Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™
Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided
in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

by Adam McClellan

Genre

Expository
nonfiction

Comprehension
Skills and Strategy

• Compare and Contrast
• Main Idea and Details
• Answer Questions

Text Features

•
•
•
•

Captions
Diagram
Headings
Glossary

Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.2.1

4. This book contains headings to divide it into sections.
How do the headings help you to organize the
information in the book? How are the headings
arranged?

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Natural Disasters and Their Aftermath

Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,
a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),
Background (Bkgd)

Natural disasters are shocking, and they can bring
tremendous destruction. They can destroy houses and
make streets impassable because of the floodwater or
debris that can accompany them. People can be hurt,
some of them badly; some even die.
All this comes from an event that might last only a
few seconds, such as a tornado, earthquake, or mudslide.
Recovering from a disaster, though, can take weeks,
months, even years. So as soon as a disaster is over, the
tough and dangerous work of disaster relief begins.

One of the first and most important things that
happens after a disaster is the search for survivors. How
people search depends on the damage that has been done.
Following an earthquake, hundreds or even thousands of
people may be trapped underneath the rubble of collapsed
buildings and other structures.
An earthquake near San Francisco in 1989 caused
several bridges and overpasses to collapse, killing some
people and trapping others in their cars. Rescue teams of
doctors and firefighters arrived quickly to free survivors and
give them the medical help they needed.

People use whatever means are available to rescue
trapped survivors. In November 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz
volcano in Colombia erupted, sending tons of hot mud
and water sliding down the mountainside and destroying
the small town of Armero that lay below. Some people
survived the eruption by climbing onto rooftops and into
trees to avoid the deadly flow; others found themselves
stuck in a soft, gooey mud that was deep and widespread.
In many cases the best way to rescue survivors was to
fly a helicopter close to the ground and then have rescuers
lower themselves down to the trapped survivors. The
rescuers could then get hold of the survivors and fly them
away to get medical help.
The mess created by a
natural disaster can take
weeks to clean up.

4

spring into action in order to bring workers and supplies
to the damaged areas. One of the best-known relief
organizations is the Red Cross. The Red Cross helps people
in most countries of the world. It keeps lists of hundreds
of volunteer experts who can be called on during an
emergency. The Red Cross also trains local residents to
respond to disasters. That way, when disaster strikes, teams
of people are already in place and ready to take action.
7


The Red Cross often sets up “tent
cities” to help disaster survivors.

After a disaster, the Red Cross is often on the scene
right away to meet the needs of survivors. Volunteers set
up shelters at safe locations, providing places to stay for
those who cannot return to their homes. The Red Cross
also takes on the big job of feeding disaster victims and
emergency workers.
The victims of natural disasters, who suffer injuries
ranging from minor cuts to far more serious wounds, have
major medical needs. The Red Cross helps meet those
needs by sending nurses to the scene of the disaster.
Helping the nurses are many other medical workers
such as paramedics. Paramedics work to treat the wounded,
and also transport them to sites where their injuries can
be given proper care. Hospitals often overflow with those
requiring medical care, and doctors and nurses work to give
survivors the treatment and care that they need.

In contrast to cholera victims, typhoid fever victims
suffer from a steady fever that can run as high as 104°F,
along with weakness and head and stomach pains. Modern
medicines work effectively against typhoid fever, but it is
important that they are administered quickly, for without
treatment, this illness can be deadly. The efforts of medical
workers, combined with the clean drinking water brought
by relief workers, can keep people healthy after a disaster.

A disaster can be hard on people even if they aren’t
physically hurt by it. They may lose their homes, their jobs,
or even their family members. It can take years for people
to recover from the effects of such losses, and as a result
disaster relief workers have now started providing more
psychological support to those affected by disasters.
A deadly earthquake struck India in January 2001. The
Indian and American Red Cross organizations worked
together to develop a program to give counseling to the
victims. They trained local psychologists to help survivors
talk about the disaster and what they would face in the
future. This helped the
survivors take the
first steps toward
putting their
lives back
together.

Flooding can damage
sewer systems and make
water unsafe to drink.


