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It's been raining for a few days where Jessi and Squeaks live, and the news even said that there may be a flood! Join Jessi to find out what a flood is, how they form, and how you can stay safe if there's a flood where you live!

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Take shelter, gang - because here at National Geographic Kids, we're entering the eye of the storm with ten tornado facts!

Check out our ten top facts about tornadoes...

1) Tornadoes - also known as "twisters" - are violently rotating columns of air that reach from a storm cloud to the earth's surface.

2) The winds of a tornado can reach speeds of up to 480km per hour - that's strong enough to peel the roofs off houses, uproot trees and hurl heavy objects, such as cars, hundreds of metres!

3) Tornadoes come in different shapes and sizes. Some may appear as wide funnel-shaped clouds, others as thin rope-like swirls stretching from the ground to the sky.

4) The duration of tornadoes, and the distance they travel, varies. Most last less than ten minutes and travel five to ten kilometres before disappearing. In extreme cases, however, they can last several hours and cross distances over 150km!

5) Tornadoes are measured using the Fujita Scale (or F-scale), ranging from F0 to F5, with F5 being the strongest and most destructive.

6) The deadliest tornado ever recorded was in Bangladesh in 1989. As it travelled through the Dhaka region of the country, more than 20 villages were destroyed and around 1,300 people were killed.

7) Most of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States in what's known as Tornado Alley. Stretching from west Texas to North Dakota, this area can see more than 200 tornadoes each year!

8) If a tornado occurs over water, it's called a waterspout.

9) Not all tornadoes are easy to see. In fact, they can be invisible until they pick up dust and debris, or a cloud forms within the spinning funnel.

10) The formation of a tornado is so complex that scientists still don't completely understand it. And what's more, the unpredictability of tornadoes makes them difficult - and dangerous - to study. A tornado will demolish everything in its path, including measuring equipment. And so, the secrets behind this incredible force of nature are yet to be discovered...

Photos: Getty Images UK

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Tornado Facts! - National Geographic Kids

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Take shelter, gang - because here at National Geographic Kids, we're entering the eye of the storm with ten tornado facts! Check out our ten top facts about tornadoes... 1) Tornadoes - also known as "twisters" - are violently rotating columns of air that reach from a storm cloud to the earth's surface.

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What is a Tornado? The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz

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Tornadoes

What is a tornado?
A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300 mph. They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards. They can also drive straw into trees. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide to 50 miles long. In an average year, 1000 tornadoes are reported nationwide.

How do tornadoes form?

Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms. You need warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.

Click Here to learn more about tornadoes from NOAA.

What are some other factors for tornadoes to form?
Several conditions are required for the development of tornadoes and the thunderstorm clouds with which most tornadoes are associated. Abundant low level moisture is necessary to contribute to the development of a thunderstorm, and a "trigger" (perhaps a cold front or other low level zone of converging winds) is needed to lift the moist air aloft. Once the air begins to rise and becomes saturated, it will continue rising to great heights to produce a thunderstorm cloud, if the atmosphere is unstable. An unstable atmosphere is one where the temperature decreases rapidly with height. Atmospheric instability can also occur when dry air overlays moist air near the earth's surface. Finally, tornadoes usually form in areas where winds at all levels of the atmosphere are not only strong, but also turn with height in a clockwise or veering direction.

What do tornadoes look like?
Tornadoes can appear as a traditional funnel shape, or in a slender rope-like form. Some have a churning, smoky look to them, and other contain "multiple vortices", which are small, individual tornadoes rotating around a common center. Even others may be nearly invisible, with only swirling dust or debris at ground levels as the only indication of the tornado's presence.

What is a funnel cloud? A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-shaped column of air extending downward from the base of a thunderstorm, but not touching the ground. When it reaches the ground it is called a tornado.

It is not fully understood about how exactly tornadoes form, grow and die. Tornado researchers are still trying to solve the tornado puzzle, but for every piece that seems to fit they often uncover new pieces that need to be studied. How do tornadoes stop?

A supercell thunderstorm is a long-lived thunderstorm whose updrafts and downdrafts are in near balance. These storms have the greatest tendency to produce tornadoes that stay on the ground for long periods of time. Supercell thunderstorms can produce violent tornadoes with winds exceeding 200 mph.
What is a supercell thunderstorm?

A mesocyclone is a rotating vortex of air within a supercell thunderstorm. Mesocyclones do not always produce tornadoes.
What is a mesocyclone?

A wall cloud is an abrupt lowering of a rain-free cumulonimbus base into a low-hanging accessory cloud. A wall cloud is usually situated in the southwest portion of the storm. A rotating wall cloud usually develops before tornadoes or funnel clouds. What is a microburst?
A microburst is a downdraft (sinking air) in a thunderstorm that is less than 2.5 miles in scale. Although microbursts are not as widely recognized as tornadoes, they can cause comparable, and in some cases, worse damage than some tornadoes produce. In fact, wind speeds as high as 150 mph are possible in extreme microburst cases.
What is a wall cloud?

A waterspout is just a weak tornado that forms over water. They are most common along the Gulf Coast. Waterspouts can sometimes move inland, becoming tornadoes causing damage and injuries.

What is a waterspout?

What is hail?
Hail is created when small water droplets are caught in the updraft of a thunderstorm. These water droplets are lifted higher and higher into the sky until they freeze into ice. Once they become heavy, they will start to fall. If the smaller hailstones get caught in the updraft again, they will get more water on them and get lifted higher in the sky and get bigger. Once they get lifted again, they freeze and fall. This happens over and over again until the hailstone is too heavy and then falls to the ground.

What is the largest hailstone recorded in the United States?
According to the National Weather Service, the largest hailstone is 8 inches in diameter and weights approximately 2 pounds. It fell in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010.
A gustnado is a short-lived, relatively weak whirlwind that forms along a gust front. A gust front is the surge of very gusty winds at the leading edge of a thunderstorm's outflow of air. Gustnadoes are not tornadoes. They do not connect with any cloud-base rotation. But because gustnadoes often have a spinning dust cloud at ground level, they are sometimes wrongly reported as tornadoes. Gustnadoes can do minor damage.

What is a gustnado?
A landspout is a very weak tornado that is not associated with a wall cloud or a mesocyclone. It is the land equivalent of a waterspout.

What is a landspout?
A dust devil generally forms in the hot sun during the late morning or early afternoon hours. These are mostly harmless whirlwinds and are triggered by light desert breezes that create a swirling plume of dust with speeds rarely over 70 mph. These differ from tornadoes in that they are not associated with a thunderstorm (or any cloud) and are usually very weak.

What is a dust devil? Tornadoes can happen at any time of the year and at any time of the day. In the southern states, peak tornado season is from March through May. Peak times for tornadoes in the northern states are during the summer. A few southern states have a second peak time for tornado outbreaks in the fall. Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The geography of the central part of the United States, known as the Great Plains, is suited to bring all of the ingredients together to forms tornadoes. More than 500 tornadoes typically occur in this area every year and is why it is commonly known as "Tornado Alley". Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana all make up Tornado Alley. When are tornadoes most likely to occur?

Where are tornadoes most likely to occur?

Know the Lingo

TORNADO WATCH - Tornadoes are possible in your area. Stay tuned to the radio or television news.
TORNADO WARNING - A tornado is either on the ground or has been detected by Doppler radar. Seek shelter immediately!

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.

Know the Facts
Tornadoes can occur at any time of the year. nd winds less than 110 mph.

No terrain is safe from tornadoes.

Never open windows in severe weather situations. This allows damaging wind and debris to enter the structure.

69% of all tornadoes are labeled "weak tornadoes" meaning they have a lifetime of 1-10+ minutes a

SCALE

WIND SPEED

POSSIBLE DAMAGE

Enhanced,
Operational
Fujita Scale

29% of all tornadoes are labeled "strong tornadoes" meaning they last 20 minutes or longer and winds reach 110-205 mph.
2% of all tornadoes are labeled "violent tornadoes" and can last over an hour.

Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity

Tornado Safety Tips
BEFORE A TORNADO: Have a disaster plan. Make sure everyone knows where to go in case a tornado threatens. Make sure you know which county or parish you live in. Prepare a kit with emergency food for your home. Have enough food and water for at least 3 days.

AFTER A TORNADO: Stay indoors until it is safe to come out. Check for injured or trapped people, without putting yourself in danger. Watch out for downed power lines. Use a flashlight to inspect your home. Tornado Activities

Lesson Plan: Here are some great lesson plans on learning about tornado safety. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. DURING A TORNADO: Go to a basement. If you do not have a basement, go to an interior room without windows on the lowest floor such as a bathroom or closet. If you can, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, like a table. If you live in a mobile home get out. They offer little protection against tornadoes. Get out of automobiles. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car, leave it immediately. If you're outside, go to a ditch or low lying area and lie flat in it. Stay away from fallen power lines and stay out of damaged areas.
Tornado Experiment: Here is a great experiment that allows the kids to make a tornado in a bottle.
IF YOU'RE AT SCHOOL DURING A TORNADO: Every school should have a disaster plan and have frequent drills. Basements offer the best protection. Schools without basements should use interior rooms and hallways on the lowest floor away from windows. Crouch down on your knees and protect your head with your arms.
Tornado Experiment: Here is a great experiment that allows the kids to make a tornado in a jar.
Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.

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Ready for some fun tornado facts? A tornado is a violent and destructive storm that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

Basically, powerful winds rotate in a funnel shaped cloud around a central point.

Unbelievably they can reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour (483 kilometers). To be called a tornado they have to touch the ground, otherwise they're called a funnel.

If you see a storm kicking up some dust, that isn't necessarily a tornado, there has to be that wind rotating around.

As we've said, they're really destructive and they can literally destroy everything in their path when they touch the ground.

They've been known to literally lift up houses, cars and anything that gets in their way.

Where do you find Tornadoes?

They're found throughout the world in countries like South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and across Europe.

The most famous ones can be found in Tornado Alley which stretches from Texas to the Dakotas in the US.

There are over a 1,000 tornadoes in the US every year. Wow - that's a lot!

When do Tornadoes happen?

Well they can happen at any time of the year, but are mostly seen in a stormy spring or in summer when warm air and cold air bump together and the air basically becomes unstable.

They can form out of many types of storms but the most common is called the Supercell where if the winds come from just the right direction with just the right strength, the storm begins to spin and can form a tornado.

Tornadoes can spin clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Another type of tornado is the Waterspout which is a tornado over water and is strong enough to turn boats upside down.

Before a tornado strikes, the wind may die down and the air becomes very still, or it can strike suddenly with very little warning.

How much do Scientists know about Tornadoes?

Well there is plenty that they don't know about tornadoes and measuring their strength is really difficult.

Their strength is currently measured by the amount of damage they cause and this is done by using a scale called the Fujita or F scale developed by Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita.

There have been some changes to his work and it's now called the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

The extent of a tornado's damage can range from 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide to 50 miles (80.4 kilometers) long.

