How many parts of the project have you complete?

1. World el Nino Map David Falk
2. World la Nina Map David Falk
3. Australia el Nino Map Jack Jerman
4. Australia la Nina Map (w/ natural disaster) Matt Johnstone
5. el Nino Natural Disaster Fact Sheet Jack Jerman
6. la Nina Natural Disaster Fact Sheet Matt Johnstone

2.2 questions

1.       Landslides involve the movement of a mass of rock or sections of the Earth’s crust under the force of gravity.

2.       They can be triggered by natural causes like heavy rainfall saturating the soil, vibrations from earthquakes or undercutting of banks and cliffs from waves or rivers.

3.       Construction of roads and railways on hillsides along with building works can weaken hillsides and make them more vulnerable during heavy rainfall. Mining activities also contribute to the hazard.

4.       They are measured in magnitude.

5.       The causes of earthquakes in Australia is intra-plate tension where movements occur along cracks and faults in the Earth’s crust.

6.       Every 15 months Australia experiences earthquakes of 5.5.

7.       13 people died and over 120 people were injured. It also impacted on buildings.

8.       Landslides are movements on the Earth’s crust and earthquakes are movements below the Earth’s crust.

9.       The movement of the ocean bottom displaces water on the surface, forming a tsunami.

10.   When an earthquake, landslide or volcano occurs under the sea it can trigger a tsunami.

11.   Sudden shifting of continental plates cause earthquakes, forcing sea water above to rise, forming waves.

12.   Shake, Drop and Roar are the three main signs.

13.   A earthquake measured 9.3 caused the tsunami.

14.   There are 23 earthquake monitoring stations in Australia.

15.   The wave slows down as it enters shallow water.

16.   The United Nations a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.

17.   Ted Bryant a Wollongong University geoscience professor, studies natural hazards and has warned that tsunamis triggered by New Zealand’s alpine fault line could strike NSW as often as once every 500 years.

18.   A) 10S 100E

B) i)

2.8 questions

1.
a) i) 1016 ii) 1016 iii) 1020 iv) 1022
b) Hobart
c) At the moment there is a high pressure system although in the next 24 hours it is likely to change. There is a low pressure system coming from the Antarctic ocean and it is likely to be bringing colder and unsettled weather conditions such as cloudy skies and rainfall.
d) i)  ii)  iii)
e)

2.5 questions

1. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure centre and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain.

2. They occur anywhere in the tropics.

3. Queensland, Northern Territory and North Western Australia.

4. out of the 10 that form in the Australian region 6 of them cross the coastline.

5. Hurricanes or typhoons.

6. a. tropical    b. moist    c. heat     d. high    e. spiral   f. surface

7. The eye is middle of the cyclone and it is calm and has clear sky.

2.4 questions

1. A flood is caused when water inundates land which is normally dry. Floods are one natural hazard that
many communities have had to learn to deal with.
2. Small rivers and
streams are unable to cope with the sudden volume of water caused by heavy downpours so flooding results.
This happens in urban areas as well when drainage systems become overloaded, resulting in flooding.
3. Inland rivers are usually large and coastal rivers are usually small
4. Destruction to buildings, many deaths and injuries and prices on food and fuel may increase.
5. The town of Katherine received 374 millimetres of rain while the surrounding catchment area received between 400 and 500 millimetres over a short period of time (48 hours). The catchment was already saturated from previous weeks rainfall so most of the new rainfall ran off into the river which quickly caused a flood. The reason it was considered worse than the 2006 flood was because the 1998 flood peaked at 20.3 Metres above its usual flow level, where in 2006 it only peaked at 19 Metres. 
6.  Economic: The flood would of impacted the Economy in Katherine due to the damage caused by the flooding, which cost a lot of money in repair costs.
Social: The social impact was bad because it caused 500 businesses and 1170 homes to be evacuated and Four people were killed as well as flooding the Whole town.
Environmental: The flooding can drown plants and crops and livestock.

7. b) The Coastal gradient was a lot smaller than compared to the Inland River Catchment Gradient.

c) The gradient in a Coast area is a lot smaller so the water hasn't got that much land to pass through before it is cleared, compared to the inland river systems which have thousands of kilometres to pass through.  

10. I had just moved to the town called Katherine, I decided to buy the local Motel because it seemed to be just about the only place tourists would be able to stay meaning it would be money well spent, if not profitable. Little did I know that it was in one of the worse areas if a flood were to occur. It was almost February of 1998, and one of the worst floods I've ever seen hit. 2 Metres of water came rushing through taking cars with it. As soon as I saw the water I knew the damage would be devastation. We moved to the highest floor in the motel avoiding the water, but we could hear it as it seeped through the doors and open windows flooding the motel below us. We came outside to see people crying at the loss of their possessions and one person actually asking why the floods had taken his son. It was truly one of the worse days that Katherine had seen.

2.3 questions

1. A severe storm is characterised by lightning and thunder.
2. 
3. They develop when warm humid air is pushed upward into the atmosphere by converging surface winds. As the air rises the moisture condenses releasing heat energy called latent heat into the air. It causes the air to become more buoyant allowing it to rise further into the atmosphere, up to a height of 12 kilometres.
4. Latent heat is the term used to explain when air rises and the moisture condenses releasing heat energy.
5. Hail is formed 12 km up into the atmosphere.
6. Tornadoes are formed when two different air masses meet.
7. The Bureau of Meteorology issues severe storm warnings based on the information it has available.
8. Severe storms are very unpredictable and are very dangerous as they form quickly and unexpectedly.
9.
a. It was issued at 1.14 pm Monday 13 November 2006
b. Greater Newcastle and Maitland/Cessnock areas.
c. The next warning will be at 2.10 pm.
d. Tell everyone to stay calm, follow the necessary procedures put in place by the school.

