What This Document Is
This document is a guided lab assignment for FDSCI 201, Natural Disasters, at Brigham Young University-Idaho. It’s designed to provide practical experience applying concepts related to hurricanes and tornadoes using Google Earth, online databases, and web search techniques. The lab focuses on analyzing historical disaster data and assessing potential impacts.
Why This Document Matters
This lab is intended for students enrolled in FDSCI 201. It’s likely used to reinforce learning after lectures and readings on these specific natural disasters. Completing this assignment will help students develop skills in spatial analysis, data interpretation, and hazard assessment – skills crucial for understanding and mitigating disaster risk.
Common Limitations or Challenges
This lab assignment requires access to Google Earth and an internet connection for web searches. It assumes a basic familiarity with using Google Earth’s interface and searching online databases like NOAA. The lab focuses on specific case studies and does not provide a comprehensive overview of all hurricane and tornado hazards.
What This Document Provides
The full document includes ten questions that guide students through specific tasks in Google Earth and online research. These tasks involve: identifying hurricane categories, estimating storm surge inundation, determining ground elevation, analyzing tornado damage using the EF scale, and researching historical hurricane events. The document provides specific URLs and search terms to use. This preview does *not* include the answers to the questions, the .kml file, or the tables referenced within the lab (Tables 2, 3b, and 4). It also does not include imagery of the damage in Joplin, Missouri.
