Natural disasters

A disaster is something very bad that happens to people and almost always changes their lives completely. Disasters can destroy homes and many kinds of work. Disasters can be of different kinds, but most are caused by forces of nature.

Natural disasters may include avalanches (where snow comes down a mountain), cold (where animals and people freeze), diseases (sicknesses), droughts (when there is no water), earthquakes (where the ground moves), famine (where there is not enough food), fire (that burns things and people), flood (where rivers grow too big and invade land), hail (hard ice falls like rain), heat that lowers the water supply, hurricanes that break everything,landslides and mudslides (where the top of the ground moves because of extra water), sink holes (where a cave falls in), solar flares (where the sun reaches out at the earth and burns it),storm surge (where water piles up and then suddenly comes on land), thunderstorms(rain withlightning and thunder), tornadoes (currents of wind that break things), tsunami (where a wall of water comes on land), volcanoes (where lava from inside the earth comes out slowly or shoots into the air), a waterspout (like a tornado on water), or winter storms (where snow falls thick and you cannot see).

disaster- katasztrófa, szerencsétlenség
to happen to - valami történik valakivel/valamivel
completely - teljesen
to destroy - tönkretenni, lerombolni
to be caused by - valami által okozva lenni
forces of nature - természet erői
to include - magába foglalni
avalanche - lavina
to freeze - megfagyni
disease - betegség
drought - szárazság
earthquake - földrengés
ground - föld
famine - éhínség
flood - árvíz
to invade - betörni, megszállni
hail - jégeső
to lower - csökkenteni
water supply - vízellátás, víz utánpótlás
landslide - földcsuszamlás
mudslide - földcsuszamlás, “sárlavina”
sink hole - víznyelő
cave - barlang
solar flare - napkitörés
storm surge - vihar-roham
to pile up - felgyülemlik
thunderstorm - zivatar, vihar
lightning - villámlás
thunder - mennydörgés
current - áramlás, áramlat
waterspout - víztölcsér

Use the following words in the definitions below!

1.	2.	3.	4.
forest fire	hurricane	tornado	earthquake
5.	6.	7.	8.
flood	drought	volcano	tidal wave

a. .......... is a long period with little or no rain. 

b. .......... is a sudden violent movement of the surface of the earth, caused by the shifting of the earth's tectonic plates.

c. .......... is when huge areas of woodland are alight, often caused by someone carelessly throwing a cigarette.

d. .......... is when an area of dry land becomes covered in water, often forcing people to leave their homes. 

e. .......... are very strong circular winds which suck things up.

f. .......... is a huge wave which builds up in the sea over thousands of mile

g. .......... is a very powerful storm, often at sea.

h. ......... a large mountain which erupts and sends rocks up into the air and hot liquid rock flows down the side.

"Earth Song"

What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth these weeping shores?

What have we’ve done to the world
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth these weeping shores

I used todream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far

Hey, what about yesterday
(What about us)What about the seas
The heavens are falling down
I can't even breathe
What about apathy
I need you
What aboutnature's worth
It's our planet's womb
What about animals
Turned kingdoms to dust
What about elephants
Have we lost their trust
What about crying whales
Ravaging the seas
What about forest trails
Burnt despite our pleas
What about the holy land
Torn apart by creed
What about the common man
Can't we set him free
What about children dying
Can't you hear them cry
Where did we go wrong
Someone tell me why
What about baby boy
What about the days
What about all their joy
What about the man
What about the crying man
What about Abraham
What about death again
Do we give a damn
sunrise – napfelkelte
to gain – (el)nyerni
field – mező
to stop to – megállni, hogy…
to notice – észrevenni
to shed blood – vért ontani
weeping shores – síró partok
to pledge – ígéretet/fogadalmat tenni
flowering – virágzó
war – háború
used to do something – régebben (rendszeresen) csinálni valamit
to glance – tekinteni, pillantani
beyond the stars – a csillagokon túl
to drift far – messzire sodródni
what about us – mi van/lesz velünk
heavens – égbolt
to fall down – leesni
to breathe – lélegezni
apathy – közönyösség, fásultság, érzéketlenség
nature’s worth – a természet értéke
planet’s womb – a bolygó (anya)méhe
to turn something to – átváltoztani valamit valamivé
kingdom – királyság, birodalom
dust – por
to lose trust – elveszíteni a bizalmát
whale – bálna
to ravage – pusztítani, rombolni, tönkretenni
forest trail – erdei csapás/ösvény
burnt – (le)égett
despite something – valami ellenére
plea - könyörgés, kérés
holy land -  szentföld
torna part by creed – széttépve
common man – egyszerű/hétköznapi ember
to set someone free – szabadon engedni
to go wrong – tévedni, hibázni, rosszra útra térni
to give a damn – törődni/foglalkozni valamivel

