And the questions continue …..

_Elsa_

Rachel’s last response gets Autumn thinking again.

‘What is flooding?

A flood is a rise of water with no place to go. Floods come in all depths, from just a couple inches to many feet. The power of floodwater is extraordinary and lethal. In less than an hour strong rain can turn an ankle deep creek into an unstoppable 30-foot-high swell that overpowers everything in its path.

Floods occur all over the world. Causes of floods include hurricanes, broken levees or dams, rapidly thawing snow, ice jams, and heavy slow-moving rain or repeated rains. A flood can happen in a few minutes, hours, days, or over weeks.’ (Source) 

What is a hurricane?

‘A hurricane is a large rotating storm with high-speed winds that forms over warm waters in tropical areas. Hurricanes have sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour and an area of low air pressure in the center called the eye.’ (Source)

Rachel tells Autumn about Hurricane Elsa that occurred not too long ago. She looks on her phone to see if she can find a picture to show her.

“Here we go!” says Rachel. “Let me show this to you. This is what a hurricane can do. It can cause heavy rain and a lot of wind.” 

Autumn is satisfied with Rachel’s explanation. The questions continue ……………

What is a tornado?

‘A tornado is often a funnel cloud - a rotating column of air - that stretches from a storm to the ground. To be a tornado it must touch the ground. It can touch down for a few seconds or grind across the earth for miles. Tornadoes usually last less than 10 minutes.’ (Source) 

“Autumn, I think you’ve asked enough questions for a day,” says Sophia. “You are going to wear them out.” 

Rachel doesn’t mind the questions and neither does Rancid. They might have some baby raccoons one day so they might as well get used to it. 

Let’s continue - Questions about other natural disasters

Start at the beginning – Rachel and Rancid answer some why Questions about natural disasters

__________

Start at the beginning of the main story – Why … But WHY?

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