Disaster victims have many different needs, depending
on what kind of disaster has happened. Earthquakes often
injure thousands of people, creating a demand for many
donations of blood. Blood spoils quickly, even when it’s
refrigerated, and as a result fresh donations are often
needed to help earthquake victims who need more blood.
In other situations, the greatest need may be creating
shelter for survivors. For example, in January 2002, a
volcano erupted near the city of Goma in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, a country in central Africa. The
eruption destroyed thousands of homes. What disaster
relief organizations needed the most was plastic sheeting
to create simple temporary shelters, along with basic
household items such as blankets and cooking equipment.
13


Getting the right kind of aid can be hard. We often
think that “every little bit helps,” and that’s mostly true.
However, when organizing a disaster relief effort, getting
the wrong things can actually hurt. Sorting through
donations to take out unnecessary items takes time, and in
an emergency, time is precious. Therefore it’s important for
relief groups to tell people the right things to donate.
It’s critical to make accurate and detailed reports about
a disaster’s relief needs. Other kinds of communication
are also important. Survivors want to let people know that
they’re all right following a disaster. Friends and family
who live outside the disaster zone want to find out about

help clean up floods.

Often the survivors themselves will help after a disaster.
The 1989 earthquake disrupted San Francisco’s traffic light
system, so residents of some neighborhoods took to the
streets to direct traffic with flashlights. Usually the impact
of the disaster is so great that civilians cannot bring calm
and order themselves. In fact, the disorder may be too great
for local police departments to handle. In that case, outside
forces may be brought in to help.
In the United States, the National Guard plays a key
role in bringing order to disaster areas. The National Guard
is officially a part of the United States Army, but one of its
primary missions is to help out after disasters. Following
a disaster National Guard forces protect property, move
people away from danger, and work with relief groups.
Some of the worst health problems occur well after a
natural disaster has hit. In a similar way, some of the worst
destruction happens hours, or even days, after the initial
disaster has ended. The events surrounding the 1906 San
Francisco earthquake illustrate this perfectly.
16

Badges like the one shown here
help people identify rescue
workers following a disaster.

The 1906 San Francisco
earthquake caused a huge
amount of destruction. But

companies to cover their costs if disaster hits them.
However, the money that insurance provides is often not
enough to cover all the costs.
In some cases insurance may not cover any costs at
all. For example, flood damage is not covered by regular
insurance; people need to have special flood insurance.
The great floods along the Mississippi River in 1993 caused
more than $10 billion in damage, but many of the people
living along the river did not have flood insurance.
18

In the United States, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, or FEMA, helps people, businesses,
and local governments with the cost of rebuilding. People
who have lost their homes can turn to FEMA for help in
finding shelter. FEMA loans money to disaster survivors to
help them rebuild their homes.
FEMA also helps local and state governments by
giving out aid money for the rebuilding and repairing of
infrastructure. Things like roads and bridges get destroyed
by natural disasters, and it takes money to fix them.
In some cases, though, it may not make sense to
rebuild. After the 1993 Mississippi River floods, the federal
government bought land back from many farmers who
had settled close to the river. In one case, the whole town
of Valmeyer, Illinois, was moved to a new spot! Valmeyer’s
original location along the banks of the Mississippi made
it prone to flooding. So it was moved to an area several
hundred feet above the river, thereby helping people avoid
millions of dollars in potential damages from future floods.


A diagram illustrating
the damage earthquakes
can cause.
Before earthquake

20

After earthquake

21


Now Try This
We Interrupt This Program . . .
Breaking news—a disaster has struck! But the details
are still sketchy. What this calls for is some top-notch
reporting. Work together with a group of your
classmates to create a news bulletin about a
fictional disaster. In telling the story, focus on
the disaster relief work that’s being
done to help survivors.

to Do It!
w
o
H
s
’
e

something destructive.
chaos n. severe disorder
and confusion.
debris n. scattered pieces
of destroyed materials.
dehydration n. major loss
of water from the body.

infrastructure n. the
basic things that help a
community function, such
as roads, electricity, and
water systems.
insurance n. a promise
to pay out money in case
of a loss, in exchange for
regular payments.

evacuate v. to leave a
dangerous place.

psychological adj. related
to the mind or to human
emotions and behaviors.

impassable adj.
impossible to travel on or
through.

rubble n. broken bricks or