Whoa! A tornado that damages trees can get an EF0 rating, but one that is violent and rips buildings off their foundations, destroys solid brick buildings or twists skyscrapers and huge steel machines and heavy farm equipment into unrecognizable lumps of metal gets an EF4 or EF5 rating.

Only about 1% of tornadoes reach that level but even a weak tornado can turn a car over.

What to do if you live in a Tornado area?

If people live in a tornado area they should know what to do if one strikes. Radio, TV and apps are the most common ways that warnings are given that a tornado might be brewing or on its way.

People in cars in busy areas shouldn't try driving away from a tornado as they will probably get stuck in a traffic jam and then have no protection when it hits.

They are better to park off the road to clear the way for traffic and go and find a strong solid building to shelter in.

They must not stand in the open and watch the tornado. This can be very dangerous as tornados can move very quickly and there is often lighting as well as objects flying around.

Hiding under bridges or highways is not safe either as they can be blown out or hit by objects travelling at speeds from 200 (321 kilometers) or 300 miles (482 kilometers) per hour.

If there are no solid buildings to hide in, they can find the lowest ground area possible or lie face-down with their head covered in a ditch.

The best option is getting protection in the sturdiest building that can be found, in a basement or an interior room on the ground floor with no windows and then covering up with blankets, cushions or mattresses.

However, this is not foolproof either.

Having a radio to hear news broadcasts is a good idea too. Nature is very, very powerful.

Some more interesting tornado facts

Did you know that every tornado has its own color, sound and shape?

You need to step on the pedal of a car past 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour to outrun the fastest tornadoes.

Tornadoes have been reported in every state in the US and also in every season.

Who would have thought this? A tornado happens mostly between 3pm and 9pm.
Also Read:

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Tornado Facts For Kids - Fun Earth Science

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Tornado Facts For Kids Ready for some fun tornado facts? A tornado is a violent and destructive storm that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Basically, powerful winds rotate in a funnel shaped cloud around a central point.

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Click here to learn more.

It is not easy to measure wind speed in a tornado. This is because a tornado usually destroys local measuring equipment, and also because tornadoes only exist for a short time at random places and they are gone before meteorologists can study them.

Wind speed is usually measured by a device called an anemometer, which has cups that spin around a vertical axis in the wind (the Beaufort wind scale rates, on a scale of 1 to 12, how strong the wind is). Severe tornadoes, however, can destroy these relatively fragile devices. There are other methods of measuring wind speed (including Doppler radar), but measuring the wind during a tornado is not easily done because tornadoes exist for such a short time. Meteorologists (weather scientists) may not even know about a tornado until after it has dissipated, since tornadoes usually only last for a few minutes and travel for a relatively short distance.

Before 1971, tornadoes were not ranked at all. In 1971, Dr. Theodore Fujita developed a method for categorizing tornadoes by looking at how much damage they cause and using this to estimate the wind speed. This system is called the F-Scale or Fujita Scale; it classifies tornadoes by their estimated wind speed, which is determined by looking at how strong the wind must have been to cause the resulting damage.

Tornadoes are classified into five categories, F-0 through F-5. F-0 tornadoes are the mildest. F-5 tornadoes are the most dangerous (and the rarest).

F-0 40-72 mph, Light damage, chimney damage, tree branches broken

F-1 73-112 mph, Moderate damage, mobile homes pushed off foundation or flipped over

F-2 113-157 mph, Considerable damage, mobile homes demolished, trees uprooted

F-3 158-205 mph, Severe damage, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown around

F-4 207-260 mph, Devastating damage, well-constructed walls leveled

F-5 261-318 mph, Violent damage, homes lifted off foundation and carried considerable distances, autos thrown as far as 100 meters.

In 2006, the National Weather Service developed the Enhanced Fujita scale, with 28 different damage indicators.
Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita
Dr. Tetsuya Theodore (Ted) Fujita (Oct. 23, 1920 - Nov. 19, 1998) was a pioneering meteorologist who revolutionized the study of severe storms. Dr. Fujita was the first person to realize that there are multiple vortex tornadoes, downbursts and microbursts. In 1971, Dr. Fujita developed the scale used for measuring wind speed, linking damage to estimated wind speed. This scale is called the Fujita-scale or the F-scale.

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tornado classification. fujita scale f-scale fscale teddy tornado tornados tornadoes weather wind gusts rain eye activities printouts how they form

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Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more. It is not easy to measure wind speed in a tornado.

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What Is An Earthquake? | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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Earthquakes for Kids | A fun engaging introduction to Earthquakes and Tsunamis for Kids

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Kid's learn about the science of earthquakes. What causes them and where they happen.

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An earthquake (or quakes, tremors) is shaking of the surface of earth, caused by sudden movement in the Earth's crust. They can be extremely violent.

Earthquakes are usually quite brief, but may repeat. They are the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust. This creates seismic waves, which are waves of energy that travel through the Earth. The study of earthquakes is called seismology. Seismology studies the frequency, type and size of earthquakes over a period of time.

There are large earthquakes and small earthquakes. Large earthquakes can take down buildings and cause death and injury. Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The magnitude of an earthquake, and the intensity of shaking, is usually reported on the Richter scale. On the scale, 3 or less is scarcely noticeable, and magnitude 7 (or more) causes damage over a wide area.

An earthquake under the ocean can cause a tsunami. This can cause just as much death and destruction as the earthquake itself. Landslides can happen, too. Earthquakes are part of the Earth's rock cycle.

The ancient Chinese used a device that looked like a jar with dragons on the top surrounded by frogs with their mouths open. When an earthquake occurred, a ball fitted into each dragon's mouth would drop out of the dragon's mouth into the frog's. The position of the frog which received a ball indicated the direction of the earthquake. This was one of the first tools to help figure out where an earthquake originated from.

Causes of an earthquake

Earthquakes are caused by tectonic movements in the Earth's crust. The main cause is that when tectonic plates collide, one rides over the other, causing orogeny (mountain building), earthquakes and volcanoes.

The boundaries between moving plates form the largest fault surfaces on Earth. When they stick, relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress. This continues until the stress rises and breaks, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy.

Earthquake fault types

There are three main types of geological fault that may cause an earthquake: normal, reverse (thrust) and strike-slip. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is being extended. Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being shortened. Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other.

Earthquake clusters

Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of location and time. Most earthquake clusters consist of small tremors which cause little to no damage, but there is a theory that earthquakes can recur in a regular pattern.

A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger earthquake, called the mainshock. A foreshock is in the same area of the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude.

An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude. Aftershocks are formed as the crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock.

Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a short period of time. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series of aftershocks by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is obviously the main shock, therefore none have notably higher magnitudes than the other. An example of an earthquake swarm is the 2004 activity at Yellowstone National Park.

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in a sort of earthquake storm, where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, and with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern occurred in the North Anatolian fault in Turkey in the 20th century.

Tsunami or a chain of fast moving waves in the ocean caused by powerful earthquakes is a very serious challenge for people's safety and for earthquake engineering. Those waves can inundate coastal areas, destroy houses and even swipe away whole towns.

Unfortunately, tsunamis can not be prevented. However, there are warning systems which may warn the population before the big waves reach the land to let them enough time to rush to safety.

Earthquake-proofing

Some places, such as Japan or California, have many earthquakes and many inhabitants. There, it is good practice to construct houses and other buildings which will resist collapse in an earthquake. This is called seismic design or " earthquake-proofing".

Earthquake-proof buildings are constructed to withstand the destructive force of an earthquake. This depends upon its type of construction, shape, mass distribution, and rigidity. Different combinations are used. Square, rectangular, and shell-shaped buildings can withstand earthquakes better than skyscrapers. To reduce stress, a building's ground floor can be supported by extremely rigid, hollow columns, while the rest of the building is supported by flexible columns inside the hollow columns. Another method is to use rollers or rubber pads to separate the base columns from the ground, allowing the columns to shake parallel to each other during an earthquake.

To help prevent a roof from collapsing, builders make the roof out of light-weight materials. Outdoor walls are made with stronger and more reinforced materials such as steel or reinforced concrete. During an earthquake flexible windows may help hold the windows together so they don't break.

Related pages

Images for kids

Earthquake epicenters occur mostly along tectonic plate boundaries, and especially on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Comparison of the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes on Mexico City, Puebla and Michoacán/Guerrero

Ruins of the Għajn Ħadid Tower, which collapsed during the 1856 Heraklion earthquake

An image from a 1557 book depicting an earthquake in Italy in the 4th century BCE

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An earthquake (or quakes, tremors) is shaking of the surface of earth, caused by sudden movement in the Earth's crust. They can be extremely violent. Earthquakes are usually quite brief, but may repeat. They are the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust.

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Earthquakes, until recently, have been measured on the Richter scale. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake (how powerful it is). It is measured using a machine called a seismometer which produces a seismograph. A Richter scale is normally numbered 1-10, though there is no upper limit. It is logarithmic which means, for example, that an earthquake measuring magnitude 5 is ten times more powerful than an earthquake measuring 4. Earthquakes measuring 1-2 on the scale happen regularly, and they are so small that people cannot feel them. Earthquakes measuring upwards of 7 are less frequent but very powerful, and can cause a lot of destruction.

The largest earthquake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960, which measured 9.5 on the Richter scale. The Richter scale is not very accurate in measuring these larger earthquakes and today scientists use the Moment Magnitude Scale which uses the same logarithmic scale but which more accurately measures the strength of larger earthquakes.

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Measuring earthquakes - Earthquakes - AQA - GCSE Geography Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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1 2 3 4 5 6 Page 2of 6 Earthquakes, until recently, have been measured on the Richter scale. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake (how powerful it is). It is measured using a machine called a seismometer which produces a seismograph.

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What is an earthquake?
Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth's surface. They are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress. More than a million earthquakes rattle the world each year. The West Coast is most at risk of having an earthquake, but earthquakes can happen in the Midwest and along the East Coast. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted - although scientists are working on it!

Click Here to learn more about earthquakes from USGS.

What causes an earthquake?
There are about 20 plates along the surface of the earth that move continuously and slowly past each other. When the plates squeeze or stretch, huge rocks form at their edges and the rocks shift with great force, causing an earthquake. Think of it this way: Imagine holding a pencil horizontally. If you were to apply a force to both ends of the pencil by pushing down on them, you would see the pencil bend. After enough force was applied, the pencil would break in the middle, releasing the stress you have put on it. The Earth's crust acts in the same way. As the plates move they put forces on themselves and each other. When the force is large enough, the crust is forced to break. When the break occurs, the stress is released as energy which moves through the Earth in the form of waves, which we feel and call an earthquake. (Graphic Credit: Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future)

Click Here to see an animation of an earthquake. It's great for kids, because they get to see how it actually happens!

What is a fault?
A fault is an area of stress in the earth where broken rocks slide past each other, causing a crack in the Earth's surface. There are the major types of faults: dip-slip normal, dip-slip reverse, strike-slip, and oblique-slip.

