A task-based unit on natural hazards

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At the end of this learning unit, we would be able to
a) analyze how a hazard becomes a disaster.
b) assess how disaster preparedness can reduce the impact of the hazard.
c) present information on Natural Hazards in an interesting format (photo report, digital
book, interview, dramatization, etc.).
I.- How much do you know about Natural Hazards?
Fill in the chart.
What do you know about
Natural Hazards?
What aren’t you sure of? What would you like to
learn about Natural
Hazards?
II.- Natural Hazards
A hazard is a danger or risk
How can Nature be a risk or danger? When do hazards become disasters?
Natural hazards remind us that we are small and vulnerable—and that living on this
dynamic planet will always entail risk.

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Watch this video and complete the answers to your questions above.
Answer these questions by watching the video again:
When do hazards become disasters?
What led to the natural disaster of the Fire in San Francisco?
What can we do if Natural hazards cannot be stopped?
Which example does he give to keep safer in earthquakes?
How can we prevent volcanic eruptions?
What helps us predict hurricanes?
Why are we going to see more natural disasters as a result of these hazards?
These are some pictures of natural hazards. Can you identify them?
NATURAL HAZARDS

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Match the natural disasters in the box with the eye-witness reports below.
earthquake tsunami drought volcanic eruption hurricane flooding
1 'It had been raining for several hours and finally the river burst its banks – there was
water everywhere. There were cars floating down the street’ flooding

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2 'Over the last few days we've seen several big explosions and a lot of smoke and ash
coming from the top of the mountain. The police have told us to evacuate the area.'
volcanic eruption
3 'It was about three o'clock in the morning when suddenly, everything started shaking.
A lot of pictures fell on the floor and a huge crack suddenly appeared in the ´wall’
earthquake
4 'It hasn't rained here for several months. There is no water for cattle and sheep and
local farmers have lost valuable crops’ drought
5 'The sirens sounded and we were told to get to higher ground immediately. We saw a
massive wave come in from the sea. It destroyed everything in its path’ tsunami
6 'The windows shook and I've never seen it rain so much. A lot of the trees on the street
were blown down and a few houses had their roofs torn off.' Hurricane
Adapted from Higgins, E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford:CUP
Complete the sentences below with the following words from the article.
Use the dictionary if necessary.
alive mud survivor bodies search safety
debris rescue drowned shell-shocked
1 Although exhausted, the soldiers knew that they could not give up their search for the
missing people.
2 The flood covered the entire valley in a matter of minutes – it is estimated that over
500 people were drowned.
3 Four days of continuous rain falling on dry earth created so much mud that some roads
had to be closed.
4 The elderly woman who was trapped in a car for more than 20 hours emerged rather
shell-shocked from the experience – she hasn't been able to get back in a car since.
5 The debris left by the hurricane was incredible – residents reported glass, pieces of
roofing, and even bits of a bathtub lying about after the winds died down.

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6 Luckily, the village was forewarned of the volcanic eruption and the majority of its
residents were able to get to safety.
7 The people of Ishinomaki were amazed that a baby which had been swept away by a
wave could still be alive.
8 The official death toll from the earthquake has been measured by the number of
bodies found, but there are quite a few more people that are still missing.
9 After sitting on her rooftop for four days during the flood, Margaret Reed has been
declared survivor of the year.
10 After the tsunami hit Japan, people donated millions of dollars and countless hours
to help with the rescue effort.
Adapted from Higgins, E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford:CUP
Look at the adjectives in the list and complete the text about a hurricane.
apprehensive strong torrential terrifying
devastated homeless frightened deafening
We'd been expecting the storm for several hours and everyone
was apprehensive, thinking about what could happen. When the
storm hit, the noise was deafening. There were extremely strong winds and torrential
rain. The children were very frightened. In fact, the whole experience was absolutely
terrifying for everyone. The local area has been devastated and hundreds of people
have been felt homeless.
Adapted from Higgins, E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford:CUP
Three in a row. In pairs, one chooses X and the other O. The youngest
student starts and chooses one word. He has to define it. If the definition is correct, he
stays there. If not, he has to erase his mark. The student who can choose three in a row
is the winner!!!!!

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hurricane drought flooding
heat wave landslide earthquake
tornado volcanic eruption tsunami
You are going to watch a video on natural hazards and humans. Write
down two questions whose answers you expect to find in it.
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
Watch the video and answer your questions. Share them in your group.

