A natural
disaster is a terrible accident, e.g. a great flood, a big fire or an
earthquake. It usually causes great suffering and loss of a large sum of money.
The casualties are injured or died. Some people are homeless and need medical
care.
Floods occur when the water of rivers,
lakes, or streams overflow their banks and pour out onto the surrounding land.
Floods are caused by many different things. Often heavy rainstorms that last
for a brief time can cause a flood. But not all heavy storms are followed by
flooding. If the surrounding land is flat and can absorb the water, no flooding
will occur. If, however, the land is hard and rocky, heavy rain cannot be
absorbed. Where the banks are low, a river may overflow and flood adjacent
lowland.
In many parts of the world flood are
caused by tropical storms called hurricanes or typhoons. They bring destructive
winds of high speed, torrents of rain, and flooding. When a flood occurs, the
destruction to surrounding land can be severe. Whole villages and towns are
sometimes swept away by water pouring swiftly over the land. Railroad tracks
blocked and are uprooted from their beds. Highways are washed away.
When a building caught fire, the fireman
pitched in to help battle the blaze. Before the pumps were invented, people
formed bucket brigades to fight fires. Standings side by side, they formed a
human chain from the fire to nearby well or river. They passed buckets of water
from to hand to be poured on the flames.
The damage of the fire did depend a great
deal on where it happened. In the country or a small village, only a single
house might burn down. But in crowded cities, fire often destroy whole blocks
and neighborhoods before being controlled.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar