Hurricane

Lead-in

  • Is there a natural phenomenon that you are particularly interested in?
  • How can you define a disaster?
  • What are some ways we can prepare ourselves in advance to cope with disasters?
  • If you had the power to stop a natural disaster that has happened in the past, which disaster would you choose? Why?

Presentation

Pre

  • What possible disaster would you fear the most? Why?

Top Down

  • What disasters and hazards are mentioned in the text? Read it and find out.
  1. Hurricane
  2. Tornado
  3. Drought
  4. Tsunami
  1. Earthquake
  2. Flood
  3. Volcano eruption
  4. Blizzard
  1. Hurricane
  2. Tornado
  3. Drought
  4. Tsunami
  1. Earthquake
  2. Flood
  3. Volcano eruption
  4. Blizzard

There’s actually no such thing as a natural disaster: Hazards are natural; disasters are manmade.

You could call them unprecedented. After all, Irma and Harvey were the first two categories four hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in the same year. You might call them harrowing, especially when you consider that more than six million acres of land—a million in Montana alone—have burned during this year’s wildfire season. And no one paying attention to the aftermath of hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma would hesitate to call those storms devastating. Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents have struggled for more than a week with no electricity, and more than half of them still don’t have clean water. And, for the first time in more than 300 years, no one is living on the Island of Barbuda; all 94,000 residents have left.

Most of what we call natural disasters (tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes) are indeed natural, though human contributions may increase their likelihood or intensity. But they aren’t disasters—they’re hazards. If a hurricane slams into land where no one lives, it isn’t a disaster; it’sthe weather. A disaster is when a natural hazard meets a human population. And often, that intersection is far from natural.

When you look at the Houston communities most harmed by Hurricane Harvey, much of that harm was not only predictable—it was predicted. In 2016, ProPublica put out a detailed article explaining how a lack of planning left city residents incredibly vulnerable to a hurricane. The city allowed entire neighborhoods to spring up in areas that the Army Corps of Engineers knew would flood during a significant rain event. A 1996 report urged Harris County, where Houston is located, to take steps to reduce the risk. It was ignored. Harvey was an intense weather phenomenon, yes. But only a lack of infrastructure and planning transformed it into a disaster.

To be clear, this isn’t to blame any one person—or group of people—for their misfortunes. Many live in risky areas because the risks weren’t made clear to them, or because the areas only became risky after the fact as humans further altered the landscape. Wealth is, of course, a factor. Stymied by policies that have made it hard for the U.S. territory to be financially solvent, Puerto Rico hasn’t exactly been able to prioritize investment in infrastructure. And in some places, government policy has pushed people onto marginal land, forcing them to eke out their existence in places particularly primed for disasters.

It is true that some level of natural hazard is unavoidable. There’s likely nowhere on Earth that is immune to all natural hazards: earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, drought, etc. But when we say that a disaster is natural, it lets us off of the hook from doing anything to prevent its worst effects. It allows us to avoid planning for hazards, and to pretend that the awful collision of people and the forces of nature is inevitable.

Adapted from Source

Bottom Up

  • True or False?

Example: There’s no such thing as natural disasters. True

  1. When the text was written, no one was no one was living on the Island of Barbuda: all 94 hundred residents had left.
  2. Most of what we call natural disasters like tornadoes, droughts and hurricanes are not actually natural.
  3. The author says that there’s only one group of people responsible for the disaster that happened in the U.S.A.
  4. Puerto Rico has been able to prioritize investment in infrastructure but the government choose not to. 
  5. Every level of natural hazard is avoidable.
  1. When the text was written, no one was no one was living on the Island of Barbuda: all 94 hundred residents had left. False
  2. Most of what we call natural disasters like tornadoes, droughts and hurricanes are not actually natural. False
  3. The author says that there’s only one group of people responsible for the disaster that happened in the U.S.A. False
  4. Puerto Rico has been able to prioritize investment in infrastructure but the government choose not to. False
  5. Every level of natural hazard is avoidable. False

Post

  • Do you agree with the text? Why or why not?
  • What kind of disasters are common in your country?

Target Language

Linking Expressions for Sequencing, Presenting Points and Concluding

We use linking expressions to improve the connections between ideas in a text or speech.

For sequencing information, we can use the following expressions:

  • First of all
  • To begin with
  • Also
  • Plus
  • What’s more
  • Moreover

For presenting positive and negative points, we can use the following expressions:

  • One point in favor is…
  • The main advantage is…
  • The best part is…
  • The problem with…
  • The main disadvantage is…

For concluding, we can use the following expressions:

  • All in all
  • To sum up
  • Lastly

 

We can use the following expressions to show interest in a certain topic:

  • Are you serious?
  • Wow, I can’t believe that
  • Tell me more
  • Sounds interesting
  • That’s so cool/funny/weird

Natural Disasters

Controlled Practice

  • Use the phrases below to complete the blank spaces in the text. There is one example.

ALL IN ALL – THE PROBLEM WITH – FIRST OF ALL – PLUS – ONE POINT IN FAVOR IS

(1) First of all, I’ve always planned to go to New York. There are a lot of great events there, people from all around the world go there. But (2)________ my plan is that I’m also really afraid of these disasters that every now and then happen in the United States, (3)________, traveling there is really expensive, and I don’t have enough money to do so. Even though Its dangerous and I have no money, I’m going to keep trying to know New York because it’s a great city and (4)________ that the government is careful and tries to make the city safer for its citizens. (5)________, It’s worth the effort!