What are plate tectonics?
The theory of plate tectonics is a interesting story of continents drifting from place to place breaking apart, colliding, and grinding against each other. The plate tectonic theory is supported by a wide range of evidence that considers the earth's crust and upper mantle to be composed of several large, thin, relatively rigid plates that move relative to one another. (See plate tectonic graphic above.) The plates are all moving in different directions and at different speeds. Sometimes the plates crash together, pull apart or sideswipe each other. When this happens, it commonly results in earthquakes.

Continental Drift: To see this animation again, just refresh this page! This animation shows you what our planet looked like millions of years ago and what it looks like now! (Graphic Credit: Geology Department at University of California, Berkeley)

What is a seismograph?
A seismograph is an instrument used for recording the intensity and duration of an earthquake.

Click Here to calculate the strength of earthquakes!

What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage!

Know the Lingo

EPICENTER - The point on the earth's surface directly above the source of the earthquake.

SEISMIC WAVES - The energy created by the quake travels in waves from the epicenter, where they are the strongest. The waves shake buildings, structures and the earth vertically, causing them to move horizontally!

RICHTER SCALE - A measurement of an earthquake's intensity. Each one-point increase on the scale indicates ten times the amount of shaking and 33 times the amount of energy. The energy released by a large earthquake may be equal to 10,000 times the energy of the first atomic bomb.

4

Minor Earthquake

5

Moderate Earthquake

6

Strong Earthquake

7

Major Earthquake

8

Great Earthquake

Richter Scale

Earthquake Safety Tips
BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE: Have a disaster plan. Emergency preparedness can save lives. Choose a safe place in every room. It's best to get under a sturdy piece of furniture like a table or a desk where nothing can fall on you. Practice DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Drop under something sturdy, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If you live in an earthquake prone area, bolt tall furniture to the wall and install strong latches to cupboards. Prepare a first aid kit for your home. By taking special precautions and checking for hazards before a disaster strikes, you will be much more likely to stay safe. DURING AN EARTHQUAKE: DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Stay indoors until the shaking stops. Stay away from windows. If you're in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. If you're outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees and power lines. Then, drop to the ground. If you're in a car, slow down and drive to a safe place. Stay in the car until the shaking stops.

AFTER THE SHAKING STOPS: Check for injuries. Inspect your home for damage. Eliminate fire hazards, so turn off the gas if you think its leaking. Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON.
Earthquake Activities
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about how thrust faults are responsible for the uplift of many mountain ranges across the world, including the Los Angeles Basin. This is a great lesson plan for middle and high school students.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan keeping track of earthquakes around the world. In this activity, kids keep a record of the location of earthquakes for a week and learn about plate tectonics.

Earthquake Experiment: Here is a great experiment that explains how to prepare for an earthquake.Science Fair Ideas: Here is a list of science fair project ideas that deal with earthquakes.

Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.

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Top 5 important facts about Flooding video

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Top 5 important facts about Flooding video

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Why do Flood Happen?????? Educational Video for Kids!!!!

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Flooding Explanation- Learn about Flood- Video for kids

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FLOODS - The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz

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1 - FLOODS ARE THE MOST COMMON NATURAL HAZARDS IN THE UNITED STATES

In terms of number of lives lost and property damage, flooding is the most common natural hazard. Floods can occur at any time of the year, in any part of the country, and at any time of the day or night. While heavy precipitation is the common cause of flooding, hurricanes, winter storms and snowmelt are common, but often overlooked, causes of flooding.

2 - Floodplains provide roughly 25 percent of all land-based ecosystem service benefits yet they represent just 2 percent of Earth's land surface

Floodplains are the low lying areas that surround rivers and other water bodies naturally flood on a frequent basis. Naturally frequent flooding makes floodplains the "lifeblood" to surrounding areas.

They provide clean water and wildlife habitat among many other benefits including one of the most visible functions, the ability to store large volumes of flood water and slowly release these waters over time.

3 - Wetlands in the U.S. save more than $30 billion in annual flood damage repair costs

Wetlands act as natural sponges, storing and slowly releasing floodwaters after peak flood flows have passed. A single acre of wetland, saturated to a depth of one foot, will retain 330,000 gallons of water - enough to flood thirteen average-sized homes thigh-deep.

4 - Over the past century, we have experienced more intense and frequent storms

Over the last 50 years, Americans have seen a 20% increase in the heaviest downpours. With a changing climate, we know that the size of the nation's floodplains will grow by 40 to 45% over the next 90 years, putting more people in harm's way.

5 - Damages from flood losses have increased to an average $10 billion per year

In the first decade of the new millennium, extreme rainfall events combined with changes in land use have resulted in an increase in floods and an increase in annual average flood losses from $6 billion to $10 billion despite the billions of dollars invested in flood control.

6 - In 2011 alone, there were 58 Federal flood disaster declarations, costing over $8 billion and caused 113 deaths, both exceeded the 30-year averages.

A homeowner with a 30-year mortgage in a 100-year flood area has a 1 in 4 chance that such a flood will occur and more than double the chance of being damaged by a flood than by a fire.
Floods can happen everywhere, it just depends on whether the risk is high, medium, or low: people outside of "high-risk" areas (or the "100-year" floodplain) actually file over 20% of the flood insurance claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.

7 - Roughly 17% of all the urban land in the United States is located in the "100-year" or high risk flood zone

If you live in a high-risk area and you have a federally backed mortgage, you must buy flood insurance. While flood insurance costs vary, flood insurance averages $600 a year. However, if your community participates in FEMA's voluntary Community Rating System (CRS), you can receive up to 45% off your insurance premium.

8 - Over the course of a 30 year mortgage, homeowners in the 100-year floodplain have a 1 in 4 chance or greater of being flooded - twice the probability of fire damage

Floods are not limited to the 100-year floodplain and 100 year floods can happen more frequently than once every century. Over 20% of the flood insurance claims and one-third of all flood disaster assistance is for flood damage outside the 100-year floodplain. The concept of a 100-year flood is a statistical projection that refers to a flood event that has a 1 percent probability of occurring each and every year. As the climate changes, the size and area subject to the 100-year flood will increase.

9 - Flood mitigation practices that reduce the loss of life and damages to properties provide $5 in benefits for every dollar invested

When homeowners take steps to protect themselves and to reduce the impacts of flooding through mitigation practices such as elevating or flood-proofing their homes, moving out of harm's way, and investing in "natural defenses" they can save themselves and taxpayer's money because it's less expensive to prepare for a flood than it is to keep cleaning up afterwards.

10 - Levees can and do fail often with catastrophic consequences

The good news is there are proven methods to restore and reconnect our rivers. Setting levees back or otherwise modifying levees allows the floodplain to store more water naturally, keep people safe, and provide other benefits such as clean water and wildlife habitat.

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1 - FLOODS ARE THE MOST COMMON NATURAL HAZARDS IN THE UNITED STATES In terms of number of lives lost and property damage, flooding is the most common natural hazard. Floods can occur at any time of the year, in any part of the country, and at any time of the day or night.

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Flooding is when a lot of water overflows onto land that is normally dry. It is the most common natural-weather event. Flooding can happen during heavy rains, when rivers overflow, when ocean waves come on the shore, when snow melts too fast, or when dams or levees break. Flooding may be only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. Floods that happen very quickly are called flash floods. Floods can cause power outages, disrupt transportation, damage buildings, and create landslides.

Words to Know

Am I at Risk?

What Can I Do?

Before

During

After

Learn More

Did you know?

Flooding can wash out walkways, roads, and fields, making them impossible to detect under flood water. Do not walk or ride in a car through water. It might be deeper than you think! A foot of water can sweep a vehicle off the road. Stay away from moving water!

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Words to Know Am I at Risk? What Can I Do? Learn More

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A flood is an overflow of water on normally dry ground. This is most commonly due to an overflowing river, a dam break, snowmelt, or heavy rainfall. Less commonly happening are tsunamis, storm surge.

The most deadly flooding was in 1931 in China and killed between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 people. The Kerala flood in India was another flood that has destroyed people's houses.

During a flood, people try to move themselves and their most precious belongings to higher ground quickly. The process of leaving homes in search of a safe place is called flood evacuation.

Bangladesh is the most flood prone area in the world.

Pollution of drinking water

During a flood there is plenty of water logging and overflow of water, but it is mostly polluted and not safe to drink. If people drink this dirty water, they may suffer from diseases such as typhoid and cholera, hepatitis and other such diseases. People can get ready to survive a flood by filling many containers with fresh and clean drinking water and storing other emergency supplies; like: medicine and food. During flood people try to go to higher sides because the flood water wouldn't reach high areas. Also drains overflow and mix with clean water and people who drink it might fall ill.

Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or snowmelt more rapidly than it can either infiltrate or run off. The excess accumulates in place, sometimes to hazardous depths. Surface soil can become saturated, which effectively stops infiltration, where the water table is shallow, such as a floodplain, or from intense rain from one or a series of storms. Infiltration also is slow to negligible through frozen ground, rock, concrete, paving, or roofs. Areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not connected to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on the surface slope. Endorheic basins may experience areal flooding during periods when precipitation exceeds evaporation.

Riverine (Channel)

Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from the smallest ephemeral streams in humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the world's largest rivers. When overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a muddy flood where sediments are picked up by run off and carried as suspended matter or bed load. Localized flooding may be caused or exacerbated by drainage obstructions such as landslides, ice, debris, or beaver dams.

Slow-rising floods most commonly occur in large rivers with large catchment areas. The increase in flow may be the result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow melt, monsoons, or tropical cyclones. However, large rivers may have rapid flooding events in areas with dry climate, since they may have large basins but small river channels and rainfall can be very intense in smaller areas of those basins.

Rapid flooding events, including flash floods, more often occur on smaller rivers, rivers with steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over impermeable terrain, or normally-dry channels. The cause may be localized convective precipitation (intense thunderstorms) or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or glacier.

Flash floods are the most common flood type in normally-dry channels in arid zones, known as arroyos in the southwest United States and many other names elsewhere. In that setting, the first flood water to arrive is depleted as it wets the sandy stream bed. The leading edge of the flood thus advances more slowly than later and higher flows. As a result, the rising limb of the hydrograph becomes ever quicker as the flood moves downstream, until the flow rate is so great that the depletion by wetting soil becomes insignificant.

Estuarine and coastal

Flooding in estuaries is commonly caused by a combination of storm surges caused by winds and low barometric pressure and large waves meeting high upstream river flows.

Coastal areas may be flooded by storm surges combining with high tides and large wave events at sea, resulting in waves over-topping flood defenses or in severe cases by tsunami or tropical cyclones. A storm surge, from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within this category. Research from the NHC (National Hurricane Center) explains: "Storm surge is an additional rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tides. Storm surge should not be confused with storm tide, which is defined as the water level rise due to the combination of storm surge and the astronomical tide. This rise in water level can cause extreme flooding in coastal areas particularly when storm surge coincides with spring tide, resulting in storm tides reaching up to 20 feet or more in some cases."