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1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
Use the information in the video to complete the summary below.
Natural hazards pose risks to humans. They result from natural earth processes. They
also shape the history of human society. They can change the size of human population
or drive migrations. Human activities can contribute to the intensity and frequency of
natural hazards. Natural hazards can be sudden events, or they may last decades. They
can be local or global in origin. Local events can have distant impacts. This is because of
the interconnected nature of both human societies and earth system. Humans cannot
eliminate natural hazards but can engage in activities that reduce their impact. Some of
these activities are: identifying and avoiding high risk locations, improving construction
methods where they do live, developing warning systems, and recognizing how human
behaviour affects how people prepare for and respond to natural hazards.
III.- When Natural Hazards become a disaster
Explore the following websites and use the information to add to your list
of natural hazards:
• National Geographic – Natural disasters
• NASA– Natural hazards
• Australian government – Natural disasters
• https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/index.html
• http://www.ready.gov/natural-disasters
In groups of three, discuss one of the hazards and create a hazard profile using the
following questions:
Make groups of 3 and give each group a different hazard. Allow two sessions to design
the profile and when the profiles are on the wall, ask students to classifying the disasters
in different ways (e.g. cause, speed, impact, recovery time).
• Where does this kind of hazard occur?
• What causes the hazard?
• How much warning is there?
• What sort of damage does it do to people and the environment?

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• How are different people (e.g. school child, subsistence farmer, day labourer,
transport worker, large business operator) affected? Who would be most
affected?
• Why might people live in an area affected by this type of hazard?
• How could people prepare for this type of disaster?
• What support might affected people need in order to rebuild their lives?
The profile will be displayed in class, so use a DIN-A3 or DIN-A2 to design your profile.
IV.- Preparing for a Natural Disaster
• Who might help in the event of a disaster?
• What can you do to prepare for a disaster?
• How do you think preparing for a disaster such as a fire can help if a
disaster occurs?
• How might people in a developing country prepare for a similar
disaster?
• Why might there be differences?
Read/view these case studies about disaster preparedness so that you can
answer the following questions about each of the stories:
• Disaster risk reduction in Laos
• Drought in Tuvalu (2011)
• Saving lives with disaster preparedness in Indonesia
• Japanese tsunami (2011) ABC News and National Geographic
• Queensland floods (2011) Queensland flood crisis map and Flood facts
• Typhoon in Philippines (2012)
• Black Saturday Australia bushfire (2009) Geographical Australia and
Wikipedia
i. Which hazard is the focus of the preparation?
ii. Where and with what frequency does this disaster occur in the focus country?
iii. How does it affect people, the environment and the economy?
iv. What are some of the activities undertaken to reduce the impact of the
disaster?
v. How do these activities build people's resilience?

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Hazard / place / year Frequency Impact Activities People’s resilence
Laos
Tuvalu
Indonesia
Queensland
Philippines
Victoria

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Complete the following table comparing the responses to different disasters.
Disaster Response
Earthquake
Tsunami
Floods
Drought
Famine
Typhoon
Pandemic
(disease)
Identify responses that are common to all the disasters and work as a group to suggest
how communities, governments and organizations can pre-prepare for disasters and
respond more efficiently when disasters occur.
V.- Rescue
Reading: One of the most devastating tsunamis was the one that affected
Japan in 2011. What do you know about it?
1.- Scan the text to answer the questions.
1 How old was the baby that was rescued? ________________
2 How long was the elderly woman trapped in the car? ____________________
3 How many people were found drowned in the Miyagi prefecture?
_________________

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On 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake caused a tsunami with waves of up to nine metres
which struck the east coast of Japan. The final death toll was estimated at almost 16,000
people.
Miracle of the baby girl plucked from the rubble
The sound of a baby's cry amid the rubble
seemed so impossible that soldiers
searching a tsunami-smashed village
thought it must be a mistake. But it came
again. And they realised they could not be
hearing things. They cleared away wood
and thick mud – and there was the child
they described as a 'tiny miracle'.
The four-month-old girl had been swept
from her parents' arms in the shattered
village of Ishinomaki when the deadly tidal
wave crashed into the family home. For three days, the child's frantic family had believed she
must have been lost to them forever. But yesterday, for a brief moment, the horrors of the
disaster were brightened by one helpless baby's story of survival.
Soldiers from the Japanese Defence Force had been going from door to door, pulling bodies
from the devastated homes in Ishinomaki, a coastal town northeast of Sendai. Most of the
victims were elderly, unable to get away from the destructive black tide. But for this precious
moment, at least, it was only the child who mattered to the team of civil defence troops who
found her.
One of them picked her up in his arms, wrapped her in a blanket which had been handed to him
and cradled the child as his colleagues crowded around, not believing that someone as young as
this could have survived when all hope had been lost.
The tiniest survivor was cold and wet and crying her eyes out, but she is believed to have
suffered no serious injuries. Why she did not drown remained a mystery. But the soldiers were
somehow able to track down her overjoyed father, who had been taking refuge in his wrecked
home with the rest of his family.
Even then, the nightmare wasn't over. Just minutes after the emotional reunion, the shell-
shocked survivors were told that a second tsunami might be on its way. The panicked father
begged the soldiers to take the baby to safety on higher ground. But the 11 a.m. alarm turned
out to be false and the reunited family went back to rebuilding their home.
Amid the devastation, there have been very few tales of survival. But the discovery of the
unnamed child has given fresh hope that others may be found alive in the shattered landscape
which covers many miles of the east coast of Honshu Island. In fact, yesterday, it emerged that
witnesses looking down from the second floor of a house in one of the worst hit areas thought
they noticed some movement in the back of a wrecked car by the side of the road. Soldiers
subsequently discovered an elderly woman who had been trapped in the passenger seat for

