Chart 554 - Natural Disasters - 5

Natural Disasters - 5 Chart

Spectrum Chart - 554 : Natural Disasters - 5

1. Lightning - Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge made during a thunderstorm. The electric current is very hot and causes the air around it to expand very quickly, which in turn makes thunder. Sometimes it happens between clouds. Sometimes (in the rain) it goes from cloud to ground. If it goes from cloud to ground, it can strike a person. Around 2000 people are struck by lightning each year.

2. Storm - Storm means violent weather, usually heavy rain and wind. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes are, often, called storms too but they have special names because they are very, very strong. Storms generally lead to negative impacts on lives and property such as storm surge, heavy rain or snow, lightning, wildfires and vertical wind shear.

3. Whirlpool – A whirlpool is a body of swirling water produced by the meeting of opposing currents. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful and very small whirlpools can easily be seen when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones in seas or oceans may be termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft. In oceans, in narrow straits, with fast flowing water, whirlpools are normally caused by tides. Powerful whirlpools have killed unlucky seafarers.

4. Fog - Fog is mist when it is very thick. It may appear on land or sea. It usually lowers visibility. Fog is made up of tiny water droplets or in very cold conditions, ice crystals. When seen on a high speed camera, it looks like hundreds of small water droplets moving through the air. These water droplets make up the fog. The thickness of fog varies depending on the atmosphere, temperature, weather and location.

5. Lahar - A lahar is a volcanic mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extremely destructive: they can flow tens of metres per second, be 140 metres deep and destroy any structures in their path. Notable lahars include those at Mount Pinatubo and Nevado del Ruiz, the latter of which killed thousands of people.

6. Rockfall – A rockfall refers to quantities of rock falling freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mine or quarry workings. A rockfall is a fragment of rock detached by sliding, toppling or falling, that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling on talus or debris slopes.

7. Pandemic – A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that has spread through human populations across a large region, for instance multiple continents or even worldwide. Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemics, such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death, killing over 75 million people in 1350. The most recent pandemics include the HIV pandemic and H1N1 pandemics.

8. Snow Storm or Winter Storm - Snowstorms are storms where large amounts of snow fall. Snowfalls in excess of 6 inches (15 cm) are usually universally disruptive. A massive snowstorm with strong winds and other conditions meeting certain criteria is known as a blizzard. Snowstorms are usually considered less dangerous than ice storms. However, the snow can bring secondary dangers. Snowstorms can produce cornices and avalanches.

To Buy Chart - CLICK HERE