Humans can’t stop natural disasters because we can’t stop the power (力量) of nature. For example, a flood comes when there is too much water on the land. Sometimes, it can come after a big rainstorm at sea. Then too much sea water comes onto the land. Fast moving flood can hurt us. It can also hurt our homes. We can’t stop the water from coming, but we can try to stop the water by making a wall with sandbags. Sometimes, the sandbags help stop the water. Sometimes they don’t.

An earthquake happens where land moves. The land goes up and down and all around. The land shakes. We may be hurt by things that fall down in an earthquake. Falling things can start fires. We can’t stop an earthquake from coming. We can try to make our homes strong in order to prevent them from falling down in an earthquake.

A tornado (龙卷风) is fast air that goes around and around over the land. A tornado can pick up everything. It can break anything in the way. A typhoon is a big storm with fast moving wind and rain. It begins at sea and can come onto the land. Its fast winds can hurt us and our homes.

We can’t stop the power of nature, but we can go to places where we will feel safe.

Hurricanes (飓风)

You may already know that hurricanes can cause devastating waves (毁灭性的波浪), wind and rain. They happen during “Hurricane Season”, and it’s from June 1st until November 30th in the Atlantic Ocean (大西洋) and from May 15th until November 30th in the Pacific Ocean (太平洋). There are five different kinds of hurricanes.

Hurricane Dangers

When a hurricane happens together with heavy rain, there can be a devastating flood (洪水).

Hurricane Safety Advice

There is no way to stop a hurricane or make it change its way, so when a hurricane comes, be sure to remember the following safety advice.

☆Be sure you have a radio, fresh drinking water and enough food.

☆If you need to leave home, remember to tell your friends and family members.

☆Stay inside during the storm. You could be hurt if you don’t follow this.

Typhoons in the northern part of the world have girls’ names. Sometimes they have very beautiful names. Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose. It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in fifty years.

It began to rain on the morning of Monday, August 16^th, 1971. At ten o’clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but the wind was already blowing people’s umbrella away. The wind became stronger and stronger. The typhoon shelters（避难所） were soon full of boats. Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors（锚）. Some very big ships went out to sea. It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks. Kai Tak Airport closed. No planes were able to take off or land. At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out. No one slept well that night. It was difficult to sleep in such bad weather.

In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died. 229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital. 1,500 lost their homes. The people of Hong Kong will remember Typhoon Rose forever.