English Every Day: Natural Disasters: Hurricanes

Your Daily English Programme #37 - Natural Disasters: Hurricanes (Listening B1-C1)

Think Before You Listen

Do you know which one of the following natural disasters is shown in the photos below? (mouse over the words in the table to see their meaning)

an avalanche

drought

an earthquake

a hurricane

volcanic eruption

Watch and Listen

Hurricanes have been among the costliest and deadliest of natural disasters, especially in the USA. Hurricane Katrina (photos above), which began on August 23, 2005 and ended on August 26 the same year, killed at least 1,245 people and brought about nearly $110 billion worth of damage to New Orleans, Louisana.

Overnight from August 24 to 29, 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused unprecedented and catastrophic flooding in southeastern Texas, especially in Houston, America's 4th largest city.

Watch This 101 Guide to Hurricanes: Write down a maximum of 2 words in response to the following items:

a. Two other names for ‘hurricanes’:
b. Hurricanes form in these two seasons:
c. The ‘calm area’ in the center of a hurricane:

(see answers in the first comment below)

Let's Practice

Listen Again: Can you fill in the blanks in the following sentences? (you may need to listen more than once)

1. The hallmarks of a hurricane are ____________, ____________, and ____________ . 2. An average hurricane's energy is equal to the explosion of ____________ small atomic bombs. 3. Upper level winds and surface winds gather together to form a circular pattern of clouds known as a _______________ . 4. A fully formed hurricane may stretch up to _____________ in diameter. 5. Among the nearly 45,000 people killed in hurricanes in the 20th century, _________ were in the US. 6. Hurricane Andrew was the most expensive natural disaster in US history, costing more than _____________ worth of damage. 7. Special planes called hurricane hunters fly in the eye of the hurricane and drop sensors to measure ______________, ___________ and _________________ .

(see answers in the first comment below)

Over to You

Do any natural disasters plague the area you live in? Have you ever been caught up in one? What did you have to do to stay safe? (type up your answers in the comments further below)

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Did You Notice? If you move your mouse over the underlined words in the post, you can see their meaning and more ;)