After an earthquake most survivors can be expected to recover over time, particularly with the support of family and friends. Some families will be able to return to their normal life quickly, while others will have to contend with the destruction of their homes, medical problems, and injury to family members. Children especially will need time to recover from the loss of a loved one or a pet or from the closing down of their school.

Children often turn to adults for information, comfort and help. Parents should try to remain calm, answer children’s questions honestly and remain understanding when they see changes in their children’s behavior.

Children react differently to an earthquake depending on their ages, developmental levels and former experiences. Some will respond by withdrawing (不与人交往), while others will have angry outbursts (爆发). Parents should remain sensitive to each child’s reactions. Parents should spend time talking to their children, letting them know that it’s OK to ask questions and to share their worries. Although it may be hard to find time to have these talks, parents can use regular family mealtimes or bedtimes for them. They should answer questions briefly and honestly and be sure to ask their children for their opinions and ideas. Issues may come up more than once and parents should remain patient when you answer the questions again. For young children, parents, after talking about the earthquake, might read a favorite story or have a relaxing family activity to help them calm down. Parents should also tell children they are safe and spend extra time with them. They could play games outside or read together indoors. Most importantly, be sure to tell them you love them.

Of all nature’s disasters, forest fires are often considered the most frightening. Moving at lightning speed, huge walls of flames can burn acres of land in just a few minutes. And although technology, including the use of fire-retardant chemicals, has greatly helped the fight against forest fires, they still take great damage.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire season last year was the worst on record in terms of the number of fires and acres(公顷) burned. There were 96, 385 fires and 9, 873, 429 acres affected by fire in a year that was 125% more destructive (毁灭性的)than the 10­year average(平均). These fires cost the federal government $1.5 billion to fight, and this figure does not include the money spent by local and state governments as part of the effort.

Fires in the southern states represented(代表) half of the national total last year with Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas being home to an usually high amount of activity. Wildfire have also taken place in Western states such as California, Colorado and Alaska throughout the past 10 years.

It is said that two­thirds of forest fires are started accidentally by people, almost one quarter are purposely set, while lighting causes 10%.

Forest fires can have advantageous effects. Charcoal(木炭) enriches soil, and some plant species(种类) grow well after. The cones of the jack pine tree, for example, will not spread their seeds unless there is heat. Douglas fir trees grow best in open sunlight areas after fire.

A big sandstorm hit northern China several months ago. It covered many cities with thick clouds of yellow dust (尘土).

The storm, which came from Mongolia, was the largest sandstorm in China in the past 10 years. Many flights and classes were canceled (取消) because the visibility (能见度) was lower than 500 meters.

The storm was the result of warm and dry weather in the area, together with the strong winds from Mongolia. “There has been little rainfall so far this spring and the temperature is rising. So now it is a worrying time for sandstorms,” said an expert from Beijing.

In recent years, sandstorms haven’t been as common in northern China as before. The land with desertification (沙漠化) has been falling by 7, 585 km per year in China, and the area of sandy land has been decreasing by 1, 284 km a year. This is thanks to China’s Three-North Shelter Forest Program (TNSFP, 三北防护林工程) which started in the 1970s. Millions of trees have been planted in northern China to prevent sandstorms and protect the environment.

Besides, China has a color-graded weather warning system (预警系统) for sandstorms, with red meaning the most serious, followed by orange and yellow. Therefore, people would have time to get prepared for the sandstorm.