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Course: Middle school Earth and space science - NGSS > Unit 5
Lesson 2: Natural hazardsNatural hazards
Review your understanding of natural hazards in this free article aligned to NGSS standards.
Key points
- A natural hazard is any natural event that poses a risk to humans or the environment. Examples of natural hazards include tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
- Some natural hazards can be reliably predicted. For example, hurricanes are usually forecasted days in advance using satellites and other technology.
- Other natural hazards are not yet predictable. For example, earthquakes occur suddenly and without warning.
- Scientists are learning more about natural hazards every day. The knowledge they gain allows them to make better predictions and help communities be more prepared for future hazards.
Want to join the conversation?
How far ahead of time can forecasters predict an earthquake?(19 votes)
It depends on what you mean by predict. Seismologists are able to identify areas that have high probabilities of producing earthquakes within years or decades. But it is absolutely not possible to predict the time, location, and magnitude of an earthquake.(36 votes)
how do i answer the percentage question? i'm not the best at math. i need help(10 votes)
A percent is a part divided by the whole. I went into the natural hazards practice here and got a question asking "Approximately what percent of major natural disasters in 2020 were floods?". First I had to find the part, which was 193 floods. Then, the whole was the total number of natural disasters: 313. Then I divided 193 floods by 313 total natural disasters and got about 62% of 2020's natural disasters were floods.
Make sure you multiply the decimal answer you get from a calculator (about 0.62 in my case) by 100 to get the percent.
Does that help?(29 votes)
Why do tornados form with warmness and heat?(11 votes)
For a thunderstorm to produce a tornado requires warm humid air near the surface with cold dry air above. These conditions make the atmosphere very unstable, in the sense that once air near the ground is forced upward, it moves upward quickly and forms a storm.May 1, 2011(11 votes)
is it true that when a tornado occurs you will no because it will be humed outside(14 votes)
*know and no it wont as tornadoes are made of wind unless the climate near you is humid it shound not be(4 votes)
Do Lava-nadoes exist?(12 votes)- lava is molten rock, making it very heavy. Even though tornadoes are strong, they aren't strong enough to lift molten rock into the air.(7 votes)
When is the next hurricane going to occur?(7 votes)- Well, that's the thing. Hurricanes usually form between June and November, but hurricanes have been known to form before and after this window. When will the next one form? As of me writing this there is one active tropical storm and one area that will form a storm in the next week or so. Always? No one knows. If you live in an at risk area (I.e. Gulf Coast states), just keep an eye on the advisories to answer this.(4 votes)
- how can we predict some natural disasters but cant others, like how did we learn how to know when a tornado is coming yet we dont know the patters or the similarities that happen when a earthquake hits?(9 votes)
Small earthquakes always happen on earth so scientists can't predict when it is going to start causing damage. But some other stuff don't happen all the time.(4 votes)
Are there really any signs that is earthquake is going to happen?(6 votes)
foreshocks, ground tilting, water levels in wells, and the relative arrival times of P- and S-waves.
Hope this helps:)(6 votes)
what is a tornado in water called(6 votes)- Waterspouts fall into two categories: fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts. Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado.
I got that from google hope it works!(5 votes)
- Tornadoes happening flat states that's why oklahoma has a lot of tornadoes cause it is flat and lot of wind is there.
-Tell if it helped.(6 votes)
