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How to find non-fiction books in the library.

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How to find non-fiction books in the library.

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

Get Started

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online access fun thousands children great kids ebooks books

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under. Get Started

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Learn how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from many types of disasters and emergencies from the American Red Cross today.

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Natural Disasters | Reading Material | Grades 3-5

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Do you know the definition of a natural disaster? Learn about the different types of natural disasters in our fun video for kids for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade!

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Are you ready to put your planning skills to good use? Are you ready to help your family get prepared for the unexpected? Your family can go to the kid's section of www.ready.gov to create a plan that will help you be ready for many different kinds of unexpected situations. You're already a great planner. Every day you get your homework done, get to music or sports practice on time and plan where and when you'll meet up with friends. But how do you get prepared for emergencies?
Know the Facts
Do you know about different kinds of weather events and other unexpected situations? The words and terms you hear during emergencies can be confusing. Follow the link to find the most common terms used for disasters.

These agencies can also help finding out more information on what to do in different disasters.
Making a Plan
Make a family emergency plan today, before the unexpected happens. Gather your family to sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.

Download and print out Ready's easy Family Emergency Plan form. Answer the questions, fill in the blanks and then place a copy of this plan in your emergency supply kit or another safe place where you can access it in the event of a disaster.
Building a Kit
Just think about all the things your family uses every day. Hmm. Clothes, money, TV or radio, books . . . and don't forget about food! Learn how to build an emergency supply kit that includes everything your family needs.
Flat Stanley and Flat Stella
Flat Stanley and Flat Stella have been asked to serve as ambassadors to promote preparedness. How great is that?

Children and their parents can build their own FEMA Flat Stanley or Flat Stella, and then share with other children and classrooms the steps they have taken to support preparedness throughout their homes, schools and communities.

Download Flat Stanley and his sister Flat Stella and start your adventure today:

For fun and games to help kids learn more about what to do in the event of a disaster:

For more detailed information, visit //www.ready.gov/kids.

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Are you ready to put your planning skills to good use? Are you ready to help your family get prepared for the unexpected? Your family can go to the kid's section of www.ready.gov to create a plan that will help you be ready for many different kinds of unexpected situations.

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Wildfires

What is a wildfire?
A wildfire also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire, bushfire (in Australia), or hill fire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. Wildfires often begin unnoticed, but they spread quickly igniting brush, trees and homes.

What causes a wildfire?

Common causes of wildfires include lightning, human carelessness, arson, volcano eruption, and pyroclastic cloud from active volcano. Heat waves, droughts, and cyclical climate changes such as El Niño can also have a dramatic effect on the risk of wildfires. Although, more than four out of every five wildfires are caused by people.

Where can wildfires occur?
Wildfires can occur anywhere, but are common in the forested areas of the United States and Canada. They are also susceptible in many places around the world, including much of the vegetated areas of Australia as well as in the Western Cape of South Africa. The climates are sufficiently moist to allow the growth of trees, but feature extended dry, hot periods. Fires are particularly prevalent in the summer and fall, and during droughts when fallen branches, leaves, and other material can dry out and become highly flammable. Wildfires are also common in grasslands and scrublands.
What are the Santa Ana winds?

The Santa Ana winds are hot, dry winds that aggravate the fire danger in forests and bush lands. These winds characteristically appear in Southern California and Northern Baja California weather during autumn and early winter. In southern California, under the influence of Santa Ana winds, wildfires can move at tremendous speeds, up to 40 miles in a single day, consuming up to 1,000 acres per hour. Dense clouds of burning embers push ahead of the flames crossing firebreaks without a problem.

What is a fire tornado?

A fire tornado or fire whirl is just a tornado made of fire. It happens when certain conditions (depending on air temperature and currents), acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like effect. Fire tornadoes may be whirlwinds separated from the flames, either within the burn area or outside it. A fire tornado can make fires more dangerous.

How do firefighters put out the wildfires?
Firefighters use a tool known as a pulaski. Its a combination of an ax and hoe used to dig a fireline. A fireline is a strip of land from which all brush and debris have been cleared to rob a wildfire of its fuel. Firefighters also use hotshots and smoke jumpers to clear a large path in a big circle around the fire so the blaze is contained in a ring of dirt. When the fire reaches this area, it runs out of fuel and starves to death. If the fire is too large, however, planes and helicopters fly overhead, dropping water and special chemicals that smother the flames. This pink, fire-retardant chemical is called sky jell-o.

Click Here to get the latest wildfire information.

Click Here for to get more wildfire information.

Click Here to see if there has been any recent wildfire activity across the U.S.

Know the Lingo

SURFACE FIRES - The most common type of wildfires, surface fires move slowly and burn along the forest floor, killing and damaging vegetation.

GROUND FIRES - These are usually started by lightning, ground fires burn on or below the forest floor through the root system.

CROWN FIRES - These fires spread by wind moving quickly along the tops of trees.

