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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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Floods kill millions of people, more than any other natural disaster. See pictures of flood damage and learn how peaceful waters transform into dangerous floods.

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Rain & Floods

How does rain form?
Water droplets form from warm air. As the warm air rises in the sky it cools. Water vapor (invisible water in the air) always exists in our air. Warm air holds quite a bit of water. For example, in the summer it is usually very humid. When enough of these droplets collect together, we see them as clouds. If the clouds are big enough and have enough water droplets, the droplets bang together and form even bigger drops. When the drops get heavy, they fall because of gravity, and you see and feel rain.

What causes rain?

When clouds develop or rain occurs, something is making the air rise. Several things can make this happen. Mountains, low-pressure areas, cold fronts, and even the jet stream.

How big are raindrops?
Raindrops are much smaller than we think! They are actually smaller than a centimeter. Raindrops range from 1/100 inch (.0254 centimeter) to 1/4 inch (.635 centimeter) in diameter.

How fast do raindrops fall?
Not including wind-driven rain, raindrops fall between 7 and 18 miles per hour (3 and 8 meters per second) in still air. The range in speed depends on the the size of the raindrop. Air friction breaks up raindrops when they exceed 18 miles per hour.

What is a flood?
A flood results from days of heavy rain and/or melting snows, when rivers rise and go over their banks.

What is a flash flood?
A flash flood is sudden flooding that occurs when floodwaters rise rapidly with no warning within several hours of an intense rain. They often occur after intense rainfall from slow moving thunderstorms. In narrow canyons and valleys, floodwaters flow faster than on flatter ground and can be quite destructive.

Do flash floods hurt people?
Flash floods are the #1 weather-related killer in the U.S. Nearly 80% of flash flood deaths are auto related. Know beforehand if your area is a flood risk.

How much water is needed for your car to float away?
A mere 2 feet of water can float a large vehicle or even a bus. This is why you should never drive through flooded roads. Just 6 inches of rapidly moving flood water can knock a person down.

What is a monsoon?
A monsoon is a seasonal wind, found especially in Asia that reverses direction between summer and winter and often brings heavy rains. In the summer, a high pressure area lies over the Indian Ocean while a low exists over the Asian continent. The air masses move from the high pressure over the ocean to the low over the continent, bringing moisture-laden air to south Asia. During winter, the process is reversed and a low sits over the Indian Ocean while a high lies over the Tibetan plateau so air flows down the Himalaya and south to the ocean. The migration of trade winds and westerlies also contributes to the monsoons. Smaller monsoons take place in equatorial Africa, northern Australia, and, to a lesser extent, in the southwestern United States.

What is radar?
Radar is an electronic instrument, which determines the direction and distance of objects that reflect radio energy back to the radar site. It stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. This is what meteorologists use to see rain or snow.

What is Doppler Radar? Doppler Radar detects precipitation intensity, wind direction and speed, and provides estimates of hail size and rainfall amounts. Doppler Radar gives forecasters the capability of providing early detection of severe thunderstorms that may bring strong damaging winds, large hail, heavy rain, and possibly tornadoes. Combined with satellites, radar gives forecasters the ultimate tools to provide accurate forecasts and advanced severe weather warnings.

Doppler Radar gets its name from the Doppler Effect. Have you ever listened to a train whistle as it was coming toward you? You probably noticed that the pitch of the whistle changed as the train passed you and moved away. This change in the frequency of sound is called the Doppler Effect. Doppler Radar measures the changes in the frequency of the signal it receives to determine the wind. How does Doppler Radar work?

The National Weather Service has installed a new type of Doppler Radar called NEXRAD Radar. NEXRAD stands for Next Generation Radar. This radar produces many different views of storms and rain that allows meteorologists to determine if a storm could be severe.
What is NEXRAD Radar?

Know the Lingo

FLOOD WATCH - means that an overflow of water from a river is possible for your area.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH - means that flash flooding is possible in or close to the watch area. Flash Flood Watches can be put into effect for as long as 12 hours, while heavy rains move into and across the area.

FLOOD WARNING - means flooding conditions are actually occurring in the warning area.

