In the past several years, it certainly seems like the amount of natural disasters has increased dramatically. We’ve all watched the forecasts for the deadly hurricanes that slowly approach the shorelines and pray that they don’t strike with too much fierceness. We’ve seen the aftermaths of the tornadoes that seemingly appear out of the sky without any warning and destroy everything in its path. The entire world stared in wonder at the unrelenting tsunami that struck in the Indian Ocean years ago and took 150,000 lives as its souvenir. At the current moment, a volcano in Hawaii is showing its glory and attracting thousands of tourists to witness one of the most spectacular of all natural disasters.
In every corner of the world, natural disasters have had some sort of impact. Nature has its way of letting human beings know that it has more control over the planet than we like to believe. Natural disasters cannot be prevented. They can, however, be forecasted at times and some of the outcomes can be prevented. Thanks to modern day technology, we can see hurricanes coming before they have the chance to perform a sneak attack. People can evacuate towns and board up their residences. They may be able to prevent quite a bit of damage, but we all witnessed the results of Katrina’s rampage a few years ago. Early planning saved a lot of lives but additional planning could have prevented the mass amounts of destruction. No matter if you live in an area that is prone to natural disasters, learning safety tips and having a plan of escape is always a good idea. There are lots of sources online for tips and information about being prepared.
Tornadoes can be discovered a few moments before they hit but often times, there is little forecasters can do to warn people ahead of time. It is one of the natural disasters that simply strike when the elements are right. Most times, people barely have enough of time to make it to shelter. What causes natural disasters? Luckily, through research and a lot of brave people who run towards the storms when the rest of the populations are running away, we’ve learned much about them. Obviously, no one will ever be able to learn how to prevent them but at least we know how they happen and why. High school students learn about hurricanes and tornadoes, thunderstorms and avalanches in their science classes. Experiments will be performed. Previous natural disasters throughout history will be studied. And yet, there is something about natural disasters that will keep them somewhat of a mystery.