Lightning(闪电) strikes more than eight million times a day worldwide. That’s about 93 times per second. What a phenomenon!

How hot is a lightning bolt? About 50, 000°F-five times hotter than the surface of the sun. Yes, it really can rain frogs, fish, and other decidedly odd things. It’s a rare meteorological(气象学的) event, but scientists say strong winds from a tornado or from a storm can be powerful enough to drive animals and objects high into the air, and they have to comedown eventually.

It is a bad idea to take a shower during a thunderstorm. If lightning hits your house, it can travel through your plumbing(管道设备) and shock anyone who comes into contact with water flowing through it. People have been shocked or killed while bathing, washing dishes and clothes. This is also why indoor pools often close during storms. Rubber tires are not what protect you from lightning when you’re in your car. You’re protected because when lightning hits a car, it travels around the outside of the metal structure to get to the ground. Just be careful not to touch any metal areas inside.

Lightning can strike the same place twice—and it often does, especially objects that are tall, pointy, and separated. The Empire State Building, for example, is hit almost 100 times a year, according to the CDC.

You can be struck by lightning even when it’s no training. About 10 percent of lightning strikes take place when there’s no rainfall. In the 1980s, NASA flew one airplane through 1.496 thunderstorms. It was struck by lightning more than 700 times. Today, a commercial airplane will be hit by lightning about once a year on average, typically with no ill effects. It has been decades since a U.S. airliner has crashed as a result of a lightning strike.

To deal with such a frequent phenomenon, every day, twice a day, weather trackers, at the same time, launch giant balloons from almost 900 locations worldwide. The balloons measure above ground weather data such as temperature, humidity(湿气), and wind speed, and they provide vital information that meteorologists use to make forecasts and predict lightning.

Floods are one of the most common disasters in the US. Some floods develop slowly. But flash floods(暴洪)can develop quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and without any signs of rain. 【小题1】 It carries rocks and can sweep away most things in its path.

Listen to the radio or television for information. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move at once to higher ground. 【小题2】

Make your home safe by bringing in outdoor furniture.【小题3】Do not touch any electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.

·Do not walk through moving water. 【小题4】 If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the ground in front of you.

·【小题5】 If floodwaters rise around your car, give up the car and move to higher ground if you can do so safely. Otherwise you and the car can be quickly swept away.

On April 14th, 2010, my entire life changed in an instant. One moment I was joyfully riding through the sunshine. The next moment, metal, flesh and bone were spreading against the pavement in a thunderous crash. Another cyclist, biking carelessly, had cut me off and sent me supermanning toward oncoming traffic.

As if to symbolize the accident that had hit my life, another disaster also occurred on April 14th, 2010. It cost the airline industry＄l.7 billion. Ten million travelers were stuck for days. Economies all over the world were disturbed. This was the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, one of Iceland's many volcanoes.

However, volcanoes are not all bad. In fact, they are necessary. They are responsible for the birth of new earth, and for the creation of rich soil. This eruption gave off 0.15 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere daily. But cancelling 48% of the world’s flight travel saved about 2.8 million tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere, temporarily decreasing our carbon footprint.

Similarly, the accident had badly affected my emotion but it also allowed me to look more closely inside myself and discover things about myself I never would have realized. I learned how not to judge myself for my new limitations.

In 1973, another Icelandic volcano, Eldfell, broke out. Icelanders decided to bomb it with cold water until it froze and chose a different path. After their plan worked, they used the geothermal （地热） energy for the next 15years to heat their homes. A good example of life bringing lemons, and making lemonade! One must move on from misfortunes, focusing only on the present moment and being hopeful for the future.

I ran from April 14th, 2010, to every kind of escape. Eventually I ended up in university for a new-found love in Earth sciences.