Urban flooding

Catastrophic

Catastrophic riverine flooding is usually associated with major infrastructure failures such as the collapse of a dam, but they may also be caused by drainage channel modification from a landslide, earthquake or volcanic eruption. Examples include outburst floods and lahars. Tsunamis can cause catastrophic coastal flooding, most commonly resulting from undersea earthquakes.

Causes of floods

Flooding is usually caused when a volume of water within a water body, such as a lake, overflows outside it. Sometimes if a dam breaks, it suddenly releases a large amount of water. The result is that some of the water travels to land, and 'floods' the area. Many rivers are in a channel, between river banks. They flood when the strength of the river causes it to flow beyond the banks. This is more common at bends or meanders.

Flood damage can be prevented by moving away from places that flood. However, people have long liked to have their homes and businesses alongside water because water is good for agriculture and transport and in other ways. Floods are also caused due to improper management of drains.

Rainfall is the most common cause. Snow melt is also a cause of flooding. Tsunamis and Storm Surge are less common ways that floods happen. Coastal Flooding is another common cause of flooding, and this is caused by low pressure systems or storms.

Flood safety planning

In the United States, the National Weather Service gives out the advice "Turn Around, Don't Drown" for floods; that is, it recommends that people get out of the area of a flood, rather than trying to cross it. At the most basic level, the best defense against floods is to seek higher ground for high-value uses while balancing the foreseeable risks with the benefits of occupying flood hazard zones. Critical community-safety facilities, such as hospitals, emergency-operations centers, and police, fire, and rescue services, should be built in areas least at risk of flooding. Structures, such as bridges, that must unavoidably be in flood hazard areas should be designed to withstand flooding. Areas most at risk for flooding could be put to valuable uses that could be abandoned temporarily as people retreat to safer areas when a flood is imminent.

Planning for flood safety involves many aspects of analysis and engineering, including:

observation of previous and present flood heights and inundated areas,

statistical, hydrologic, and hydraulic model analyses,

mapping inundated areas and flood heights for future flood scenarios,

long-term land use planning and regulation,

engineering design and construction of structures to control or withstand flooding,

intermediate-term monitoring, forecasting, and emergency-response planning, and

short-term monitoring, warning, and response operations.

Each topic presents distinct yet related questions with varying scope and scale in time, space, and the people involved. Attempts to understand and manage the mechanisms at work in floodplains have been made for at least six millennia.

In the United States, the Association of State Floodplain Managers works to promote education, policies, and activities that mitigate current and future losses, costs, and human suffering caused by flooding and to protect the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains - all without causing adverse impacts. A portfolio of best practice examples for disaster mitigation in the United States is available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In many countries around the world, waterways prone to floods are often carefully managed. Defenses such as detention basins, levees, bunds, reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent waterways from overflowing their banks. When these defenses fail, emergency measures such as sandbags or portable inflatable tubes are often used to try to stem flooding. Coastal flooding has been addressed in portions of Europe and the Americas with coastal defenses, such as sea walls, beach nourishment, and barrier islands.

In the riparian zone near rivers and streams, erosion control measures can be taken to try to slow down or reverse the natural forces that cause many waterways to meander over long periods of time. Flood controls, such as dams, can be built and maintained over time to try to reduce the occurrence and severity of floods as well. In the United States, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a network of such flood control dams.

In areas prone to urban flooding, one solution is the repair and expansion of man-made sewer systems and stormwater infrastructure. Another strategy is to reduce impervious surfaces in streets, parking lots and buildings through natural drainage channels, porous paving, and wetlands (collectively known as green infrastructure or sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)). Areas identified as flood-prone can be converted into parks and playgrounds that can tolerate occasional flooding. Ordinances can be adopted to require developers to retain stormwater on site and require buildings to be elevated, protected by floodwalls and levees, or designed to withstand temporary inundation. Property owners can also invest in solutions themselves, such as re-landscaping their property to take the flow of water away from their building and installing rain barrels, sump pumps, and check valves.

In some areas, the presence of certain species (such as beavers) can be beneficial for flood control reasons. Beavers build and maintain beaver dams which will reduce the height of flood waves moving down the river (during periods of heavy rains), and will reduce or eliminate damage to human structures, at the cost of minor flooding near the dams (often on farmland). Besides this, they also boost wildlife populations and filter pollutants (manure, fertilisers, slurry). UK environment minister Rebecca Pow stated that in the future the beavers could be considered a "public good" and landowners would be paid to have them on their land.

Related pages

Images for kids

A dog sitting on top of 2 feet of mud deposited by flooding in the 2018 Kerala floods in India. Flooding not only creates water damage, but can also deposit large amounts of sediment.

Minor flooding in a parking lot off Juniper street Atlanta on Christmas Eve from thunderstorms caused by an El Nino event. The same El Nino caused recorded highs for January in Atlanta

Flash flooding caused by heavy rain falling in a short amount of time.

Dozens of villages were inundated when rain pushed the rivers of northwestern Bangladesh over their banks in early October 2005. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured the top image of the flooded Ghaghat and Atrai Rivers on October 12, 2005. The deep blue of the rivers is spread across the countryside in the flood image.

In Spanish: Inundación para niños

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What is a Tsunami? | #aumsum #kids #science #education #children

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What causes a tsunami? | General KnOWLedge

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How Tsunamis are formed??? | Educational Video for Kids wit Ryan ToysReview!!!

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Tsunami | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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What is a Tsunami? Facts & Information - Geography for Kids | Educational Videos by Mocomi

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They can speed across the ocean as fast as a jet plane, swallow up islands and wipe out villages.

But what causes tsuamis...? Join National Geographic Kids and dive into our tsunami facts to find out!

What causes a tsunami?

Meaning " great harbour wave" in Japanese, tsunamis are sometimes called "tidal waves" but their strength has nothing to do with the tides. About four out of five tsunamis happen within the Ring Of Fire, a zone in the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions frequently take place.

Giant slabs of the Earth's crust, called tectonic plates, grind together. Sometimes, though, the plates get stuck, the pressure builds up and they suddenly slam into a new position. This causes an earthquake. If an earthquake lifts or drops part of the ocean floor, the water above rises and starts spreading across the ocean, causing a tsunami. Underwater landslides or volcanic eruptions can also displace water (cause water to spread across the ocean) and may lead to a tsunami.

How big is a tsunami?

Out in the open ocean, tsunami waves are only about one-metre high because the water is deep. However, as the water becomes shallow, the waves slow down and begin to grow. They can rise 35m or higher - that's the same as a 10-floor block of flats! However, the scariest thing about a tsunami is its wavelength, as this determines how far inland it can travel. Whereas a large wave caused by a storm might have a wavelength of up to 150m, a tsunami could reach up to a fearsome 1,000km!

How fast is a tsunami?

A normal wind wave travels at about 90kmh, but a tsunami can race across the ocean at an incredible 970kmh! Sometimes, before a tsunami hits, there is a huge vacuum effect, sucking water from harbours and beaches. People can see the ocean floor littered with flopping fish and other sea animals. Then a wave blasts onto the shore minutes later, then another and another for two hours or more. There may also be up to one hour between each wave.

Can you predict when a tsunami is coming?

To save lives, scientists established the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, based in Hawaii, in the USA. Its network of detectors can track quakes that may cause a tsunami. These waves can race from one side of the Pacific Ocean to the other in less than a day, so people need to be warned in time to head for higher ground!

What do you think of these tsunami facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

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Tsunami facts: check out the mighty wave! - National Geographic Kids

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They can speed across the ocean as fast as a jet plane, swallow up islands and wipe out villages. But what causes tsuamis...? Join National Geographic Kids and dive into our tsunami facts to find out! Meaning " great harbour wave" in Japanese, tsunamis are sometimes called "tidal waves" but their strength has nothing to do with the tides.

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national oceanic and atmospheric administration

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Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. They speed along as fast as jet planes. As they near land, these waves rear up to great heights and can drown whole islands. Historically tsunamis have been referred to as tidal waves, but that name is discouraged by oceanographers because tides have little effect on tsunamis.

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What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage!

How are tsunamis generated?
Tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea level. The most common cause of a tsunami is sea floor uplift associated with an earthquake. Tsunamis are also triggered by landslides into or under the water surface, and can be generated by volcanic activity and meteorite impacts.

How often do tsunamis occur?
On the average, two tsunamis occur per year throughout the world which inflict damage near the source. Approximately every 15 years a destructive, ocean-wide tsunami occurs.

Can strike-slip (horizontal motion) earthquakes trigger tsunamis?
Yes, approximately 10-15% of damaging tsunamis are triggered by strike-slip earthquakes. This type of earthquake is less likely to trigger a tsunami than one with vertical motion. The waves are likely generated by associated landslides or motion of a sloping bathymetric feature. Tsunamis generated by strike-slip earthquakes normally affect regions near the source only.

What does the word "tsunami" mean?
Tsunami (soo-NAH-mee) is a Japanese word meaning harbor wave.

How fast do tsunamis travel?
Tsunami velocity depends on the depth of water through which it travels. Velocity equals the square root of the product of the water depth times the acceleration of gravity. Tsunamis travel approximately 475 mph in 15,000 feet of water. In 100 feet of water the velocity drops to about 40 mph.

Did you know...A tsunami travels from the central Aleutian Islands to Hawaii in about 5 hours and to California in about 6 hours, or from the Portugal coast to North Carolina in about 8.5 hours.

How big is a tsunami?
Tsunamis range in size from inches to over a hundred feet. In deep water (greater than 600 feet), tsunamis are rarely over 3 feet and are not normally noticed by ships due to their long period or time between crests. As tsunamis propagate into shallow water, the wave height can increase by over 10 times. Tsunami heights vary greatly along a coast. The waves can be amplified by shoreline and sea floor features. A large tsunami can flood low-lying coastal land over a mile from the coast.

What does a tsunami look like when it reaches shore?
Normally, a tsunami appears as a rapidly advancing or receding tide. In some cases, a wall of water or series of breaking waves may form.

How is a tsunami different from a wind-generated wave?
Wind-generated waves usually have periods or time between crests between 5 and 15 seconds. Tsunami periods normally range from 5 to 60 minutes. Also, wind-generated waves break as they shoal and lose energy offshore. Tsunamis act more like a flooding wave. A twenty foot tsunami is a twenty foot rise in sea level.

What are nature's signs that a tsunami may be imminent?
There are a few signs like hard ground shaking for 20+ seconds near the coast or a sudden sea level withdrawal. Tsunamis may be accompanied by loud, booming noises.

Can earthquakes and tsunamis be predicted?
No, earthquakes cannot be predicted. Once an earthquake has occurred, the arrival time of a tsunami, if generated, can be determined accurately. There is not normally enough time to accurately predict tsunami heights near the source. Away from the source, tsunami wave heights can be estimated based on mathematical tsunami models and observed wave heights.