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more than 20 hours. Although she was traumatised by her ordeal, the victim was said to be
otherwise unhurt.
Before the baby's discovery, searchers found at least 2,000 bodies washed up along the
shoreline of the badly-hit Miyagi prefecture. All had drowned, according to police, and, as the
search through the debris went on throughout the day, officials conceded that what had started
out as a rescue effort would become a recovery operation. And then came the cry of a little girl.
'Her discovery has put a new urgency into the search,' said a civil defence official. 'We had better
listen, look and dig with even more diligence after this.'
Adapted from an article in the Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366155/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-4-month-old-baby-girl-father-reunited-Ishinomaki
2.- Answer multiple-choice questions.
See how we do this activity. Read the question first.
What was the soldiers' reaction when they first heard the baby crying?
Then, read the first paragraph of the article and choose the best answer to the question.
The sound of a baby's cry amid the rubble seemed so impossible that soldiers searching
a tsunami-smashed village thought it must be a mistake. But it came again. And they
realised they could not be hearing things. They cleared away wood and thick mud – and
there was the child they described as a 'tiny miracle'. [...]
Read the first paragraph of the text again and match the answer options with the three
explanations.

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Now, it is your turn.
1.- Why was finding the baby so special for the soldiers?
What to do ... Decide which answer paraphrases 'not believing that someone ... could
have survived when all hope had been lost'.
a) Because they had lost hope of finding anyone alive
b) Because most of the survivors were older people
c) Because they had not found anyone alive in the village
2 Why did the father want the soldiers to take the baby away again?
What to do ... Decide which answer matches 'The panicked father begged the soldiers
to take the baby to safety on higher ground'.
a) Because he was busy rebuilding the family home
b) Because he thought the soldiers would be able to take her away from the
danger
c) Because the family had no home for the baby
3 What effect did the discovery of the baby have on the search operation?
What to do ... Decide which answer is most similar to 'has given fresh hope that others
may be found alive'.
a) They were hoping to find another 2,000-missing people
b) They were now more optimistic about finding other survivors
c) They thought that the recovery operation would have to stop
3.- Find a synonym in the text for the following words.
1 broken stone and bricks
The sound of a baby's cry amid the rubble seemed so impossible that soldiers searching a
tsunami-smashed village thought it must be a mistake. But it came again. And they realised
they could not be hearing things. They cleared away wood and thick mud – and there was the
child they described as a 'tiny miracle'.
2 extremely dangerous
The four-month-old girl had been swept from her parents' arms in the shattered village of
Ishinomaki when the deadly tidal wave crashed into the family home. For three days, the
child's frantic family had believed she must have been lost to them forever. But yesterday, for
a brief moment, the horrors of the disaster were brightened by one helpless baby's story of
survival.
3 very happy
The tiniest survivor was cold and wet and crying her eyes out, but she is believed to have
suffered no serious injuries. Why she did not drown remained a mystery. But the soldiers were
somehow able to track down her overjoyed father, who had been taking refuge in his wrecked
home with the rest of his family.

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4 without damage to your body
Amid the devastation, there have been very few tales of survival. But the discovery of the
unnamed child has given fresh hope that others may be found alive in the shattered landscape
which covers many miles of the east coast of Honshu Island. In fact, yesterday, it emerged that
witnesses looking down from the second floor of a house in one of the worst hit areas thought
they noticed some movement in the back of a wrecked car by the side of the road. Soldiers
subsequently discovered an elderly woman who had been trapped in the passenger seat for
more than 20 hours. Although she was traumatised by her ordeal, the victim was said to be
otherwise unhurt.
Adapted from Higgins,E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford:CUP
4.- Is it easy to rescue people? What or who can help rescue people after a natural
disaster?
Work with a partner. Look at the photos advertising a radio programme and
discuss what you think it is about.
Listen to the programme. Were your ideas right?
Listen again and choose the correct answer to these questions.
1 Which of these situations does Jason Grey not mention search dogs working in?
a) Earthquakes
b) Terrorist attacks
c) Airport luggage searches
d) Mountain rescue

