Hurricanes and Earthquakes

Hurricanes and earthquakes are two of the most dangerous natural disasters in the United States. They can be very disastrous and deadly. In the United States, there have been 73 hurricanes since 1954. Earthquakes are harder to detect because they have to have at least a magnitude of 5 ("Earthquakes per year," 2009). The amount of earthquakes detected in the United States was 1656 in the past 10 years ("Earthquakes per year," 2009). The World Meteorological Organization is the organization that can choose the names of hurricanes. At the beginning of the year, the first hurricane always begins with an A name, and continue down the alphabet (NHC, 2003). The letters not used to name a hurricane are, Q, U, X, Y, and Z (Netting, 2003).

HurricanesHurricanes are one of the most dangerous natural disasters for an area to endure. Hurricanes consist of powerful fast winds and heavy rain. A hurricane is a low tropical storm with winds exceeding 74 MPH that can easily damage property and buildings or even kill individuals in its path. A hurricane occurs when heat is released in the form of large amounts of water vapor condensed that heat up the air and reduce air pressure close the ocean surface. This action causes air to move quickly inward creating a circular motion around the low pressure area. The circular winds form an upright cylinder that can extend upward for many miles. Most hurricanes initiate out in the ocean and gain strength, speed and energy as they travel across the ocean waters. Once a hurricane hits land, it usually loses its strength and speed as a result of friction from items that it encounters in its path.

EarthquakesEarthquakes are known for their damaging and unparalleled forces that have caused destruction to entire cities and deaths to many individuals. Usually there is no notice about when an earthquake will strike. The earth's crust is made up of several plates that float and slowly move, due to convection currents, on molten lava, called magma.

References: 2009). Earthquakes per year. Retrieved from http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen99/gen99281.htm(2009). Facts about Overpopulation, The. History.com. Retrieved (2009, November 22) from http://www.history.com/states.do?action=detail&state=Over%20Population&contentType=State_Generic&contentId=60622&parentId=earthCasey, Michael. (2005, December 19). Tsunami still taking toll on environment. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10463953/ns/us_news-environment/Discovery Communications, LLC (2009). Discovery Channel Feature. Facts About Katrina. Retrieved November 18, 2009 on the World Wide Web: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/katrina/facts/facts.htmlNetting, Ruth. (2003, January 22). How are Hurricanes named?. Retrieved from http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/hurricane/names.htmlNHC. (2009, April 22). Retired hurricane names since 1954. Retrieved from http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/retirednames.shtmlRMS (August, 2005). Hurricane Katrina: Profile of a Super Cat. Lessons and implications for Catastrophic Risk Management. Retrieved November 18, 2009 on the World Wide Web: http://www.rms.com/publications/KatrinaReport_LessonsandImplications.pdfZelaya, Josie. (n.d.). Landslides. Retrieved from http://isis.csuhayward.edu/alss/geography/mlee/ensc2800/zelaya/pages/landslides.htm