Disasters are fascinating, awe-inspiring, and scary, all at the same time. Lean the facts about many of the worst disasters in human history. Then get some tips on how to prepare for disasters and stay safe.--

Disasters are fascinating, awe-inspiring, and scary, all at the same time. Lean the facts about many of the worst disasters in human history. Then get some tips on how to prepare for disasters and stay safe.

Powerful gusts and heavy rains starting in the ocean can mean only one thing: hurricane! The stormÕs forceful winds can uproot trees and send cars flitting through the air. From Hurricane Katrina to the Great Hurricane of 1780, stand up to the storm surges and read about the worst hurricanes in history.

Disasters are fascinating, awe-inspiring, and scary, all at the same time. Lean the facts about many of the worst disasters in human history. Then get some tips on how to prepare for disasters and stay safe.--

From the bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, here is the true story of the deadliest hurricane in history. National Bestseller September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy. Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.

"Amazing photography accompanies engaging information about Hurricane Katrina. The combination of high-interest subject matter and light text is intended for students in grades 3 through 7"--

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Hurricanes have been devastating communities for thousands of years, bringing about various combinations of rain and wind that can do everything from taking down some dead limbs to wiping out houses. They are also common enough that people who live for any length of time in a region prone to having hurricanes are inclined to accept them as something of a periodic nuisance rather than a serious danger. Modern construction styles allow houses to withstand winds in excess of 100 miles an hour, and early warning systems allow people to evacuate. Thus, most hurricanes of the 21st century take fewer lives than a serious highway accident. As a result, the world watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans in August 2005, and the calamity seemed all the worse because many felt that technology had advanced far enough to prevent such tragedies, whether through advanced warning or engineering. Spawning off the Bahamian coast that month, Katrina quickly grew to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in American history, killing more than 1,800 people and flooding a heavy majority of one of America's most famous cities. At first, the storm seemed to be harmless, scooting across the Floridian coast as a barely noticeable Category 1 storm, but when Katrina reached the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, its winds grew exponentially before slamming into the southern Louisiana coast as a massive Category 5 hurricane. In addition to the deadly nature of the hurricane, it was also incredibly destructive as a result of failed levees around the New Orleans area. By the time the storm had passed, it had wreaked an estimated $108 billion of damage across the region, and the human suffering, with nearly 2,000 deaths and a million people displaced, was available for viewing across the world. Naturally, the reactions of political leaders would be heavily scrutinized in the aftermath, and people studied the lessons to be learned from the disaster to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. It was only well into the 20th century that meteorologists began to name storms as a way of distinguishing which storm out of several they were referencing, and it seems somewhat fitting that the hurricane that traumatized Galveston was nameless. Due to the lack of technology and warning, many of the people it killed were never identified, and the nameless corpses were eventually burned in piles of bodies that could not be interred due to the soggy soil. Others were simply buried at sea. The second deadliest hurricane in American history claimed 2,500 lives, so it's altogether possible that the Galveston hurricane killed over 4 times more than the next deadliest in the U.S. To this day, it remains the country's deadliest natural disaster. Similarly, the hurricane that struck southern Florida in September 1928 killed hundreds more, with an estimated death toll of over 2,500 people. Without the warnings available today, it was inevitable that the Category 5 hurricane wrought almost inconceivable destruction as it made landfall in Florida with winds at nearly 150 miles per hour. In addition to the powerful storm itself, the flooding of Lake Okeechobee, the 7th largest freshwater lake in the country, exacerbated the damage by spilling across several hundred square miles, which were covered in up to 20 feet of water in some places. America's Deadliest Hurricanes: The History of the Three Worst Hurricanes in American History examines each of the deadly storms, from their meteorological origins to the tolls and aftermath of each one. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the hurricanes like never before.