Introduces how scientists study and learn from natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, El Nino, and volcanoes.

"To stop the world from burning, it's up to Sigma Force to uncover a secret buried at the heart of our planet. The Titan Project--an international research station off the coast of Australia--discovers a thriving zone of life in an otherwise dead sea. The area teems with a strange bioluminescent coral that defies science, yet holds great promise for the future. But the loss of a military submarine in the area triggers a brutal attack and sets in motion...

The destruction was unimaginable. Workers in nearby factories watched with horror as the Pemberton Mill buckled and then collapsed, trapping more than six hundred workers, many of them women and children. Word of the disaster spread quickly and volunteers rushed to the scene. As survivors called out for help, a lantern fell, and within minutes fire engulfed the building, burning those trapped inside. It took days for rescuers to complete the grim...

Emergency Aid explores the world response to natural disasters and war, and the people and organizations that are working to help people in need. This title also focuses on people who have been helped, the progress that has already been made, and the challenges still left to be met. The young reader analyzes the stories and develops his or her own opinion of what can be done to effectively respond to disasters. The book has been developed to address...

In late September 1989, South Carolina was rocked by the colossal force of Hurricane Hugo. A category four hurricane, Hugo devastated the coast and other regions of the state, claiming dozens of lives and causing billions of dollars in damage. Hugo was the Palmetto State's most destructive natural disaster in recent memory, but the story of that storm is only part of the larger history of hurricanes in South Carolina. Hurricane Destruction in South...

More than two thousand ships have been lost along California's 840 miles of coastline--Spanish galleons, passenger liners, freighters, schooners. Some tragedies are marking points in U.S. maritime history. The "City of Rio de Janeiro," bound from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1901, sliced the fog only to strike a rock and sink in twenty minutes, sending 128 passengers to watery graves. Seven U.S. Navy destroyers, bound on a fateful 1923 night from...

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita created the most expensive disaster, the largest evacuation, and the third deadliest flood in American history. Nobody can control Mother Nature but the world's most advanced nation could have protected its citizens better. This disaster revealed the faulty psychological reactions of officials who not only failed to protect the public from danger in New Orleans, but lacked effective responses to the calamity. We elect and...

Get the Summary of Manjula Martin's The Last Fire Season in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "The Last Fire Season" by Manjula Martin is a deeply personal and reflective account of living amidst the threat of wildfires in Northern California. Martin, awakened by a dry lightning storm, prepares to evacuate her forested hillside home, packing essentials and relying on a local volunteer fire department for protection....

Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, Columbus and the Ohio Valley endured a downpour that would produce the largest flood in one hundred years. Heavy rains came on the heels of an especially cold winter, resulting in a torrent of runoff over saturated and frozen ground. Rivers and streams quickly overflowed and levees failed, sending tsunami-like floodwater into unsuspecting communities and claiming four hundred lives. There were ninety-six...

The mountain snows melted and the rains came. In 1853, thousands fled the rising water; in 1889, two days of torrential rain ravaged the city; and in 1936, the infamous St. Patrick's Day flood saw a swell of ten feet. Perched on the banks of the Potomac River, the city of Cumberland, Maryland, has been plagued by devastating floods since its foundation. Time and again, deluges have brought the city to its knees. Yet the Queen City has always risen...