FLASH FLOOD WARNING - means that flash flooding is actually occurring in the warning area. A warning can also be issued as a result of torrential rains, a dam failure or snow thaw.
Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.
Flood Safety Tips

BEFORE A FLOOD: Have a disaster plan and prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food, can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water.
DURING A FLOOD: Move to a safe area quickly. Move to higher ground, like the highest floor of your home. Avoid areas subject to sudden flooding like low spots and canyons. Avoid already flooded areas. If a flowing stream of water is above your ankles stop, turn around and go the other way. Do not attempt to drive through a flooded road. The depth of the water is not obvious and the road may be washed away. If your car stalls, leave it and seek higher ground. Rapidly rising water may engulf the car, pick it up and sweep it away. Kids should never play around high water, storm drains or viaducts. Be cautious at night, because its harder to see flood dangers. If told to evacuate, do so immediately.
AFTER THE FLOOD: Always, boil drinking water. Electrical equipment should be checked and dried before used.
Rain Activities

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about precipitation. In this activity, kids will use a weather map to answer questions about precipitation falling across the country. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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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https://wonderopolis.org/

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In just seconds, a spark or even the sun's heat alone sets off an inferno. The wildfire quickly spreads, consuming the thick, dried-out vegetation and almost everything else in its path. What was once a forest becomes a virtual powder keg of untapped fuel. In a seemingly instantaneous burst, the wildfire overtakes thousands of acres of surrounding land, threatening the homes and lives of many in the vicinity.

An average of 5 million acres burns every year in the United States, causing millions of dollars in damage. Once a fire begins, it can spread at a rate of up to 14.29 miles per hour (23 kph), consuming everything in its path. As a fire spreads over brush and trees, it may take on a life of its own -- finding ways to keep itself alive, even spawning smaller fires by throwing embers miles away. In this article, we will look at wildfires, exploring how they are born, live and die.

On a hot summer day, when drought conditions peak, something as small as a spark from a train car's wheel striking the track can ignite a raging wildfire. Sometimes, fires occur naturally, ignited by heat from the sun or a lightning strike. However, the majority of wildfires are the result of human carelessness.

Common causes for wildfires include:

Everything has a temperature at which it will burst into flames. This temperature is called a material's flash point. Wood's flash point is 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 C). When wood is heated to this temperature, it releases hydrocarbon gases that mix with oxygen in the air, combust and create fire.

There are three components needed for ignition and combustion to occur. A fire requires fuel to burn, air to supply oxygen, and a heat source to bring the fuel up to ignition temperature. Heat, oxygen and fuel form the fire triangle. Firefighters often talk about the fire triangle when they are trying to put out a blaze. The idea is that if they can take away any one of the pillars of the triangle, they can control and ultimately extinguish the fire.

After combustion occurs and a fire begins to burn, there are several factors that determine how the fire spreads. These three factors include fuel, weather and topography. Depending on these factors, a fire can quickly fizzle or turn into a raging blaze that scorches thousands of acres.

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­In just seconds, a spark or even the sun's heat alone sets off an inferno. The wildfire quickly spreads, consuming the thick, dried-out vegetation and almost everything else in its path. What was once a forest be­comes a virtual powder keg of untapped fuel.

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Weather vs. Climate: Crash Course Kids #28.1

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Weather is what the forecasters on the TV news predict each day. They tell people about the temperature, cloudiness, humidity, and whether a storm is likely in the next few days. That's weather! It is the mix of events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same everywhere. It may be hot and sunny in one part of the world, but freezing and snowy in another.

Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change.

Try the Weather Forecasting Contest and make your own predictions about tomorrow's weather!

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Weather is what the forecasters on the TV news predict each day. They tell people about the temperature, cloudiness, humidity, and whether a storm is likely in the next few days. That's weather! It is the mix of events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same everywhere.

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Floods can help but can also destroy. Floods can turnover cars, and kill animals, and also kill humans. Floods can be very dangerous. ~EH

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wildfires are fires that get out of control and help the envyerment

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 Pros and Cons about Wildfires                                                                                                          

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 Pros and Cons about Wildfires                                                                                                          

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Wildfires are very good for our earth especially for our soil and the weeds in the ground. But the can also be terrible by destroying animals homes and injure people
~DP

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Floods can help get the nasty stuff off the earth and some of the oacen bad the bad part is that it is like polution because it kills some animals.

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Wildfires are good for most of the forests because soil in the forest is good because of all the rain .but in a normal forest its bad because the real forest it burns animals homes down

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TH floods they can destroy  homs
do more work later

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This is a wildfire

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Wildfires can clear dead weeds and make our earth clear of dead plants. Some wildfires can affect humans by destroying houses and even small towns.
~L.K

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Floods are dangerous. They can cause people to drown and die.

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floods can kill people because they are so strong.

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

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W
So we have Weather and Climate... but are they the same thing? No, no they are not. But they are both super important to how the geosphere is shaped.
What Is Climate?
What Is Climate?
ucar

floods
TH floods they can destroy  homs
do more work later

add

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Help dead plants go so new plants can grow.