(1) First of all, I’ve always planned to go to New York. There are a lot of great events there, people from all around the world go there. But (2) the problem with my plan is that I’m also really afraid of these disasters that every now and then happen in the United States, (3) plus, traveling there is really expensive, and I don’t have enough money to do so. Even though Its dangerous and I have no money, I’m going to keep trying to know New York because it’s a great city and (4) one point in favor is that the government is careful and tries to make the city safer for its citizens. (5) All in all, It’s worth the effort!

Production

  • Think about things that you find interesting and ask your teacher and classmate to react to it. React to whatever your classmates and teacher find interesting. Talk about it using as much of the Target Language as you can.

Example: I think Botanic is really interesting. > The problem with botanic is that it is really difficult to understand!

Homework

Connect the words from the first column with their meaning. There is one example.

  1. Avalanche

  2. Landslide

  3. Flood

  4. Drought

  5. Earthquake

  6. Tsunami

(   ) A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.

(   ) Several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows.

(   ) A long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance.

(1) Rapid flow of snow down a slope.

(   ) An overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry.

(   ) A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.

  1. Avalanche

  2. Landslide

  3. Flood

  4. Drought

  5. Earthquake

  6. Tsunami

(4) A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.

(2) Several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows.

(6) A long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance.

(1) Rapid flow of snow down a slope.

(3) An overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry.

(5) A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.

Choose the best option for each sentence.

Example: The horrific devastation caused by this tsunami / tsunamis may be the worst natural disaster in recent history. > The horrific devastation caused by this tsunami may be the worst natural disaster in recent history.

  1. Under his tough tutelage, morover / moreover, I learned a good deal about how to handle the world.
  2. So, all in / and all, and at the risk of being extremely babyish myself, I’d go so far as to say that my argument’s bigger than yours.
  3. To sum / summ up, this disc is a must for all choral enthusiasts who have the rich seam of 18th century baroque music at heart.
  4. The best part is that all the waiting has been edited / edit out, and we just get the good bits.
  5. I would like the previous speaker to tell / told me more about what he thinks of these air raids.
  1. Under his tough tutelage, moreover, I learned a good deal about how to handle the world.
  2. So, all in all, and at the risk of being extremely babyish myself, I’d go so far as to say that my argument’s bigger than yours.
  3. To sum up, this disc is a must for all choral enthusiasts who have the rich seam of 18th-century baroque music at heart.
  4. The best part is that all the waiting has been edited out, and we just get the good bits.
  5. I would like the previous speaker to tell me more about what he thinks of these air raids.

Using the words from #1, complete the sentences.

Example: The devastation caused by that ____ ruined their lives. > The devastation caused by that tsunami ruined their lives.

  1. The ____, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, hit the country on Saturday afternoon.
  2. Rescuers are probing the snow for an unknown number of people swept up in the massive ____.
  3. Occasionally, flooding of inhabited areas is unavoidable and the agency issues ____ warnings.
  4. So much rain has fallen that precipitation deficits from last year’s ____ have been eliminated.
  5. Guilherme slid down the muddy slope, a ____ of earth, rock and ferns.
  1. The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, hit the country on Saturday afternoon.
  2. Rescuers are probing the snow for an unknown number of people swept up in the massive avalanche.
  3. Occasionally, flooding of inhabited areas is unavoidable and the agency issues flood warnings.
  4. So much rain has fallen that precipitation deficits from last year’s drought have been eliminated.
  5. Guilherme slid down the muddy slope, a landslide of earth, rock and ferns.

Put the words in the correct order to make sentences.

Example: the / earthquake, / measuring / the / 6.8 / afternoon. / on / hit / country / scale, / on / The / Richter / Saturday > The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, hit the country on Saturday afternoon.

  1. situation, / drought / a / crop / it / dry / usually / is / to / is / tolerant. / durum / In / most / grow / because / the / the / best
  2. Greece / 500 / the / tonnes / donated / flood. / of / raisins / the / people / after / Hamburg / to / of
  3. The / do / atmospheric / plants / is / not / advantage / they / power / cause / that / of / nuclear / main / pollution.
  4. animals / platelets. / decreases / significant / white / showed / The / in / no / blood / cells / also / or
  5. among / fourth / competition / the / to / jurisdictions, / firms / lesson / individuals. / And / and / lastly / is / promote
  1. In a dry situation, durum is usually the best crop to grow because it is the most drought tolerant.
  2. Greece donated 500 tonnes of raisins to the people of Hamburg after the flood.
  3. The main advantage of nuclear power plants is that they do not cause atmospheric pollution.
  4. The animals also showed no significant decreases in white blood cells or platelets.
  5. And lastly the fourth lesson is to promote competition among jurisdictions, firms and individuals.

Find and correct the mistakes.

  1. The huricane wreaked terrible damage on the east coast, at Miami and the Florida Keys.
  2. A tornado is a espiral of fast-moving air usually associated with a funnel-shaped cloud extending to the graund.
  3. The vegetation is reduced during the drougth.
  4. It sound interesting, but the reality is that long guns are used in equal amounts in contrast to handguns for violent crimes.
  5. I can’t believed Henrique is not working in this country in football.
  1. The hurricane wreaked terrible damage on the east coast, at Miami and the Florida Keys.
  2. A tornado is a spiral of fast-moving air usually associated with a funnel-shaped cloud extending to the ground.
  3. The vegetation is reduced during the drought.
  4. It sounds interesting, but the reality is that long guns are used in equal amounts in contrast to handguns for violent crimes.
  5. I can’t believe Henrique is not working in this country in football.

Writing

Write about each of the natural disasters presented in this lesson. Remember to use as much of the Target Language as possible.

Example: In the first place, hurricanes are dangerous because…