September 11, 2001, was a critical teachable moment that provided the author of this article and his team with an avenue to middle level curriculum that was relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory. Hurricane Katrina opened a similar window of opportunity for middle level educators to focus the minds of young adolescents on important…

This eight-chapter publication considers the man-made and natural causes of natural disasters. Following an introduction, Chapter 1 outlines the increase in natural disasters in the past decade and discusses the ratio of disasters from one continent to another. Chapter 2 discusses man-made factors such as deforestation and overused soil in causing…

Environmentalist Gilbert F. White has made a variety of important contributions to environmental protection and land use planning throughout his long career, all stemming from a fundamental concern for human life and a common-sense approach to natural resources. (MSE)

Compares minutes of TV coverage of natural disasters outside the U.S. to the number of deaths officially reported in the country affected. Finds that Western European disasters receive most coverage and Asian disasters receive least. (MS)

Reviews various topics and research studies on the geology of volcanoes. Areas examined include volcanoes and weather, plate margins, origins of magma, magma evolution, United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcano hazards program, USGS volcano observatories, volcanic gases, potassium-argon dating activities, and volcano monitoring strategies.…

Describes how students in Fort Wayne, Indiana, became involved in that community's efforts to recover from a flood. Explains how the tragedy provided great teaching moments for the schools, specifically the social studies classes. (FL)

The State Library of Ohio designed this disaster preparedness plan to assist small libraries in gathering information that will be invaluable in the event of an emergency. This plan, which focuses on fire and water disaster prevention, is devoted to using simple and inexpensive measures to prevent a disaster or to lessen its effect. The plan…

Educational facilities in the Caribbean often serve roles as shelters during natural hazards, but they often sustain as much damage as other buildings. This study investigated the physical vulnerability of schools located on St. Kitts and Nevis to wind forces, torrential rain, and seismic forces in order to provide relevant local agencies with…

Precautions to take before, what to do if outdoors or indoors during, and inspecting for damage after thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Sidebars discuss emergency supplies to keep on hand, calculating distance from thunderstorms, and the Fujita tornado rating scale. (TD)

Surveys areas of vulnerability for library databases, provides guidelines to minimize the threat of disasters, and outlines recovery procedures. Topics covered include planning for natural catastrophes, designing physical and data environments, prevention of computer failure, vendor failure, and steps for developing a disaster prevention and…

Finds that 44 urban Virginia and rural West Virginia ministers faced similar challenges following 1985's severe floods, but differed in available resources, varieties of disaster relief roles they took, extent of posttraumatic stress symptoms, and strategies used to meet community needs. Contains 14 references and the interview instrument. (SV)

After tornado leveled Grand Prairie Elementary School (Joliet, Illinois), concerted effort by architects and the school community paid off when new school was opened two years later. Hallways in new building are staggered throughout school to avoid the creation of wind tunnels in event of another tornado. Guidelines for disaster preparations…

Presents the rationale and purposes behind the phenomenon known as storm chasing, as well as the contributions that tornado chasers have made to both scientific knowledge and public safety. Provides statistical information on tornado frequencies and locations and contact addresses for storm chasers. (JJK)

The typical administrator certification program does not devote specific attention to shootings, suicide, terminal illness, and natural disasters. A crisis of major proportion calls for enlightened leadership: a take-charge manner, combined with effective teamwork and delegation of vital operations. Crisis teams should exist at regional, district,…

Relates the author's experiences of salvaging items following the Grand Forks (North Dakota) flood of 1997. Highlights include restoring home movies, paper documents, and photographs; setting realistic recovery goals; and preserving document copies in other locations. A sidebar describes experiences of the public library in Elba (Alabama) after…