We are the Masters, we are the Masters, and we're here to drop some knowledge on you.
Okay guys, time for the next activity.
Next we're going to do a family disaster supply kit check, so get ready.
Oh we had a kit check yesterday.
I remember correctly there were items missing.
One of the main responsibilities of Masters of Disaster is to have the kit ready before
the disaster occurs.
Okay.
I got your answer.
I have the battery powered radio.
And we have the flash light.
Here are the extra batteries, here's the first seat kit and manual.
We cannot forget the food and the bottled water.
And here is the can opener, the utility knife, and the tools.
I have the clothes and extra blankets.
Very impressive you guys, if there was a real disaster like say, a hurricane we'd have everything
we need to evacuate.
Why won't we need to leave because of a hurricane anyway?
Yeah, it's just a big storm.
It's just a big storm, a hurricane is more than just a big storm.
Boy, do I have a lot to teach you guys, you remind me of some other cadets I know.
Just a big storm.
Yeah.
Some of the biggest storms on earth have been hurricanes.
What?
The biggest storms on earth, that's amazing.
I know how you can get more information on the subject.
Olivia, you are reading my mind to the science center computer.
Hey!
Doctor, come.
Good day to you, Dr. Kahn.
Dr. Kahn.
Oh, it's you guys again.
Hi, Dr. Kahn.
Hello, guys.
How are you doing?
Fine.
What can I do for you?
We've got five cadets here with questions about hurricanes.
Uh-huh.
So you guys want to know about hurricanes, huh?
A hurricane is a huge storm that packs strong winds and heavy rains.
Hurricane winds blow in a large spiral or circle around a calm center called the eye.
Think of the storm as a circle that may be 400 miles in diameter and the eye as its center,
which may be 20 to 30 miles in diameter.
I saw a weather picture of a hurricane spiral last year.
It was in the Atlantic Ocean heading for land.
What causes hurricanes, Dr. Kahn?
Good question.
Hurricanes start over warm water.
The first stage is called a tropical wave.
If the wave lasts 24 hours and there is heavy rain and wind, it becomes a tropical disturbance.
If the disturbance keeps on growing and the winds speed up, the storm becomes a tropical
depression.
If the tropical depression keeps growing and building wind speed, the storm becomes a
tropical storm and is given an official name by the National Weather Service like Tropical
Storm Danny or Emily.
And if the tropical storm reaches a constant wind speed of 74 miles an hour, it officially
becomes a hurricane.
I see all the weirds are soaking around the eye.
Well, I hope I helped out.
You guys have a good one.
Thank you very much for your help, Dr. Kahn.
All right, cadets, let's shape up with a hurricane mapping drill.
Check this out.
Along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast, hurricane season starts June 1st and goes
through November.
Out in the Pacific, storms start growing around June, but it goes through October.
Also out in the Pacific, there's not a real season for storms.
You can imagine it's important to know where these storms are headed because they're so
dangerous, especially hurricanes, because they can do so much damage when they cross
land.
You know, my friend says hurricanes only happen in the ocean.
Well, they develop in the ocean, but they end on land.
No, then how come the hurricane we mapped last year, Hurricane Cindy, only stayed on
the ocean?
Well, that's right, Christina.
While it's true that some hurricanes do stay over the ocean, other hurricanes, like Hurricane
George, come over land.
Where'd it go?
Well, let's take a look.
We've got a map, and we've got the coordinates of Hurricane George.
Why don't you come on up, Cameron, you can be first.
A tropical depression off the coast of Africa grows into a tropical storm and it gets its
name, Tropical Storm George.
Great, Cameron, you know what to do.
All right, who's next?
Anthony, how about you?
Now it goes into a hurricane, George.
Wow, it is turning at 90 miles an hour, and we're strong, we're going to 125 miles an
hour.
That's really strong.
100.
Yeah, so it's picking up speed, isn't it?
Yeah.
Good work, Anthony.
Who's next?
Columbia.
The hurricane watch, and then a hurricane, warning goes out to us like Puerto Rico.
Good work, Olivia.
Who haven't we seen yet?
Sammy, come on up.
Wow, it's Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic is, and Cuba.
It does a lot of damage.
Now where would you track that on the map?
How's that out right here?
That's right, Sammy.
Good job.
The hurricane George has headed Puerto Rico, and it hits hard with winds back up to 90
miles an hour.
Good job.
Anthony, why don't you come on up again?
There's floods and lots of rain, 15 people are killed in the United States in Puerto
Rico, and 200,000 buildings are damaged or even destroyed.
Wow.
Oh my gosh, now her two Georgies are in Mississippi.
There's lots of rain, but the winds are slow, and George turns back to being a tropical
storm.
Thank you, Christina.
Sammy, why don't you tell us how the storm ends up?