Aerial video of the tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011.

Click Here to see an animation of an earthquake and the resulting tsunami. It's great for kids, because they get to see how it actually happens!
What are some of the most damaging tsunamis?

Japan: Major tsunami in 2011 generated in the Pacific Ocean.

Asia: Asian tsunami in 2004 generated in the Indian Ocean.

Alaska: Major tsunamis were generated along the Alaskan coast in 1946, 1957, 1958, 1964, and 1965. Many other locally generated tsunamis occurred prior to those dates.

US/Canada West Coast: Tsunamis were generated locally in 1812, 1873, 1878, 1927, 1930, 1946 and 1949. The west coast was also impacted by tsunamis generated in other regions in 1877, 1946, 1952, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1975, 2006, and 2010.

US/Canada Atlantic Coast: Tsunamis were recorded in 1755, 1884, 1886, and 1929.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands experienced damaging tsunamis in 1867 and 1918.

Click Here for the NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center tsunami catalog.

TSUNAMI WARNING- A tsunami warning indicates that a tsunami may be imminent and that coastal locations in the warned area should prepare for flooding. The initial warning is typically based solely on seismic information. After the tsunami is recorded on sea level gages, the warning will be cancelled, restricted, expanded, or downgraded to an advisory. Warnings indicate that flooding up to the maximum expected limit is possible and residents should follow their local emergency management instructions. Warnings are issued when the earthquake information or tsunami forecasts indicate that a wave over 1 meter in amplitude is expected, possible, or ongoing.

TSUNAMI ADVISORY- A tsunami advisory indicates a tsunami which may produce strong currents and is dangerous to those in or very near the water is expected. Large inundations are not expected in areas under advisory status. Advisories will be cancelled, extended, or upgraded to a warning depending on the event severity. Advisories are issued when the tsunami forecast is in the range of 0.3 to 1 meter, or an observed tsunami is in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 meters.

TSUNAMI WATCH- A tsunami watch is an early alert issued to areas which may later be impacted by a tsunami. Tsunami impact is normally at least three hours away for regions within a tsunami watch. The watch will either be upgraded to a warning or advisory in subsequent messages or cancelled depending on the severity of the tsunami. People within a watch area should stay alert for further information regarding tsunami threat.

CREST - The top of a wave.

FJORD - A narrow sea inlet between cliffs or steep slopes.

SURGE - A large wave or billow.

TROUGH - The lowest point between waves.

Click Here to get the latest tsunami warning information from the NWS.

PLAN FOR A TSUNAMI: Have a disaster plan. Know whether you're at risk for danger. Plan an evacuation route. Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water.

DURING A TSUNAMI: Follow the instructions issued by local authorities. You will probably want to evacuate immediately. Get to higher ground and as far inland as you can.

AFTER A TSUNAMI: Help injured or trapped people. Stay out of a building if water remains around it. Tsunami waters can cause buildings to sink, floors to crack, or walls to collapse. When re-entering homes, use extreme caution. Check for gas leaks. Open windows and doors to help dry things out. Look for fire hazards.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about tsunamis. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on tracking a tsunami.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on tsunamis and how they devastating effects they may cause in the world.

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What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water.

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A tsunami is a series of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions or asteroids. A tsunami can kill or injure people and damage or destroy buildings and infrastructure as waves come in and go out. Tsunamis can:

IF YOU ARE UNDER A TSUNAMI WARNING:

If caused by an earthquake, Drop, Cover, then Hold On to protect yourself from the earthquake first.

Get to high ground as far inland as possible

Be alert to signs of a tsunami, such as a sudden rise or draining of ocean waters.

Listen to emergency information and alerts. Always follow the instructions from local emergency managers.

Evacuate: DO NOT wait! Leave as soon as you see any natural signs of a tsunami or receive an official tsunami warning.

If you are in a boat, go out to sea.

Prepare NOW

Survive DURING

Be Safe AFTER

Related Content

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Learn what to do if you are under a tsunami warning and how to stay safe when a tsunami threatens. Prepare Now Survive During Be Safe After Related Content A tsunami is a series of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions or asteroids.

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A tsunami is a natural disaster which is a series of fast-moving waves in the ocean caused by powerful earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, or simply an asteroid or a meteor crash inside the ocean. A tsunami has a very long wavelength. It can be hundreds of kilometers long. Usually, a tsunami starts suddenly. The waves travel at a great speed across an ocean with little energy loss. They can remove sand from beaches, destroy trees, toss and drag vehicles, houses and even destroy whole towns. Tsunamis can even be caused when a meteorite strikes the earth's surface, though it is very rare. A tsunami normally occurs in the Pacific Ocean, especially in what is called the ring of fire, but can occur in any large body of water.

The water often draws back from the seacoast half of the wave period prior to the wave getting to the coast. If the slope of the coast is not steep, the water may pull back for hundreds of meters. People who do not know of the danger often remain at the shore.

Tsunamis cannot be prevented. However, there are ways to help stop people dying from a tsunami. International and regional warning systems, especially for the Pacific Ocean, issue alerts before the big waves reach the shore. Because the earthquake that caused the tsunami can be felt before the wave gets to the shore, people can be warned to go somewhere safe.

Tsunamis are often called tidal waves because they usually rise and fall more slowly than ordinary ocean surface waves. This name is misleading, because tsunamis are not related to tides; they merely rise slowly as a series of fast-moving waves in the ocean caused by powerful earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

The deadliest tsunami recorded in documented history was on 26 December 2004, and is known as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It was caused by an earthquake. The earthquake was said to have a magnitude of 9.3 on the Moment magnitude scale. It was centered in the ocean near the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Over 215,000 people, mainly on the shores of the Indian Ocean, died from this disaster. The giant wave moved very quickly. Thousands of people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Somalia, and other nations, were killed or injured by it.

Yet, the most expensive tsunami ever was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. It is said to have cost the Japanese government around $150 billion, which is equivalent to about 12 trillion yen. It went a huge distance in inland, and is also the 4th largest tsunami in history.

There is another type of tsunami known as a megatsunami, which is mainly due to external impact on the ocean, like an asteroid or meteor crash, a landslide, a rockslide etc.

While Japan may have the longest recorded history of tsunamis, the sheer destruction caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami event mark it as the most devastating of its kind in modern times, killing around 230,000 people. The Sumatran region is also accustomed to tsunamis, with earthquakes of varying magnitudes regularly occurring off the coast of the island.

Of historical and current importance are the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami (which was caused by the Azores-Gibraltar Transform Fault), the 1783 Calabrian earthquakes, each causing several tens of thousands of deaths and the 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami claimed more than 123,000 lives in Sicily and Calabria and is among the most deadly natural disasters in modern Europe. The Storegga Slide in the Norwegian Sea and some examples of tsunamis affecting the British Isles refer to landslide and meteotsunamis predominantly and less to earthquake-induced waves.

As early as 426 BC the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunami, and was the first to argue that ocean earthquakes must be the cause.

The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus ( Res Gestae 26.10.15-19) described the typical sequence of a tsunami, including an earthquake, the sudden retreat of the sea and a following gigantic wave, after the 365 AD tsunami devastated Alexandria.

The principal generation mechanism of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water. This displacement of water is usually attributed to either earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calvings or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests.

Earthquakes

Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water.

Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the Earth's crust deforming; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced. Movement on normal faults can also cause displacement of the seabed, but only the largest of such events cause enough displacement to cause a significant tsunami, such as the 1977 Sumba and 1933 Sanriku events.

Tsunamis have a small wave height offshore, and a very long wavelength (often hundreds of kilometres long, whereas normal ocean waves have a wavelength of only 30 or 40 metres), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300 millimetres (12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water. A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas.

Landslides

In the 1950s, it was discovered that tsunamis larger than had previously been believed possible can be caused by giant submarine landslides.

These rapidly displace large water volumes, as energy transfers to the water at a rate faster than the water can absorb.

Scientists named these waves megatsunamis.

Meteorological

Some meteorological conditions, especially rapid changes in barometric pressure, as seen with the passing of a front, can displace bodies of water enough to cause trains of waves with wavelengths like seismic tsunamis, but usually with lower energies.

Man-made or triggered tsunamis

There have been studies and one actual attempt to create tsunami waves as a tectonic weapon.

In World War II, the New Zealand Military Forces initiated Project Seal, which attempted to create small tsunamis with explosives in the area of today's Shakespear Regional Park; the attempt failed.

Tsunamis are made by permanent large vertical displacements of very large volumes of water which do not occur in explosions.

Surviving tsunamis

Tsunamis are very strong and can go many kilometers inland. Around 5 to 10 minutes before a tsunami hits, the sea seems to go back by an unusual distance. This is a warning that a tsunami can occur.

The best way to evacuate is to climb to an elevated area. If a person notices strange or unusual behavior in animals, he/she can also take that as a warning and go inland. However, if it still looks like the wave can absorb the person, the most suitable alternative will be to hold on to something sturdy, like a tree, so he/she does not totally get carried away and injured.

Other Pages

Images for kids

In Spanish: Tsunami para niños

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Hurricanes for Kids | What is a Hurricane? How are Hurricanes Formed? Learn these answers and more!

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Hurricanes - Learning about Hurricanes for kids and children

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What is a hurricane and where does it form? | Hurricane video for kids

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Hurricane Facts for Kids - Fun Facts With Hamlet the Hamster | Educational Videos by Mocomi

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Hurricane | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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scale. This scale was first developed in the late 1960s and was further developed in the early 1970s. It uses measurements in pressure, wind speed, storm surge and damage potential to put hurricanes into 5 categories.

A hurricane may be classified as category one if they have their usual speeds of up to 74mph. Going up to category five, they may carry extreme speeds and power, with much more destructive ability.

Below is a guide to hurricane categories and the damage they can cause.

Sometimes even tropical storms can cause a lot of deaths than category 3 and 4 hurricanes. At other times, category 3 hurricanes can cause more damage than category 5 hurricanes.

It all depends on the area that they make the landfall. If the coastal area is heavily populated and a lot of people use the beach for residential and business purposes, there is a high chance that the death toll will be high if a hurricane visits. In many cases, the landfall is far from where people live and that makes the impact less destructive, even though it can affect wildlife, vegetation and other biotic and abiotic factors.

Hurricane winds are measured using the Hurricane measurement and classification Saffir-Simpson Hurricane

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scale. This scale was first developed in the late 1960s and was further developed in the early 1970s. It uses measurements in pressure, wind speed, storm surge and damage potential to put hurricanes into 5 categories. A hurricane may be classified as category one if they have their usual speeds of up to 74mph.

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The word "hurricane" comes from 'Huracan', the god of big winds and evil spirits once worshiped by the Maya people of Central America. Here we take a look at some cool hurricane facts.

First - what is a hurricane? A hurricane is an intense tropical storm with powerful winds and heavy rain and can also create tornadoes, high waves and lots of flooding.

Where do hurricanes form?

They usually form in tropical parts of the world like the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June to November, with the peak season being from August to late October.

So, no visiting at those times then. Make sure your parents plan their holiday properly! The Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins on May 15 and ends November 30. Evaporation (when liquid changes to gas) from the seawater also increases their power.

The heat dissipates (reduces) as the hurricane moves toward the poles, sometimes causing extreme damage for people living along the coastlines where hurricanes take place.

Some Info about Hurricanes

Hurricanes range from about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to 1000 miles (1600 kilometers) wide. They can last from days to weeks and almost always form over the ocean.

They can have speeds over 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour), with things flying all over and be can also have heavy rains with them, which can cause land/mud slides.

What needs to happen for a hurricane to form?

The ocean waters must be warm enough at the surface - about 80° Fahrenheit (26⁰ Celsius) or warmer to put enough heat and moisture into the atmosphere.

Atmospheric moisture from sea water evaporation must cool off very quickly and combine the heat and energy to form the powerful engine needed to propel the hurricane.

A wind must be blowing in the same direction and at the same speed to force air upward from the ocean surface. Bands of thunderstorms form, allowing the air to warm even more and rise higher into the atmosphere.

Winds flow outward above the storm and the air below rises. If the winds at the higher levels are not that strong, the structure can remain intact and grow stronger and this is the beginning of a hurricane.

When hurricanes come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars.

The eye of the hurricane

The eye of a hurricane is the calmest spot. It is generally 20 (32 kilometers) to 30 miles (48 kilometers) wide. Amazingly the hurricane can be about 400 miles (644 kilometers) wide. The most violent activity takes place in the area immediately around the eye, called the "eyewall".

At the top of the eyewall, which is up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), most of the air is driven outward, which increases the upward motion of the air. Some of the air, however, moves inward and sinks into the eye. This actually creates a cloud-free area.

Hurricane winds in the northern hemisphere circulate in a counter-clockwise motion around the hurricane's centre or "eye," while hurricane winds in the southern hemisphere circulate clockwise. Wow, that's amazing!

Storm surges are usually the most devastating part of a hurricane. As a hurricane's winds spiral around and around the storm, they push water into a mound at the storm's centre. This mound of water becomes dangerous when the storm reaches land because it causes flooding along the coast.

The water piles up, unable to escape anywhere but on to land as the storm carries it forwards. A hurricane will cause more storm surge in areas where the ocean floor slopes gradually and this will cause major flooding.

The amount of surge that a hurricane can cause is measured on machines called Slosh Models. What a weird name.

From 1953 the United States Weather Bureau started naming hurricanes using women's names for North Atlantic hurricanes. The rest of the world eventually caught on, and now the World Meteorological Organization, is responsible for naming hurricanes.

It uses different types of names dependent on the part of the world the storm is in. Around the US only women's names were used. Then in 1979 they decided men's names should be used as well. If a hurricane creates huge damage, its name is retired and replaced with another.

Here are a few of the names from the 2015 list: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erica, Fred. There are many more!

There are brave "hurricane hunters" who work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Each mission lasts about ten hours, with the crews passing four to six times through the storm. Can you imagine? That just sounds crazy!

The planes carry radar, sophisticated computers and weather instruments that measure temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction inside the hurricane. The crews also release instruments that measure temperature, air pressure, and wind at different levels as the devices drop through the hurricane toward the ocean.

By mission's end, NOAA can warn everyone in the hurricane's path. At least it's a massive help to people.

Hurricanes can be tracked by weather satellites and weather radar closer to land.

What was one of the worst hurricanes in history?

One of the worst hurricanes in history was the Galveston hurricane in the 1900s, which devastated the city and killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people - mostly from drowning. That's frightening.

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone that struck Bangladesh killed over 300,000 people. Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are just different names for the same thing.
Earth Science

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Hurricane Facts For Kids The word "hurricane" comes from 'Huracan', the god of big winds and evil spirits once worshiped by the Maya people of Central America. Here we take a look at some cool hurricane facts. First - what is a hurricane?

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Hurricanes only form over really warm ocean water of 80°F or warmer. The atmosphere (the air) must cool off very quickly the higher you go. Also, the wind must be blowing in the same direction and at the same speed to force air upward from the ocean surface. Winds flow outward above the storm allowing the air below to rise. Hurricanes typically form between 5 to 15 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. The To learn more about hurricanes, Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water. Have a NOAA weather radio handy with plenty of batteries, so you can listen to storm advisories. Have some cash handy as well, because following a hurricane, banks and ATMs may be temporarily closed. Make sure your car is filled with gasoline. Hurricanes

What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a huge storm! It can be up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiraling inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each hurricane usually lasts for over a week, moving 10-20 miles per hour over the open ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an "eye" in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. The center of the storm or "eye" is the calmest part. It has only light winds and fair weather. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars.

>Click Here to get your very own Hurricane Tracking Chart.

How do hurricanes form?
Coriolis Force is needed to create the spin in the hurricane and it becomes too weak near the equator, so hurricanes can never form there.

What is storm surge?
Storm surges are frequently the most devastating element of a hurricane. As a hurricane's winds spiral around and around the storm, they push water into a mound at the storm's center. This mound of water becomes dangerous when the storm reaches land because it causes flooding along the coast. The water piles up, unable to escape anywhere but on land as the storm carries it landward. A hurricane will cause more storm surge in areas where the ocean floor slopes gradually. This causes major flooding.
As you watch the storm-surge animations, notice the effect that the physical geography of each coastline has on storm surge. Also, note the waves on top of the ocean's surface. Wind, waves, and sea-level rise all contribute to storm-surge damage.

Shallow-Water Coastline

Deep-Water Coastline

With technology the way it is, there are computer models that allow forecasters to predict the amount of storm surge that will affect a coastal area. These are called Slosh Models and take into account a storm's strength, its path, how the ocean shallows, and the shape of the land. Then it calculates how much storm surge a hurricane will probably cause.

The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, but most hurricanes occur during the fall months. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season is from May 15 to November 30. (Below is a graphic that shows you when hurricanes are most active across parts of the world.)
When does hurricane season start?

Who names hurricanes?
From 1950 to 1952, tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean were identified by the phonetic alphabet (Able-Baker-Charlie-etc.), but in 1953 the US Weather Bureau switched to women's names. The rest of the world eventually caught on, and naming rights now go by the World Meteorological Organization, which uses different sets of names depending on the part of the world the storm is in. Around the U.S., only women's names were used until 1979, when it was decided that they should alternate a list that included men's names too. There's 6 different name lists that alternate each year. If a hurricane does significant damage, its name is retired and replaced with another.
Atlantic Hurricane Names
Eastern Pacific Hurricane Names
Nothing except geography. Tropical storms occur in several of the world's oceans, and except for their names, they are essentially the same type of storm. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia, these types of storms are called cyclones.
What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?
(This is a satellite animation of Hurricane Georges, which struck the Mississippi Gulf coast in 1998.)

The brave "hurricane hunters" work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Each mission lasts about ten hours, with the crews passing four to six times through the storm. The planes carry radar, sophisticated computers, and weather instruments that determine characteristics such as temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction inside the hurricane. The crews also release instruments that measure temperature, air pressure, and wind at different levels as the devices drop through the hurricane toward the ocean. By mission's end, NOAA can warn everyone in the hurricane's path. (Below is a satellite image of Hurricane Mitch back in October 1998. The Hurricane Hunters flew into the eye of Mitch just as this Category 5 hurricane with winds of 155 mph smacked right into Central America.)

Who are the "Hurricane Hunters"?
Coastal beach erosion is the wearing away of land, the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage. Waves are generated by storms, wind, or hurricanes and can cause coastal erosion. This may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and rocks, or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sediments.

What is coastal beach erosion?

Hurricanes...Past and Present
Tropical Tracks: Click to see the tracks of this year's storms.

Know the Lingo Past Hurricane Info: Click to find all the data and information about a specific hurricane by just knowing the year.
HURRICANE WATCH - Hurricane conditions with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater are possible in your area within the next 36 hours. This WATCH should trigger your family's disaster plan, and protective measures should be initiated. Especially, those actions that require extra time such as securing a boat and leaving a barrier island.
TROPICAL STORM WATCH - Tropical Storm conditions with sustained winds from 39 -74 mph are possible in your area within the next 36 hours.
HURRICANE WARNING - Hurricane conditions are expected in your area within 24 hours. Once this WARNING has been issued, your family should be in the process of completing protective actions and deciding the safest location to be during the storm.

COASTAL FLOOD WATCH - The possibility exists for the inundation of land areas along the coast within the next 12 to 36 hours.

COASTAL FLOOD WARNING - Land areas along the coast are expected to become, or have become, inundated by sea water above the typical tide action.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY - A small craft advisory is a type of warning issued by the National Weather Service, most frequently in coastal areas. It is issued when winds have reached, or are expected to reach within 12 hours, a speed marginally less than that which is considered gale force, usually 25-38 mph.

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.
Hurricane Stages
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category

Winds (MPH)

Pressure (Millibars)

Pressure (Inches)

Storm Surge
(Feet)

Damage

3

111-130

964-945

28.47-27.91

9'-12'

Extensive

Click Here to watch a variety of videos teaching you the ins and outs of nature's fury. I would like to give a special thanks to Pinellas County Emergency management for putting these instructional videos together.
Hurricane Safety Tips

BEFORE A HURRICANE: Have a disaster plan and a pet plan ready. Before a storm threatens, contact your veterinarian or local humane society for information on preparing your pets for an emergency. Board up windows and b ring in outdoor objects that could blow away. Make sure you know which county or parish you live in and k now where all the evacuation routes are.

Stay away from low-lying and flood prone areas. Always stay indoors during a hurricane, because strong winds will blow things around. Leave mobile homes and to go to a shelter. DURING A HURRICANE: If your home isn't on higher ground, go to a shelter. If emergency managers say to evacuate, then do so immediately.
AFTER A HURRICANE: Stay indoors until it is safe to come out. Check for injured or trapped people, without putting yourself in danger. Watch out for flooding which can happen after a hurricane. Do not attempt to drive in flooding water. Stay away from standing water. It may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines. Don't drink tap water until officials say its safe to do so.

Evacuation Tips: Here is a list of tips on what you should do, if you chose to evacuate as a hurricane approaches.
Hurricane Activities
Hurricane Supply Checklist: Here is a list of what what you will need if you chose to stay at your home during a hurricane.
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about hurricane safety. In this activity, Owlie teaches kids about hurricanes and quizzes them about what they learned. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on understanding hurricanes. Students will learn how wind speed increases the height and why higher waves occur in shallower water. This activity is for grades 6-8.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great interactive lesson plan on allowing kids to create their very own hurricane. It lets you try to create ideal hurricane conditions by changing the winds, latitude, moisture, and sea temperature. It even keeps score! This is a great activity for 5-8th graders.Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on elementary reading comprehension. This lesson contains a broader vocabulary, more hurricane facts, and more thought-provoking writing prompts. It works well for grades 3-5. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. Lesson Plan: Here is a great interactive lesson plan that lets kids aim a hurricane. It lets you move the hurricane symbol, high pressure symbol and low pressure symbol to track your very own hurricane. Sometimes your hurricane will make landfall, other times it misses the U.S. all together. It lets kid understand how important the setup of weather impacts where hurricanes go.

Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.
Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.

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Hurricane Facts For Kids

Enjoy our fun hurricane facts for kids. Learn a range of interesting information about tropical storms, understand how they work, where they form, the difference between hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, how much damage Hurricane Katrina caused and much more. Read on and learn about hurricanes with our wide range of facts and trivia.

A hurricane is an intense tropical storm with powerful winds and heavy rain.

Other names for a hurricane include cyclone, typhoon and tropical storm.

While they are essentially the same thing, the different names usually indicate where the storm took place. Tropical storms that form in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific (near the United States) are called hurricanes, those that form near in the Northwest Pacific (near Japan) are called typhoons and those that form in the South Pacific or Indian oceans are called cyclones.

Hurricanes usually form in tropical areas of the world.

Hurricanes develop over warm water and use it as an energy source.

Hurricanes lose strength as they move over land.

Coastal regions are most at danger from hurricanes.

As well as violent winds and heavy rain, hurricanes can also create tornadoes, high waves and widespread flooding.

Hurricanes are regions of low atmospheric pressure (also known as a depression).

The wind flow of hurricanes in the southern hemisphere is clockwise while the wind flow of hurricanes in the northern hemisphere is counterclockwise.

Weather in the eye of a hurricane is usually calm.

The eye of a hurricane can be anywhere from 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) in diameter to over 200 miles (320 kilometres) but they are usually around 30 miles (48 kilometres).

The winds around the eye of a hurricane are usually the strongest.

Hurricanes can be tracked by weather satellites and weather radar closer to land.

Hurricanes have led to the death of around 2 million people over the last 200 years.

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone that struck Bangladesh killed over 300000 people.

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina killed over 1800 people in the United States and caused around $80 billion dollars worth of property damage. The city of New Orleans was hit particularly hard with levee breaches leading to around 80% of the city being flooded.

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Fun Hurricane Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Cyclones & Typhoons

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Hurricane Facts For Kids Enjoy our fun hurricane facts for kids. Learn a range of interesting information about tropical storms, understand how they work, where they form, the difference between hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, how much damage Hurricane Katrina caused and much more. Read on and learn about hurricanes with our wide range of facts and trivia.

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Find amazing facts about animals, science, history and geography, along with fun competitions, games and more. Visit National Geographic Kids today!

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US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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Warm ocean waters and thunderstorms fuel power-hungry hurricanes.

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Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005. Beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began travelling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7 p.m. and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm.

Many coastal towns of Mississippi (and Louisiana) had already been obliterated, in a single night. Hurricane-force winds reached coastal Mississippi by 2 a.m. and lasted over 17 hours, spawning 11 tornadoes (51 in other states) and a 28-foot (9 m) storm surge flooding 6-12 miles (10-19 km) inland. Many, unable to evacuate, survived by climbing to attics or rooftops, or swimming to higher buildings and trees. The worst property damage from Katrina occurred in coastal Mississippi, where all towns flooded over 90% in hours, and waves destroyed many historic buildings, with others gutted to the 3rd story. Afterward, 238 people died in Mississippi, and all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, 49 for full federal assistance. Regulations were changed later for emergency centers and casinos. The emergency command centers were moved higher because all 3 coastal centers flooded at 30 ft (9 m) above sea level. Casinos were allowed on land rather than limited to floating casino barges as in 2005.

More than one million people in Mississippi were affected, and almost 6 months later, the extent of the devastation in Mississippi was still described as "staggering" in on February 16, 2006: "The Mississippi Gulf Coast has been devastated. The extent of the devastation in Mississippi is also staggering. Since Katrina hit, more than half a million people in Mississippi have applied for assistance from FEMA. In a state of just 2.9 million residents, that means more than one in six Mississippians have sought help.

Scattered damage

General: The effects of a hurricane can be scattered across a large area, because hurricanes are large complex storms which spawn smaller thunderstorms, tornadoes, storm surges, and sea waves. Wind speeds east of the eye can be 40-50 mph (64-80 km/h) higher than winds west of the eye. Wind gusts can be scattered, so boats or debris can ram one house but not another. One building can seem untouched, while others nearby are flattened; also trees can be partly weakened: tree limbs can fall months later, crashing onto a roof, automobile, fence, etc.

Specific: Because Hurricane Katrina became a massive storm, over 450 miles (720 km) wide, not only the eyewall-path, and 28-foot (9 m) storm surge, but also the outer bands of the hurricane arms caused scattered damage hundreds of miles away from the center. Eleven (11) spawned tornadoes were recorded in Mississippi (51 elsewhere). It is possible that scattered damage to northern Mississippi occurred, by spin-off storms, around the time Katrina made landfall in eastern Greater New Orleans (Louisiana's "boot toe") and then, again, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, heading north-northeast into central Mississippi, at 10 a.m. on August 29. Note that "landfall" occurred over towns submerged under 20 feet (6 m) of water. As buildings collapsed, water-tight appliances floated, sending refrigerators and dishwashers to ram other buildings and block streets. Millions of homes and buildings were affected, along with ships, boats, and more than 40 offshore oil rigs.

Roadways and railways were put out of service by excessive amounts of debris and occasional collapse (most notably the I-10 Twin Span Bridge). Costs of debris removal in the Gulf Coast region is estimated at $200 million. Until major roadways (US 49, US 59) could be cleared, deliverers of supplies and other emergency relief were forced to detour through highway 609 or highway 43/603, though these routes were not officially posted.

Impact synopsis

The Gulf Coast of Mississippi suffered near total devastation from Hurricane Katrina on August 28-29, with hurricane winds, 28-foot (9 m) storm surge, and 55-foot (17 m) sea waves pushing casino barges, boats and debris into towns, and leaving 236 people dead, 67 missing, and billions of dollars in damages. Katrina made landfall below central Mississippi, 30 miles (48 km) east of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m., the storm's powerful, right, front quadrant covered coastal Mississippi and southern Alabama, increasing wind and flood damage. After making initial landfall in Louisiana, four hours later Katrina made another landfall north at the state line (near the mouth of the Pearl River) and passed over submerged towns around Bay St. Louis as a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 120 mph (192 km/h) and 28-foot (9 m) surge. Battered by wind, rain and storm surges, some beachfront neighborhoods were leveled entirely, with flooding 6-12 miles (10-19 km) inland, crossing Interstate-10 (I-10) in some places.

Winds reached hurricane-force in Hancock and Harrison County by 2 a.m., and winds intensified. As Katrina passed 30 miles (48 km) east of central New Orleans, with 57 mph (91 km/h) winds, by 10 a.m., landfall in Mississippi increased hurricane-force winds in an area of 600,000 Mississippi residents, covering several counties (see Figure KW10: Katrina Wind Speed map): Hancock, Harrison, Jackson County, Pearl River County, Stone, Walthall, Marion, Lamar County, Forrest County, and Perry County (see Map of Counties). Other counties to see a strong hurricane force impact of Katrina were Covington County, Jefferson Davis County, Simpson County, Smith County, Hinds County, Rankin County, and Scott County. Katrina maintained a high wind capacity of 80-85 mph in cities like Mendenhall, Magee, Jackson, Brandon, and Forest in Mississippi. Those cities contained much tree damage, roof and patio damage, power line damage, and much thrown debris. In Jackson, streets were cleared off due to the intense strong winds and rains that carried throughout the entire day. During this 10 a.m. timeframe, hurricane-force winds continued over the barrier islands and Louisiana peninsula nearby; however, for the remainder of Louisiana, the winds were subsiding into gale-force winds after 10 a.m. when Katrina was becoming primarily a Mississippi hurricane.

Several casinos, which were floated on barges to comply with Mississippi land-based gambling laws, were washed hundreds of yards inland by waves. According to MSNBC, a 28-foot (9 m) storm surge came ashore wiping out 90% of the buildings along the Biloxi- Gulfport coastline. A number of streets and bridges were washed away, including the bridge sections of U.S. Highway 90. In particular, the roadway portion of the U.S. Highway 90 bridge between Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian was completely destroyed by the storm; only the support structure was left.

The three counties most affected by the storm were Hancock County, Harrison County, and Jackson County, although almost all counties had damage, and 47 counties were declared full disaster areas. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) officials also recorded deaths in Hinds, Warren, and Leake counties. About 800,000 people through the state experienced power outages, which is almost a third of the population.

The three coastal counties of Mississippi, populated by about 400,000 people (almost the population of central New Orleans), had been mostly evacuated before Katrina flooded the 100-mile (160 km) region. Katrina's storm surge was the most extensive, as well as the highest, in the documented history of the United States; large portions of Hancock County, Harrison County, and Jackson County were inundated by the storm surge, affecting most of the populated areas. Surge covered almost the entire lower half of Hancock County, destroying the coastal communities of Clermont Harbor and Waveland, and much of Bay St. Louis, and flowed up the Jourdan River, flooding Kiln. In Harrison County, Pass Christian was completely inundated, along with a narrow strip of land to the east along the coast, which includes the cities of Long Beach and Gulfport; the flooding was more extensive in communities such as D'Iberville, which borders the Back Bay of Biloxi. Biloxi, on a peninsula between the Back Bay and the coast, was particularly hard hit, especially the low-lying Point Cadet area.

In Jackson County, storm surge flowed up the wide river estuary, with the combined surge and freshwater floods cutting the county in half. Over 90% of Pascagoula, the easternmost coastal city in Mississippi, was flooded from surge. Other Jackson County communities such as Porteaux Bay were destroyed, and St. Martin was hard hit, along with Ocean Springs, Moss Point, Gautier, and Escatawpa.

Two destroyers that were under construction at Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula were damaged, as well as the Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island.

Surveying the damage the day after Katrina's passing, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour called the scene indescribable, saying "I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago." The mayor of Biloxi, A.J. Holloway, told the Biloxi Sun Herald, "This is our tsunami." Relief and rebuilding efforts initially focused on restoring power and clearing communities of debris up to eight feet (2.4 m) in depth.

Many historic buildings were destroyed in Mississippi, including the cottages and second-story porches around the Beauvoir mansion, home of Jefferson Davis. Hundreds of irreplaceable Civil War-era artifacts from the Jefferson Davis home and museum were either lost or destroyed.

The lower three floors of many high-rise casinos and hotels were gutted. (See details below).

Along with countless others affected by the hurricane, U.S. senator Trent Lott lost his Pascagoula home, and the boyhood home of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was also totally destroyed.