SANTA ANA WINDS - "Santa Ana" is the name given to the gusty northeast or east wind that occurs in Southern California during the fall and winter months. Santa Ana winds are often hot and very dry, greatly aggravating the fire danger in forests and bush lands.

CONFLAGRATION - A large and destructive fire, typically aggravated by strong winds that carry firebrands over natural or artificial barriers.

Click Here to learn about more wildfire facts!

Wildfire Safety Tips
BEFORE A WILDFIRE: Have a disaster plan. Know whether you're in a wildfire prone area. Plant fire resistant shrubs and trees around your home. Have a garden hose that is long enough to reach around your home. 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. Always listen to the radio and television for the latest information and instructions for your area.
DURING A WILDFIRE: If you're advised to evacuate then do so immediately. Wear protective clothing and lock your home. Tell someone you left and where you are going. Choose a safe route away from fire hazards. Watch for changes in the speed and direction of fire and smoke.

AFTER A WILDFIRE: Stay away from wildfire areas until it is safe.
Wildfire Activities
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on teaching students to have an escape plan if a fire threatens their home.

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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Tornadoes wreak havoc wherever they touch down. Besides causing loss of life, tornadoes move buildings, pluck trees from the Earth and send anything not anchored to the ground flying through the air. Most of the people who live where tornadoes occur regularly have underground shelters to keep them protected as they ride out the storm.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

When you live where tornadoes frequently occur, locate the tornado shelters in your area, or develop an emergency plan for all members of the family. Have an agreed up location to meet after the tornado in the event family members are separated. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommends the following tornado safety tips:

Houses with a basement - Get into the basement, avoid windows and hide beneath a sturdy table, mattress or even a sleeping bag. Map out where heavy objects are on the floor above, and avoid hiding in the basement beneath such items as waterbeds, refrigerators, washers and dryers or other heavy objects.

Houses without basements - Move quickly to the lowest floor of the home and find a small center room, such as a bathroom or closet in which to hide. Avoid windows and cover yourself with thick padding to protect from falling beams, boards or other debris. The inside of a cast-iron tub with sufficient padding may keep you safe.

Mobile homes - Don't stay in a mobile home, these are not safe at all during a tornado. Know in advance the emergency shelters in your area and go there or find a sturdy building in which to hide.

Open outdoors - Find a sturdy building, ditch or depression to lay in face down with your head covered. Don't hide beneath trees or around vehicles, both of which can become flying objects during a tornado.

After heatwaves, hurricanes and floods, tornadoes rank as the fourth most lethal weather pattern in the United States. U.S. death tolls from tornadoes vary considerably from one year to the next. Since 2000, death tolls have ranged from a low of 21 in 2009 to a high of 553 in 2011, with an average of 94 deaths a year for that period. The high death toll in 2011 was due partly to the 2011 tornado super outbreak, in which some 748 tornadoes occurred in the month of April, followed by a devastating tornado strike on Joplin, Missouri, in May.

The unprecedented April 2011 outbreak surpassed even the infamous 1974 tornado season, when a single weather system spawned some 147 tornadoes in just 24 hours. Tornadoes that happen at night tend to be the deadliest because people who are asleep do not receive the tornado warning in time.

The effects a tornado has on human life depends on its strength, but also on where it touches down. Three-quarters of tornadoes around the world occur in the United States in a location dubbed Tornado Alley since the 1950s. This area includes a swath of land that is mostly flat, with small rolling hills that encompasses all or part of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and some parts of Africa and South America also experience significant tornado activity. Most tornadoes in the United States happen from May through June and usually, though not always, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The impact of a tornado depends on its strength. Weak tornadoes may cause only minor damage to property, while a stronger tornado can devastate large parts of an entire town. Meteorologists measure the strength of a tornado using the enhanced Fujita or EF scale, where EF5 is fastest and most destructive and EF0 represents the weakest. Although some 1,200 tornadoes form in the United States every year, the bulk of these rank as EF0s, EF1s and EF2s, all of which cause less damage.

Tornadoes that sweep through urban areas destroy a lot of property resulting in a significant economic impact. The 1999 twister that hit Moore, Oklahoma, for example, caused some $1.1 billion in damage, while the 2011 Joplin, Missouri, tornado caused $3 billion in damage. Annual damage costs from tornadoes vary considerably. Some years like 2011 see considerable damage, while others do not.

The data going back to 1950 shows that damage for any given year can range from as little as $100 million to $200 million or as great as $7 billion to $8 billion. Again, this variability stems from the random nature of tornado strikes; the odds are low that any urban area will be hit by a tornado in a given year, but when tornadoes do strike urban areas, they cause a huge amount of damage.

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Tornadoes wreak havoc wherever they touch down. Besides causing loss of life, tornadoes move buildings, pluck trees from the Earth and send anything not anchored to the ground flying through the air. Most of the people who live where tornadoes occur regularly have underground shelters to keep them protected as they ride out the storm.