Natural Disasters for Kids | Learn about tornados, hurricanes, and more!

[Music] laughs natural disasters for kids have you ever heard the phrase natural disaster before what does that make you think of it can sometimes be tough and a little scary to think about natural disasters but never fear today we are going to talk about what natural disasters actually are how they can be predicted and how we can prepare after all knowledge is power first let's define what a natural disaster is a natural disaster is plainly speaking a disaster that happens in nature or by natural processes and not all natural disasters are the result of weather for example pandemic like covid or the flu are considered natural disasters 10 of the most common natural disasters are blizzard drought earthquake flood Heat Wave hurricane thunderstorm tornado tsunami and Wildfire we will talk about these in more detail in just a minute one important thing to know all natural disasters cause at least some damage and destruction sometimes people can be hurt or even die due to the effects of the disaster but the good news is that many of these disasters can be predicted ahead of time often because of Science and Technology people know when they are coming and can prepare for them in order to stay safe for example meteorologists can often predict the formation of a tornado and send out warnings to people to either head underground or take cover in another safe place creating safe spaces and knowing where to go during a disaster is one way you can prepare and learning about natural disasters can also help us prepare so let's learn a little more about 10 of the most common natural disasters and their causes starting with blizzards blizzards are long snowstorms with high winds for three or more hours they are caused by cold air colliding with warm air droughts are another type of natural disaster caused by lack of rain over a long period of time human activity like deforestation can lead to droughts next are earthquakes just like the name suggests earthquakes happen when the earth is literally quaking which means shaking they are caused by a sudden violent movement of the Earth's crust the magnitude or strength of an earthquake can be minor with a few Tremors or major toppling buildings Bridges and other structures floods happen when there are heavy rains or melting ice in snow that overflow rivers and other bodies of water which then fills or floods an area of dry land with lots of water here is an interesting fact according to the Federal Emergency Management Administration or FEMA for short floods are the most common type of natural disaster in the United States nearly 90 percent of all disasters in the U.S involve flooding have you ever experienced a heat wave a heat wave isn't your average hot summer day instead it means that there are higher than normal temperatures in a region which happens when high pressure in the Earth's atmosphere builds up and holds hot air on the Earth's surface this decreases the chance of rain which can lead to another natural disaster we have already discussed drought hurricanes are giant swirling storms accompanied by severe thunderstorms and high winds up to 160 miles per hour that's over double the speed of a car driving down a freeway here's an interesting fact hurricanes are also known as typhoons and they only occur during specific times of the year speaking of thunderstorms they are also considered one of the most common natural disasters thunderstorms include lightning high winds and usually heavy rain but not always sometimes a thunderstorm might have hail sleet or snow instead these storms happen when there is a surge of warm humid air bet you know what this is tornadoes are a destructive column of air with wind speeds from 100 to 300 miles per hour there are many shapes and sizes but most appear as a funnel when they rotate here's another interesting fact tornadoes can occur over land or the sea ever seen a super huge ocean wave tsunamis make those waves look tiny these giant water waves surge onto land and reach Heights of up to a hundred feet tsunamis mostly occur in the ocean but can sometimes occur in lakes this is because they are caused by underwater earthquakes the vibrations Cause A disruption in the water which causes the huge wave whoa last but not least are wildfires they are dangerous and super unpredictable wildfires include Forest Bush or brush fires wildfires are most often started by man and dry weather and strong winds can cause spreading other natural disasters include landslides and avalanches which can be caused by earthquakes heavy rain or snow or other disasters active volcanoes are also another cause of natural disasters when they erupt and send ash clouds into the air and lava onto the ground talk about going with the flow three things that you can do to be ready for a natural disaster are as follows plan prepare and practice first regardless of the potential disaster you need to have a plan for example if the electricity goes off what do you need to do to make sure you can see in the dark or stay warm if it's cold do you have enough food and water to last for a few days in case the electricity is out for a longer period of time how will you contact family or friends figuring out a plan is super important once you have a plan you can prepare this means that you get the supplies you need to get through a disaster things like flashlights batteries matches non-perishable food and bottled water how much you need depends on how long you think the disaster will last you can put these things in a bag or a backpack and create an emergency kit a 72-hour emergency kit is a great place to start last you need to practice you know like a fire drill at a school depending on where you live you can practice so that everyone knows what to do where to go and how to contact family and other loved ones if you are apart don't be afraid to talk to your parents or another trusted adult if you have any questions or worries wow we have just learned a lot about natural disasters let's review true or false floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States true fill in the blank three things you can do to be ready for a natural disaster are plan blank and practice prepare which type of natural disaster is a long snowstorm with high winds blizzard great job even though natural disasters can seem intimidating the more we know about them the better we can plan and thanks to Science and Technology we can often know what to expect but even when we can't predict when or where a natural disaster will occur we can always be prepared hope you had fun learning with us visit us at learnbrite.org for thousands of free resources and TurnKey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers foreign

Channel: Learn Bright

Views: 619,975

Keywords: natural disasters for kids, natural disasters, what is a natural disaster, tornados, volcanoes, hurricanes, storms, blizzards, drought, flood, worst natural disasters, most common natural disasters, Learn Bright

Id: OFZXxb3FNkw

Length: 9min 39sec (579 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 17 2023