Here's the plastic.
Now, chop the storm, George, is over Alabama, but it turned back into a tropical depression.
Now the winds are down to 30 miles an hour.
The storm is over.
It's cute.
Oh, yes.
It was stable.
That's right, Sammy.
Good job.
Good job.
Good job of tracking and mapping this storm, cadets.
Thank you.
I think it's time that we investigate the hazards that hurricanes can create.
Anthony, will you head on over to the computer?
Dr. Kahn.
Oh, hey, it's you guys.
Hello again, Dr. Kahn.
Good to hear from you again.
What can I do for you?
I'm Dr. Kahn.
Cute shows what hazards hurricanes create.
Very good question.
You're preparing for the possibility of storm surge.
The storm surge is a huge dome of water pushed up from the ocean or sea before a hurricane
makes landfall.
Storm surges sweep away cars and buildings and cover islands and bridges completely
for hours.
You're preparing for winds blowing between 74 and 200 miles per hour.
Uprooting trees and blowing down buildings.
You're preparing for heavy rains.
The rains in the storm surge can cause dangerous flooding.
Now, let me ask you guys a question.
How do you prepare for these hurricane hazards?
We find a safe place to go.
We take our family disaster supplies kit.
We bring things inside that might fly around in the storm.
We lock the windows and cover them with shutters or wood.
Our hurricane comes and the radio tells us the way because of flooding.
We go, we go up higher.
You got it.
Flooding happens when unusually hard rain occurs over several hours.
Steady rain occurs over several days.
Raines occur along with snow thawing or the spring or a hurricane or other tropical storm
affects an area.
Flooding happens everywhere.
The most dangerous flooding is flash flooding, which happens when water rises quickly in
streams and rivers.
Flooding is the cause of most of the damage from natural disasters in this country.
Thank you very much for your help, Dr. Kahn.
Well, I hope that was helpful.
Have a good one.
So Olivia, Sammy, do you guys have the experiment ready?
The one that's going to show us about heavy rains, flooding, and the importance of higher
ground?
Yes.
Come on, we'll show you.
Come on over, guys.
Wow.
What's up with this?
You've already answered it.
Why don't you explain to us what you have here?
Well, see, we've molded soils into hills, valleys, and dry stream beds.
We've used three different types of soil-- peat moss, planting soil, and regular sandy
soil.
And I see you guys have a little town built on top.
Yeah.
Oh, I get it, so the peat moss represents the hills, the potting soil, the valleys, and
the sand, the stream beds.
So what's next?
Now, we're going to take our spray vials and spray the town as if it were raining very
steadily.
Let's do it.
So let's see what happens if you guys turn on the nozzle as if it's raining a little
more steadily.
Wow.
Here it comes, guys.
Wow.
Wow.
See how it's cutting into the banks there?
Making a dam.
Yeah.
It's rising.
It's rising over here right.
Looks like the house is in lower ground or in trouble, huh?
Yeah.
Oh, boy.
Yeah.
Go ahead.
Uh-oh.
Oh, these guys got to get out of there.
Now it's tearing away the trees and the buildings.
All right, so you can go ahead and turn the nozzle off now.
So if you guys were living in this town, we just flooded.
What would you do?
Listen to the radio or television and see when flooding was going to happen.
Well I would bring all the outdoor things indoors.
I'd get water.
You'd get ready to leave for a safe place if floody happens.
I'd make sure that my family disaster supply kit was ready.
Great.
Now what about flash flooding?
When the water's getting higher and it's getting faster, what do you do then?
I'd get on the computer and investigate.
Well then let's do it.
Okay.
Oh, I love this.
I jumped in the last period.
Thanks.
What is a flash flood?
So you came back to find out about flash floods, huh?
Well it's a good thing you did because flash floods can be very dangerous.
Flash flooding occurs when water rises rapidly in streams and rivers.
Flash flood waters rise fast and high and catch people unprepared.
Just two feet of water can carry away most cars.
Even six inches of water can knock you off of your feet.
If you see flood waters, stop where you are, turn around and climb the higher ground.
So even if it looks safe to play in flood water, don't because the water may still be rising fast.
So to be safe, stop, turn around and climb the higher ground.
Thank you very much Dr. Kahn.
We'll be calling on you soon.
I will see you guys soon.
I'm out of here.
Appreciate your help.
Great work cadets.
Let's check on the things that we've learned.
First, we've learned that hurricanes start as tropical storms over oceans and how dangerous spiraling winds can be.
Check.
We've learned how to follow hurricanes with mapping and how to prepare for one.
Check.
And we've learned what causes flash floods and how to prepare for flash flooding.
Check.
Thank you very much to me as if you guys are.
We are the Masters.
We are the Masters.
We are the Masters.
And we're here to draw some knowledge on you.
Thank you.