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A natural disaster is the consequence of a hazardous event, occurring when human activities are affected by adverse natural phenomena such as flood, drought, hailstorm, heat wave, forest fire, hurricane, typhoon, tornado, tsunami, landslide and mudslide, or volcanic eruption. The scale of the resulting deaths or property damage depends on the human ability to resist the disasters.
Sometimes two seemingly different disasters may be related to each other. For example, an undersea earthquake may result in a tsunami. While there is a long dry spell in one area, there may be a great flood in another.
A drought is a long-lasting weather pattern consisting of dry conditions with very little or no precipitation. During this period, food and water supplies can run low, and other conditions, such as famine, can occur. Droughts can last for several years and are particularly damaging in areas in which the residents depend on agriculture for survival.
A flood follows too much rain or water in a location, and could be the result of many different conditions. Floods can be caused by heavy rainfall from a storm, including thunderstorms, rapid melting of large amounts of snow, or rivers which swell from too much precipitation upstream, causing widespread damage to areas downstream. Another possible cause of floods is the bursting of man-made dams. Unit 3 V 1
Disaster has struck inHaiti. An earthquake of huge proportions erupted in theCaribbeanisland—one of the poorest communities in the West. Buildings, which were badly built, tumbled, burying thousands of people in their own homes.
Haitiis a poor country with few emergency services to help. The islanders had to use their bare hands to search for their families. They waited for
teams from overseas countries likeBritainand theUnited Statesto bring equipment and manpower to help rescue any survivors they could find.
It's feared that more than 100,000 people have died. One school friend lies injured on the pavement. Another voices her sorrow. The historic cathedral was badly damaged; and at the presidential palace, the roof collapsed.
The islanders here know about earthquakes.Haitilies in an area where there are frequent tremors and also tropical storms. But last week's earthquake registered seven on the Richter scale—almost as high as the scale can go. It was the biggest for 200 years. It happened eight kilometers beneath the Earth's crust—that's quite close to the surface, so the tremors were really strong.
There were also lots of aftershocks—tremors that happen after the main earthquake. Those aftershocks can also cause damage as buildings collapse further and trap people who might have survived the first disaster.
The British government has promised 20 million pounds of aid to helpHaiti, and many people have also made donations.
Now the concern is to prevent disease hitting areas without clean water or enough medical help.
Unit 3 VI 2
1.Since the company was composed entirely of men over 65, there was doubt that they would be of any assistance. But the farmer called the company anyway because the fire proved to be more than the small town fire department could handle, and there was no other help available. 2. The truck drove straight toward the fire and, instead of stopping in front of the fire, drove right into the middle of the flames. 3. After an hour of intense fighting, they had extinguished the fire. 4. He presented the volunteer fire company with a check for $10,000. 5. The captain said, \fixed on that stupid fire truck.\the middle of the flames because of useless brakes rather than bravery.
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