~C.G

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a wildfire also knw as a wild land fire,forestfire,vegetaion fire ,grass fire peat fire bush{ in austalia}

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this is in Florida 2017

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when a lot of rain comes in and water over floes  from lakes and the oceans cause floods.

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Floods affect families

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Did you know floods can help people, but they can also destroy stuff.Lakes and oceans cause floods when water level rises

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floods can kill people because the water that comes can sometimes nock people over and keep them under water or

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZk0UADrn20

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floods can ruin lives can destroy
homes but can help . they can ruin homes can make some for animals.

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One common way wildfires are started is lightning hitting a dry area. However the main cause of wildfires are caused by carless humans. 4/5 wildfires are caused by them. ~A

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A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry

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floods can be very good but very bad at the same time
here is one way floods can be good the can fertilize the plants. one way floods can be bad is that it can carry debre and kill animals and life sometimes they can even kill people .

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Floods destroy houses and lives of many. E.S

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Wild fires can
help nature but if we keep putting them out there will be more dry spots ready to be burnt. it will help the environment and us if we start monitoring them and not put them out or they will get out of control. E.S.

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JT

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Floods demolish houses and even kill people J.C.

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Floods demolish houses and even kill people J.C.

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Wildfires can be very dangerous for the environment. They can put in danger many animals. But they can also help. When a Wildfire come's, It burns the old trees and grass so that younger newer trees grow.

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Floods are very dangerou

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PXj7bOD7IY

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A flood happens when an overflowing water submerges a dry land.

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Flood are were a lot of water comes in to your town and their a chance you might drowned

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PXj7bOD7IY

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A flood is very dangerous because they can cause people to drown and peoples homes can get destroyed.  It also would dry the ground.

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDK0FNisfDg

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wild fires are dangouruse

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wild fires are unplanned unwanted fires that can happen anywhere.

EW

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ash is acutally the part of what is in the fire that did not burn such as wood leaves etc

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Flaaosd kill people who dont know how to swim.

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wildfires are one part of life they can sometimes reproduce like if there's a fire and it is close to a pine tree the pine cones will open to the heat.

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some floods destroy home and othe r things

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The cause of floods is that each time it rains water piles up on the ground. if it is raining non-stop it will become a flood.

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The cause of floods is that each time it rains water piles up on the ground. if it is raining non-stop it will become a flood.

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Wildfires help the earth by returning nutrients to the soil and also by burning dead or decaying matter.

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Wildfires are dangerous to animals and humans because they can destroy homes and kill animals and humans
JF

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THE ICE-AGE FLOODS LEFT STARK EVIDENCE OF THEIR PASSAGE
In addition to the mammoth coulees of eastern Washington, direct evidence of the floods exist in several forms.

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Ice Age Floods-Discover Glacial Lake Missoula and Lake Bonneville

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Ice Age Floods maps, photos and videos. Descriptions and pictures of many features created by the Ice Age Floods.

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Wildfires are good and bad for the earth. The good thing is it make soil more nutritious which is important for growing plants, but the bad thing is it destroys homes and can burn a house in 3 min. AF

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Floods are dangerous natural disasters of which can kill millions of citizens every year.
EEC

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How wildfires help
Wildfires help by burning all the old and dried out leaves and helps prevent future wildfires. Wildfires make room for new plants and make sure that all plants can grow.

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sometimes wildfires are started because of a drought or no water

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Wildfires can help the earth by burning decay or dead matter and by returning nutrients to the soil

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a flood is a disaster because it can take down houses and tall buildings.

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floods are very dangerous

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floods kill over 230 people  every year. The exact amount of people who die from floods are 234. Floods occur because of heavy rains, a river overflowing, broken dam or levy, a tsunami, dangerous coastal procedures, natural ground saturation, infrastructure failures, winter storms or melting snow. The word ‘flood’ comes from an old English word that means ‘a flowing of water, river, or sea.

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floods can help the earth sometimes and get all the the things we don't need on earth out. But also floods are dangerous , there were 133 deaths from a flood. they damage your home and injure people.

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~ AK

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floods are really bad because 1: they cause pollution. 2: they can hurt wildlife and can cause animals to be forced to live somewhere else. 3: they can cause things like houses falling apart, which can cause pollution. (see 1.)

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did you know that wildfires help the forest by brunig dead plants to make more room.

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did you know that fires cans spread more every minute. so when you do that you want to get out of wildfires. did you know that fires help the forest kill dead plants to make more room. that is all i have about wildfires.

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fireman make fire and then control them. c.w.

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jh

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wild fire can spread up to 1 foot a minute if you thing about it thats alot. And they are known for killing people. every year people die from fires.And they are very dangoruose.