Listen to the article and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1)     So far about 14 people have died in the floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. T/F
2)     The Danube in Passau reached its highest level in 70 years. T/F
3)     In Prague this is the worst flood in the past ten years. T/F
4)     There have even been fires in the Czech Republic caused by the flood damage. T/F
5)     The Czech Republic is fighting the flood with sandbag barriers and metal walls. T/F
6)     Angela Merkel has sent out the army to help control the situation. T/F
7)     Three German cities have issued disaster warnings. T/F
8)     2002 water level records have been broken in Passau. T/F
9)     Railway stations, subway networks and ship traffic have been closed in the affected European countries. T/F
10)  Meteorologists are expecting less rainfall in the following days. T/F

Officials across central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforceflood defences today as rivers swelled by days of heavy rain threatened to bursttheir banks. At least five people have died and nine are missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic in recent days. The Danube in the southeast German city of Passau is expected to rise to its highest level in 70 years today and a spokesman for the city's crisis centre said the situation has become 'extremely dramatic'. In Prague, almost 2,700 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas as the country sees its worst flooding in a decade. Czech police said at least five people had died in the flooding. Firefighters evacuated homes in western regions and in villages outside the capital today and yesterday, rescuing 200 people. Czech officials said the waters of the Vltava river could reach critical levels in Prague and that special metal walls were being erected to prevent flooding. Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said they wereshutting down eight stations of the capital's subway network and urging people not to travel to the city. Flooding was also reported in Austria and water levels rose in Germany and Poland after heavy rain in central Europe over the past week swelled rivers. The subway network in central Prague was halted due to the weather. It is the first time it has been closed since massive floods submerged the city in 2002 and caused billions of dollars of damage in the Czech Republic. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas declared astate of emergency for most of the nation on Sunday and pledged 300 million crowns ($15.11million) for relief efforts. Troops started putting anti-flood barriers in place in Prague and volunteers helped pile up sandbags in areas popular with tourists in the ancient centre. The landmark Charles Bridge was closed and workers evacuated parts of Prague zoo. Levels on the Vltava river that cuts through Prague's centre continued to rise. In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would bedeployed if necessary. The water level had risen by at least five meters in Munich. Several cities including Chemnitz in the east of Germany, and Passau and Rosenheim in the south, issued disaster warnings. Passau, which is located at the confluence of three rivers, could see waters rise above record levels of 2002, said Mayor Juergen Dupper. German news agency dpa reported that large stretches of the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers have been closed to ship traffic. Evacuations are also taking place in neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. Rivers also were spilling over their banks in some rural areas of south-western Poland, and people have been evacuated.  Meteorologists are predictingthe rainfall will ease in the coming days.
source: dailymail.co.uk

to issue – kiadni, kibocsátani
disaster warning – katasztrófa figyelmeztetés
to scramble – küzdeni, tolongani
to reinforce - megerősíteni
flood defence – árvíz védelem
to swell - duzzadni
to threaten – veszélyeztetni, fenyegetni
to burst – szétszakítani, kitörni
to expect – számítani valamire
to rise - emelkedni
low-lying – alacsonyan fekvő
to erect – (fel)emelni
to prevent – (meg)akadályozni
to shut down - lezárni
to urge – sürgetni, ösztönözni
to halt - megállítani
to submerge – elmeríteni, elárasztani
damage - kár
to declare - kijelenteni
state of emergency – rendkívüli állapot
to pledge – fogadalmat tenni, ígérni
relief effort - segély
troop - csapat
barrier – gát, korlát, akadály
volunteer - önkéntes
to pile up - felhalmozni
affected –  érintett
to deploy - bevetni
confluence - egybetorkollás
stretch - szakasz
to spill over – átömleni, kiönteni
to predict – előrelátni, jósolni
to ease – enyhülni, csökkeni