🌍 Natural Disasters Vocabulary
Typhoons, Hurricanes, Cyclones, Tornadoes
- Typhoon – tropical storm in the Northwest Pacific
- Hurricane – tropical storm in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific
- Cyclone – general term for a large rotating storm (used in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific)
- Tornado – a narrow, violent rotating column of air touching the ground
- Storm surge, eye of the storm, funnel cloud, vortex, landfall, warning, evacuation
Drought
- Drought – long period of little or no rainfall
- Dry spell, arid, water shortage
- Crop failure, desertification, famine
- Heatwave, irrigation, conservation
Wildfire
- Wildfire – uncontrolled fire in forests or grasslands
- Forest fire, bushfire, blaze
- Sparks, embers, smoke, firefighting
- Evacuation, fire break, air tanker
Volcanic Eruption
- Volcano – mountain that can erupt molten rock
- Eruption, lava, magma, ash cloud
- Crater, volcanic gases, pyroclastic flow
- Seismic activity, evacuation zone, lava flow
Earthquake
- Earthquake, tremor, aftershock, foreshock
- Tectonic plates, fault line, epicenter, focus
- Magnitude, Richter scale, seismograph
- Ground shaking, landslide, tsunami, rescue team
Landslide
- Landslide, mudslide, rockfall, debris flow
- Heavy rainfall, earthquake, deforestation, slope failure
- Unstable slope, loose soil, ground saturation
- Retaining wall, evacuation, hazard zone
Avalanche
- Avalanche, snow slide, slab avalanche
- Snowpack, trigger point, cornice
- Heavy snowfall, temperature change, wind loading
- Beacon, shovel, probe, rescue team
Flood
- Flood, flash flood, river flood, urban flood
- Heavy rainfall, dam break, storm surge
- Overflow, water level, runoff
- Drainage system, sandbags, relief efforts