Find a case study on geological phenomenon

Part 1

Earthquake: 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska

Volcano: 1985 Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia

Hurricane: 2005 Hurricane Katrina

Tornado: 1925 Tri-state Tornados

Part 2

The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake is the largest earthquake in United States history. The earthquake was a magnitude 9.2 and lasted for four minutes. The quake caused extensive damage to Anchorage, and some damage to many other small towns. Although the earthquake took only 15 lives a following tsunami killed 113.

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano is the fourth largest volcanic disaster. The eruption reached a 3 on the volcanic explosivity index. The volcano practically erased Amero, and destroyed many homes in ChiChina, Columbia. About 23,000 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.

Hurricane Katrina was the sixth strongest hurricane. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane, the highest category. Total property damage was estimated at 81 billion dollars. The hurricane also caused massive flooding and damage to New Orleans. About 1,836 people died.

The Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest and longest lasting tornado to be recorded. The tornado was rated as a F5 tornado, being the highest on the fujita scale. It caused about 18 million dollars worth of damage, and destroyed 15,000 homes. The tornado killed about 700 people.

Part 3

 Earthquakes occur when plates in the earth shake or shift under stress. This then send shock waves onto the earth’s surface causing an earthquake. An earthquake is a sudden release of energy from the earth’s crust.

Volcanoes are formed when two plates hit and one goes above and the other below. (Convergent plate boundaries)  Magma then rises to the earth’s crust, and eventually, but not always, the volcano will erupt.

A hurricane is formed when warm ocean air rises leaving less air near the surface creating an area of low pressure. Cooler high-pressure air moves in and also starts to rise. The moisture condenses and causes energy and heat to be released. The heat causes low pressure to increase and clouds and wind to form. The air then spins due to the coriolis affect and a hurricane is formed.

Tornadoes usually form in a rotating thunderstorm called super cells. Cold polar air and warm tropical air meeting cause tornadoes. The warm air rises and creates instability that usually results in a tornado.