Today's weather :) 4/5/11

Today is a quite cool, dry sunny day with minimal cloud cover. The wind is coming from the south-west. There is a minuscule chance of rain meaning it will be a lovely sunny day. 


actual weather

18°C | °F
Current: Partly Cloudy
Wind: S at 29 km/h
Humidity: 68% The clouds today are altostratus and are blue-grey middle level clouds. These clouds usually cover the whole sky. These clouds often form before storms that will produce continuous precipitation.

2.2 questions

1.    Landslides involve the movement of a mass of rock or sections of the Earth’s crust under the force of gravity.

2.    They can be triggered by natural causes like heavy rainfall saturating the soil, vibrations from earthquakes or undercutting of banks and cliffs from waves or rivers.

3.    Construction of roads and railways on hillsides along with building works can weaken hillsides and make them more vulnerable during heavy rainfall. Mining activities also contribute to the hazard.

4.   They are measured in magnitude.

5.   The causes of earthquakes in Australia is intra-plate tension where movements occur along cracks and faults in the Earth’s crust.

6.   Every 15 months Australia experiences earthquakes of 5.5.

7.  13 people died and over 120 people were injured. It also impacted on buildings.

8.  Landslides are movements on the Earth’s crust and earthquakes are movements below the Earth’s crust.

9.  The movement of the ocean bottom displaces water on the surface, forming a tsunami.

10When an earthquake, landslide or volcano occurs under the sea it can trigger a tsunami.

11Sudden shifting of continental plates cause earthquakes, forcing sea water above to rise, forming waves.

12Shake, Drop and Roar are the three main signs.

13A earthquake measured 9.3 caused the tsunami.

14There are 23 earthquake monitoring stations in Australia.

15The wave slows down as it enters shallow water.

16The United Nations a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.

17Ted Bryant a Wollongong University geoscience professor, studies natural hazards and has warned that tsunamis triggered by New Zealand’s alpine fault line could strike NSW as often as once every 500 years.

18A) 10S 100E   B) i) 3 hours ii) 7 hours iii) 5 hours iv) 10 hours

1914th October 1968, the small town of Meckering, about 130 km east of Perth, was destroyed by an earthquake. The magnitude of the Meckering earthquake was 6.9 on the scale making it one of the largest recorded in the history of Australia. The earthquake lasted 45 seconds and was felt over an area of 700kms in radius and caused damage in many towns. The earthquake focus was 7km deep.
20.  

Deadly Storms in the US

More than 160 tornadoes were reported throughout the South Wednesday night.  The storms caused deaths in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Louisiana and Kentucky. 339 people were killed across the south, 200 of them were from Alabama and 36 of those in Tuscaloosa. Whole neighborhoods were flattened, leaving piles of debris around the city and about one million people in the state without electricity. The president has called the loss of life from the storms heartbreaking.   

Cyclones

Economic: Economic impacts of cyclones

Insurance

Losses to insurance companies: example: new Orleans.

 In the 2005 cyclone in new Orleans the insurance companies could not afford to pay out their customers. They now do not offer home and contents insurance if you buys a house in louisana.

It is highly risky to grant a mortgage to a household without insurance.

Therefore, buying land is near impossible.

This leads to an enormous decline in house prices, and the financial decline of all people who live in this area, leading to a decline in tax revenue for the government, and the depletion of every aspect of public services from a lack of revenue.

A decline is wealth decreases the likelihood of people being able to find a job.

Regional government

Regional government have to ensure that all of the correct services are receved and that the resontruction effort is conducte correctly. This can cause enourmous budgetary strain.

Example: in the 2010 floods and cyclones in queensland, the federal government wanted to continue the effort to rebuild, however they also wished to ensure that they meet their goal of reaching a surplus by 2012

Social:Social affects from Tropical Cyclones

·         The destruction of buildings, resulting in people finding themselves homeless.

·         The wiping out of businesses or agricultural crops. Some families could be left without an income.

·         Tropical cyclones would result in loss of lives and death.

·         There would be a loss of food supplies can which could lead to starvation. The water may be contaminated which would affect people’s health.

·         The cost of living would increase. Food, petrol etc. These would cost more.

Environmental: Environmental impacts of a Cyclone

1.       Alternate Factors

Cyclones have the ability to cause several other natural occurrences... These include floods, strong winds, heavy rain, and many other atmospherically disastrous events

2.       Widespread Destruction

Cyclones cause widespread destruction. They have the ability to ruin forests and natural reefs; basically areas of environmental significance. As forests can become uprooted and reefs can be totally destroyed.

3.       Dispersing Life

As a result of a cyclone life can end up in places it otherwise wouldn’t. Seeds can be dispersed over sea, causing life to sprout in unusual places. In some cases fish or frogs have been reported to rain from the sky! This can damage the local environment; plants can be considered pests in alternate countries.

4.       Loss of life

Some of the effects of a cyclone can be quite obvious. Especially the loss of animal life. The morning following Cyclone Tracy, silence was reported. In areas usually rich in bird life, the lack of noise was quite disturbing.

5.        Waste distribution

Cyclones can cause a lot of damage. Appropriately the majority of rubbish and waste the cyclone collects is distributed over a large amount of area. Because of the fact that cyclones are often located near the coast this waste is distributed [mostly] into the ocean. Additionally sewage can be made to leak, once again into the ocean. This contaminates the water, causing disruption  to the food chain.