Psychological impact

Both the Mississippi residents who survived the hurricanes as well as the disaster relief workers who supported them are at high risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a mental health disorder that can develop after exposure to an extreme situation such as warfare, a natural disaster or abuse.

Path of Hurricane Katrina

Although Hurricane Katrina later travelled mainly through Mississippi, it began as a Category 1 hurricane on August 25, crossing the southern tip of Florida (raining 14 inches (360 mm) [36 cm]) into the Gulf, where it weakened, then strengthened into a massive Category 5 with 175 mph (280 km/h) sustained winds. Slowly turning north along the eastern coast of Louisiana, at 4 a.m. August 29, sustained winds were 132 mph (211 km/h), 90 miles (114 km) SSE of New Orleans. As Katrina came ashore near Buras, LA at 6:10 CDT, with reported 125 mph (201 km/h) winds (Category 3), it passed 40 miles (64 km) east of New Orleans and headed to the Mississippi state line (mouth of Pearl River, 10 a.m. CDT), with hurricane-force winds travelling up central Mississippi until weakening at Meridian, and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm. Despite the hurricane force centered on Mississippi, neighboring areas were also affected: when New Orleans began slowly flooding with high east/north winds, a 28-foot (9 m) storm surge eastward from Bay St. Louis devastated coastal areas with 30-55 foot (17 m) sea waves, flooding 12 miles (19 km) inland. The waves pushed barges, oil rigs, ships, and debris into submerged towns to flatten many coastal buildings across to Pascagoula with 20-foot (6 m) surge, and into Alabama with 15-foot (5 m) surge and 24-foot (7 m) waves battering beach houses inside Mobile Bay and tilting the battleship USS Alabama. (See extensive details below).

Mississippi evacuation

By 4:30 a.m. CDT, on August 29, 2005, just hours before Hurricane Katrina landfall, many shelters in Mississippi were full to capacity, including many Red Cross shelters, the Jackson Coliseum (which allowed pets), and five special-needs shelters. The shelters had filled within 24 hours of opening.

Days earlier, on August 25, when Hurricane Katrina crossed the southern tip of Florida, government offices in Mississippi had already discussed emergency evacuation plans for days. On August 26, the Mississippi National Guard was activated, raising the level of concern, and on August 27, the state government activated its Emergency Operations Center, and local governments began issuing evacuation orders: the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) advised not opening shelters in coastal counties. However, on August 28, the Red Cross also opened shelters in coastal counties, and by 7:00 p.m., 11 counties and eleven cities issued evacuation orders, a number which increased to 41 counties and 61 cities before the following morning, when Katrina came ashore. Moreover, 57 emergency shelters were established on coastal communities, with 31 additional shelters available to open if needed....

Since the evacuation was not total, many people survived the 30-foot (9 m) storm tide by climbing into the second-floor attic, or knocking out walls and ceiling boards to climb onto the roof or nearby trees. Tree trunks remained standing, even near the beaches, where many houses were leveled. Other people had swum to taller buildings or trees. Over 100 people were rescued from roof tops and trees in Mississippi.

Although the population of the three (3) coastal counties had been nearly 400,000, and the storm tide was 20-30 feet (9 m) with coastal winds 75-120 mph (120-192 km/h), fewer than 250 people died in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.

Federal buildings/projects

Because of federal intent to rebuild or recover projects of the US Federal Government, the damage assessment to federal buildings in Mississippi covers actual costs: the amount needed to resume operations at market costs. The following federal projects are described in terms of damage, along with the cost to resume operations:

$1.987 billion: as requested by President George W. Bush, for Navy Shipbuilding and Conversion; these funds will assist Northrop Grumman to "replace destroyed or damaged equipment, prepare and recover naval vessels under contract; and provide for cost adjustments." Ships were damaged in Pascagoula.

(unknown): as increased funding for USDA housing programs which provide subsidized loans and housing repair funding.

$75 million: in wildlife habitat restoration, for the Corps of Engineers to enhance estuarine habitats in Mississippi: following the Governor's proposal regarding oyster reef and coastal marsh restoration. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will assist the Corps as these projects develop.

$75 million: for the Corps of Engineers on various coastal projects: to accelerate completion of authorized projects along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

$1.1 billion: to repair vital federal facilities in Mississippi, including:

$292.5 million for the repair and renovation of the VA hospital in Biloxi.

$45 million for the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport.

$277.2 million for the United States Navy to help rebuild the Seabee base in Gulfport, and the Stennis Space Center.

$43.4 million to help rebuild Keesler Air Force Base.

$45 million for the Keesler Medical Center.

$82.8 million for new Navy housing in the Gulfport/Stennis region.

$324.8 million for housing at Keesler Air Force Base.

$48.9 million for Navy housing at the Naval Air Station Meridian and at the Seabee base in Gulfport.

The cost amounts were decided for work continuing in 2006. Note that repairs include modern renovation, since it is not feasible to assess damage in terms of restoring federal buildings to the year they were built. However, the costs provide a condensed measure of the construction damage, without counting the millions of lost roof tiles, thousands of broken windows, etc.

Hancock County

Hancock County was the scene of the final landfall of the eye of Hurricane Katrina, causing total devastation in Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pearlington, and Clermont Harbor, as well as southern Diamondhead. The bridge between Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian was destroyed.

Katrina's 28-foot (9 m) storm surge, and 55-foot (17 m) sea waves, practically obliterated Waveland, Mississippi, and state officials said that it took a harder hit from the wind and water than any other town along the coast. Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 8:01AM, raising the storm tide by 2 ft (0.6 m), to over 30 feet (9 m). The storm dragged away almost every structure within one half mile of the beach, leaving driveways and walkways that went to nowhere. The death toll was estimated at about 50.

In Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a foot (30 cm) of water swamped the Emergency Operations Center at the Hancock County courthouse, which sits 30 feet (9 m) above sea level. Katrina also destroyed the first floor and dormitories of Saint Stanislaus All Boys High School.

The destruction brought forth by Katrina also caused about one-quarter of the labor force to lose their jobs, with the unemployment rate reaching as high as 24.3%.

Harrison County

Harrison County, Mississippi was hit particularly hard by the hurricane and the storm surge. Its two largest coastal cities, Biloxi and Gulfport, suffered severe damages and a number of casualties. By September 1, 126 people were already confirmed dead. Smaller coastal towns were also severely damaged. Much of Long Beach and most of Pass Christian, which bore the brunt of Category 5 Hurricane Camille in 1969, was leveled. Nearby Gulfshore Baptist Assembly, a camp owned and operated by the Mississippi Baptist Convention, has been permanently closed, and recommendations have been made to build a new facility elsewhere.

In the tourist town of Biloxi, widespread damage was reported as several of the city's attractions were destroyed. The lower 3 floors of many high-rise casino-hotels were gutted, as in the former Grand Casino of Gulfport, or the Imperial Palace (IP Hotel and Casino) or Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Many restaurants were destroyed and several casino barges had been washed out of the water and onto land. Residents that survived Hurricane Camille stated that Katrina was "much worse," with a storm surge reportedly reaching further inland than the previous catastrophic storm. Katrina's wind estimates were lighter than Camille's, and the central air pressure was slightly higher, but Camille was also a much smaller storm so the greater impact of the storm surge may be due to the size. Keesler Air Force Base, also located in Biloxi, reported extensive damage to its facilities. Gulfport authorities reported to news station CNN that up to ten feet of water covered downtown streets. The Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge was also totally destroyed (see Figure BB), and US 90 had heavy debris and severe damage to the roadbed.

Thirty of the confirmed deaths in Harrison County were at the St. Charles apartment complex, said Kelly Jakubic with the county's Emergency Operations Center. The apartment complex was reported, by local news sources, to have collapsed with dozens of residents inside. FOX News also reported deaths at the Quiet Water Beach apartments. (A later investigation by Biloxi's WLOX could not confirm any deaths at these apartments.)

Rebuilding in Harrison County proceeded at different paces in different towns. The town of Biloxi was greatly helped by the resurgence of the casino industry, while smaller towns such as Pass Christian did not have an economic base with which to start the reconstruction effort. By January 2007, almost a year and a half after the Hurricane, Pass Christian had still not yet begun rebuilding its city buildings, and volunteer labor was still involved in rebuilding private homes in the town.

The ECHL Mississippi Sea Wolves, which play in Biloxi, was forced to suspend operations for two years because of the aftermath of the hurricane causing damage to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The team resumed play in 2007.

Jackson County

In Jackson County, the storm surge flowed up the wide river estuary, with the combined surge and freshwater floods cutting the county in half. Over 90% of Pascagoula, the easternmost coastal city in Mississippi, and 75 miles (121 km) east of Katrina's landfall, was flooded from surge. Other Jackson County communities such as Porteaux Bay and Gulf Hills were destroyed, and St. Martin was hard hit; Ocean Springs, Moss Point, Gautier, and Escatawpa also suffered major surge damage.

United States Navy officials announced that two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers that were under construction at Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula had been damaged by the storm, as well as the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island.

County totals

After Hurricane Katrina, all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, with 49 counties eligible for full Federal assistance. The following Mississippi counties (alphabetical order) reported deaths, tornadoes, or damage:

The names of the 49 counties in Mississippi, declared disaster areas for full Federal assistance, are: Adams, Amite, Attala, Claiborne, Choctaw, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Walthall, Warren, Wayne, Wilkinson, Winston and Yazoo. Taxpayers were eligible for automatic relief in the 49 Mississippi counties designated for individual assistance.

Other counties were affected as well.

In the region

Since Hurricane Katrina traveled up the entire state, Mississippi lies in the center of the disaster areas for the region. Outside the area of high winds and storm surge, other areas were affected by spin-off tornadoes and rainfall flooding. The map below shows the declared disaster areas in the region.

The south tip of Florida includes damage when Hurricane Katrina originated in the Caribbean Sea, dumping over 14 inches (360 mm) of rain in the area.

Long-term impact

Rebuilding of towns took years, and some areas were not restored. The bay bridges were rebuilt taller and stronger, as had been done around Pensacola in the years following Hurricane Ivan (2004). Because all 3 Emergency Command Centers in the Mississippi coastal counties had been flooded over 30 feet (9 m) above sea level, the rules for command-center elevation were changed to relocate to even higher ground. The casino-gambling regulations were changed to allow casinos to be built on land in taller buildings, no longer forcing the use of massive floating casino barges near a city, which could again become battering rams along 2nd and 3rd-story levels of nearby hotels. Celebrities who had previously visited New Orleans came to understand the massive devastation that occurred along the Gulf Coast cities. The US Army Corps of Engineers developed plans to rebuild the protective barrier islands that had been washed out to sea along the coastal areas. Detailed reports were written describing how people had survived by swimming to taller buildings or trees, and noting that those too old or unable to swim did not survive. Many residents moved away and never returned. Medical studies attempted to estimate the indirect deaths caused by people losing their homes or local medical support.

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Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005. Beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began travelling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7 p.m.

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