HURRICANE

• Hurricanes are areas of low air pressure that form over oceans in tropical climate regions.
• Hurricanes are large storms with rotating winds.
• In the beginning, the ocean storm is called a “tropical disturbance”, which is like a bunch of thunderstorms with very little wind circulation.
  

                                FLOODS

• Flash floods often bring walls of water 10 to 20 feet high.
• 95% of those killed in a flash flood try to outrun the waters along their path rather than climbing rocks or going uphill to higher grounds.
• Since 1900, floods have taken more than 10,000 lives in the United States alone.

• About 250,000 avalanches occur each year in the Alps, a mountain chain in Europe.
• Each year, avalanches claim more than 150 lives worldwide, a number that has been increasing due to the boom in mountainside industries and recreation.
• 89% of avalanche victims are men and most are between the ages of 20 and 30.

• A tsunami is a series of sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.
• When the ocean is deep, tsunamis may be less than a foot high on the ocean’s surface, can travel at speeds up to 500 mph without being noticed and cross the entire ocean in less than a day.
• Many witnesses say a tsunami sounds like a freight train