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Exercise 4: Great hurricanes of the 20th century
The hurricane in Galveston in 1900 was only one of many hurricanes
that have hit the coasts of North America. One of the worst hurricanes
of the 20th century was Hurricane Andrew, which caused a lot of damage
in the Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana and Texas in 1992. A lot of hurricanes
happen in this part of the USA. To see where Hurricane Andrew started
and where it went, go to  Sun-Sentinel, click on 'enter' and watch and listen to the introduction. Then click on 'Andrew´s Path' and use the timeline to follow the route of the hurricane. You can watch Hurricane Andrew moving across The Bahamas, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Read the short texts on the right of the map and answer this question:
Where were the winds in Hurricane Andrew strongest and how strong were the winds?
Now go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to find out more
about Hurricane Andrew. Read the first part of the text and answer these questions:
- Which parts of the USA and the Caribbean were damaged by Hurricane Andrew?
- How expensive was the damage?
- The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale has five categories of hurricane.
Hurricanes in category 1 don't cause much damage. Hurricanes in category 5 destroy everything.
Click on the scale and find out which category Hurricane Andrew was in and how strong the winds were.
- How many people did Hurricane Andrew kill in Dade County, Florida, and how many people were homeless after the hurricane?
- Click on the photos of Hurricane Andrew. There are some photos of the damage which the hurricane caused:
a) What did one house owner write on the roof of his/her damaged house?
b) In one photo, a piece of wood is in the middle of a tree. What do you think happened?
- Before a hurricane, many people are evacuated. This means they have to leave their homes
and go to a safer place. Scroll down to part d of the text (Forecast and Warning Critique).
How many people were evacuated in:
a) Florida?
b) Louisiana?
c) Texas?
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