant (Japan, 2011)

Flooding
Flooding can come from many sources such as broken water main pipes, dams that fail due to
the earthquake and earthquake-generated tsunamis. When an earthquake breaks a dam or
levee along a river, the water from the river or the reservoir floods the area, damaging
buildings and maybe sweeping away or drowning people. Small tsunamis, called seiches occur on
lakes shaken by earthquakes and are usually just a few feet high. These small tsunamis are
capable of destroying houses and uprooting trees. Also, earthquakes can alter the course of a
river and can even cause it to flow in the opposite direction for a short time (this happened to
the Mississippi River in the late 1800's).

Image: Seiche

A seiche is the effect of the sloshing of water back and forth. A seiche can be caused by an
earthquake and/or a tsunami. The earthquake from Alaska on March 28th, 1964 caused shock
waves that were so powerful that bodies of water shook back and forth in many places across
North America. Hundreds of surface water gauging stations recorded seiches although rarely
recorded before this earthquake.

Injuries and Death

Tsunamis
For sure, one of the most dangerous effects of an earthquake is a Tsunami. Tsunamis are giant
waves that can cause floods and in some cases may reach up to 100 feet in height. These
deadly waves strike a great distance from the center. Tsunamis often result from sub-sea
cracking of ocean floor sending shock waves through the water and creating large waves moving
at 500-700 mph.

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Introduction: Need thesis (three reasons)

First Body
Paragraph: First
Reason

Conclusion Paragraph: Use a

strategy we discussed

Second Body
Paragraph: Second
Reason

Third Body
Paragraph: Third
Reason

Essay FrameArgumentative
Grabber:____________________________________________________________________________
__
____________________________________________________________________________________.
___________Bridge:__________________________________________________________________
__
____________________________________________________________. It is evident,
_______________
are a more dangerous natural disaster than
_______________________________________________.
One reason _______________________ are more dangerous than
_______________________
Is because
___________________________________________________________________________
For example, in the article ________________________________________________ it
shows how
____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What this means is
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
This also demonstrates/This reminds me of
_________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Another way ________________________ are deadly is when the author in the article,
________________

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explains____________________________________________________________________________
__
____________________________________________________________________________________
Clearly this
proves______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
This also
exemplifies_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______.
Some people might
argue________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________
However, in the article,
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
Obviously,
____________________________________________________________________________________.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
Not only are ______________________________ more dangerous than
_____________________ because
____________________________________, but also
because___________________________________________.
For instance, in the article ________________________________________________ it is
proven that
____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
This shows ____________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Similarly, I can connect _________________________________________________
___________________________________________to this point
____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Also ________________________ show their deadly effects in the article,
________________
Where it is shown that
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Furthermore, this
shows______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
This also relates
to_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______.
On the other hand, some may say
_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________
On the contrary, the article ______________ states
_______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
Clearly, (Try one of the conclusion techniques discussed in
class.)________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________

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_____________________________________________________________________________________
________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________.