232 Combatting nature in the US, Canada and Mexico, 6.13C

Man v. Nature:  

USA-

Because it is so large, the US has a wide variety of landscape features and weather patterns.  And while the landscape offers many attractive features that make life enjoyable, there are also significant dangers in some regions of the country.  Here are three particular dangers that many US citizens face:

Hurricanes

Look at the map below to see where hurricanes are most frequently experienced in the U.S.  Red areas experience the highest frequency.  Pink areas are the second highest.

Hurricanes do billions of dollars of damage in the U.S.  Countless lives have been lost, though deaths are less frequent today because of early warning and detection.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes are violent windstorms on land.  These storms usually start in the western Great Plains, and  gather strength as they move south and east.  Look at the map to see wear tornadoes occur most frequently in the U.S.  Note that tornadoes are starting to become less frequent in blue areas, and more frequent in the red areas.

Earthquakes

Severe earthquakes are not as common in the US as the other dangers discussed above, but they can be extremely devastating.  Earthquakes occur along fault lines, where the tectonic plates move in opposite directions, scraping each other and causing violent shaking in the nearby area.

You probably were surprised to notice that earthquakes occur in many regions of the US.  However, most of these quakes are barely noticeable.  It is the red areas, and the white circles in particular, that experience the most violent quakes.  Note that a large part of California's population lives in the middle of a major earthquake risk area.

Mexico-

Hurricanes

Like its northern neighbor, Mexico experiences frequent natural disasters.  Mexico's Gulf Coast region gets hit with hurricanes in much the same way the U.S. does.  Even more, Mexico faces the risk of hurricanes from the Pacific as well.  Pacific hurricanes are called Cyclones.

Earthquakes

One of the biggest dangers Mexico faces is from its position on the Ring of Fire.  The large pacific plate which is constantly shifting.  Because of its place along the ring, Mexico's mountains are volcanoes.  Some of them are still active.  But the biggest danger the plate presents is the risk of Tsunamis (caused by undersea earthquakes, and earthquakes.  Take a look at the map of Mexico's earthquake history.

The large red circles represent powerful earthquakes capable of causing property damage and loss of life.

Canada -

Tornadoes

Most of Canada's tornado activity is in the Great Plains.  Though they do occur, Canada's tornadoes have done little damage historically.

Earthquakes

Canada's earthquake activity is mainly on the Pacific coast, where it lies along the Ring of Fire.  Because they are in low population areas, they do not cause as much harm as those in the U.S.

Your assignment is as follows:

1. If you HAD TO PICK, would you rather live in area impacted by earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes? Why?

2. For each threat, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, what can people do to prepare for the threat and survive?

a. Hurricanes -

b. Tornadoes - 

c. Earthquakes -