Chapter 23 - Natural Disasters
(A) What’s the solution?
Your village is uphill. There is a flood in a neighbouring village.
Ans: The people in low-lying areas should be immediately shifted to higher places. They should be quickly helped with food, water, and medicines.
(B) Use your brain power!
1. A table for natural disasters and man-made disasters is given below. Complete the table with the help of the list that follows.
| No. | Natural disasters | No. | Man-made disaster |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | 1. | ||
2. | 2. | ||
3. | 3. | ||
4. | 4. |
(1) Cyclone
(2) Collapse of an old ramshackle house
(3) Death due to lightning
(4) Collision of two railway trains
(5) Children on a playground getting injured when a termite ridden tree falls
(6) Normal life getting disturbed due to heavy snowfall
(7) A fire caused by the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder
(8) An air crash due to a mechanical fault.
Ans:
| No. | Natural disasters | No. | Man-made disaster |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Cyclone | 1. | Collapse of an old ramshackle house |
2. | Death due to lightning | 2. | Collision of two railway trains |
3. | Children on a playground getting injured when a termite ridden tree falls | 3. | A fire caused by the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder |
4. | Normal life getting disturbed due to heavy snowfall | 4. | An air crash due to a mechanical fault |
2. What is the difference between a hailstorm and snowfall?
Ans: A hailstorm is like a cool stone falling from the sky, and a snowfall is like a soft stone falling from the sky. A hailstorm damages crops in the fields and fruits in orchards, as well as people, whereas a snowfall does not cause such damage.
3. If there are animals with fur coats living in places where it snows, would the coat be thick or thin? What could be the reason for that?
Ans: Animals with fur coats living in places where it snows would have thick fur coats. The reason to have thick fur coats is to protect oneself from the cold.
(C) Find out.
There are fire brigades in cities. Obtain information about them. Find out the different kinds of accidents where firemen come to the rescue. Share the information with your class.
Ans: The fire brigade is responsible for the provision of fire protection as well as responding to building collapses, drownings, gas leakage, oil spillage, road and rail accidents, bird and animal rescues, and fallen trees and taking appropriate action during natural disasters.
(D) Answer the following questions.
1. What kind of rain in winter is good for the crops?
Ans: Occasional, light showers in the winter are good for the crops.
2. What are the ill effects of a hailstorm?
Ans: The ill effects of a hailstorm are:
(i) Often, a hailstorm accompanies untimely rains.
(ii) Severe hail causes injuries to people and animals.
(iii) It shatters roof tiles.
(iv) It can damage crops in fields and fruits in orchards.
3. Should one go for a swim in flood waters?
Ans: No, one should not go for a swim in flood waters.
4. How does a tsunami affect vehicles on the coast?
Ans: A tsunami comes with such force that vehicles on the coast, along with the people in them, get thrown quite a distance. Vehicles are crushed, and people inside get injured or die.
(E) Fill in the blanks.
1. …….. just like the ones we see in water, are produced in the bowels of the earth.
Ans: waves
2. If it does not stop raining, the rainwater enters the ……..
Ans: settlements
3. People and animals are …….. against the force of a tsunami. and die.
Ans: helpless
4. People get trapped under the …….. and die.
Ans: heaps