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2 What does a search dog have to be able to do?
a) To search for lots of different things at the same time.
b) To focus on one thing
c) To find food and water
d) To find other animals or fires
3 When did Jason start working with Major?
a) While Major was in advanced obedient training
b) While Jason was learning to be a fireman
c) While Major was in basic obedient training
d) While Major was just a puppy
4 What was the first thing that Jason and his team had to do in Haiti?
a) To find three girls in the rubble
b) To train Major in the area
c) To find places where there might be survivors
d) To find a place to sleep
5 How long had the three girls been trapped?
a) Twelve days
b) Two days
c) Three days
d) Six days
6 What is unlikely to happen in Jason’s job a week after a natural disaster?
a) That they will be able to pull people from the ruins of the building
b) That they will find survivors
c) That their job will be finished
d) That they will be able to go home
Do you think it could be considered cruel to use an animal in the way that Major is used
in natural disasters?
Adapted from Higgins, E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford:CUP
VI.- Present your research on a natural hazard
Now you know a lot of things about your natural hazard. You know its causes, where it
usually occurs, the risks for the population, how to prevent it, how to prepare for it, etc.
It is time that you put all this information together in a creative way.
In your group, think of how to present all this information to the school community. We
are going to have an exhibition on Natural Hazards on ______________________(date).

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What is the information you would like to convey?
Present your information in an interesting format (e.g. photo report, interview,
dramatization) to the class.
What is the best way of presenting it to our school community?
Who does what?
Student Is responsible for It’ll be ready on (date)

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VII.- Self assessment
Which aspects of our product have been better valued?
Which aspects of our product do we have to improve?

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INFORMATION ON NATURAL HAZARDS RUBRIC
4 3 2 1
Overall
impression
and task
completeness
Task has been
completed
satisfactorily.
Despite some
errors, general
comprehension
is possible.
Student has
shown some
expansion of the
task prompts.
Task has been
completed well.
There are
relatively few
errors,
comprehension is
easy.
Student has clearly
expanded on the
task prompts.
Task has not been
completed
satisfactorily.
There are some
errors.
Student has given
merely minimal
responses to the
task prompts
Task has not been
completed
satisfactorily.
There are many
errors affecting
comprehension.
Student has given
no responses to
some task
prompts.
Content
Content is
accurate.
Content is mostly
accurate
Content is
accurate. Some
important
information is
missing.
Information is
missing.
Attractiveness
and creativity
It is exceptionally
attractive in
terms of design,
layout, and
neatness. A very
creative way of
presenting the
information.
It is attractive in
terms of design,
layout and
neatness.
Creative way of
presenting
information.
It is acceptably
attractive though
it may be a bit
messy. Not very
creative way of
presenting the
information.
It is distractingly
messy or very
poorly designed.
It is neither
attractive or
creative.
Mechanics
Capitalization
and punctuation
are correct, OR
pronunciation is
accurate, and
comprehension
is easy.
There is 1 error in
capitalization or
punctuation. OR
pronunciation is
clear, and
comprehension is
easy
There are 2 errors
in capitalization or
punctuation OR
Some words are
pronounced
incorrectly, but
comprehension is
possible, if
difficult at times
There are more
than 2 errors in
capitalization or
punctuation OR
Pronunciation is
not clear and
seriously affects
comprehension.
Grammar and
use of English
Language
structures and
lexis appropriate
to the level are
used with a high
degree of
accuracy making
comprehension
easy.
Language
structures and
lexis appropriate
to the level are
used with a
satisfactory
degree of
accuracy, despite
some errors at
times which
should not affect
comprehension.
Language
structures and
lexis appropriate
to the level are
used with a
satisfactory
degree of
accuracy, despite
some errors at
times which affect
comprehension.
Language
structures and
lexis appropriate
to the level are
consistently used
inaccurately
making
comprehension
difficult or
impossible.

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OTHER RESOURCES
Drought >
Earthquakes >
Extreme Heat >
Floods >
Hurricanes >
Landslides & Debris Flow >
Severe Weather >
Space Weather >
Thunderstorms & Lightning >
Tornadoes >
Tsunamis >
Volcanoes >
Wildfires >
Winter Storms & Extreme Cold >

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Higgins, E et al. (2012) Next Generation 2, Oxford: CUP
http://www.bushfireeducation.vic.edu.au/secondary/learning-about-
bushfires/secondary-learning-about-bushfire.html
http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/teaching-activity/disasters-consequences-and-
responses.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bmOmozR7ZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRiLLd2hX0E The trailer for a special exhibition
on Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Tornadoes. Hurricanes