Volcanic Eruption in Pompeii

By Lexi Curtis, Gr. 3, Helen Thompson

In 79 AD Italy, Mt. Vesuvius erupted over Pompeii. Most people escaped, but over 2,000 people died!

One normal day, the city of Pompeii started to shake...It was an EARTHQUAKE! Mostly everything was tumbling over! Kids were really scared. They didn't know what was happening.

A few hours later, the volcano spread thick sheets of ash. The ash rose up to NINE FEET! People thought that their houses were great hiding places to hide from the ash that had flown from Vesuvius. Unfortunately, their houses were not the right place to hide. The ash caved in doorways, and also covered houses!

Long after the ash had fallen, the volcano spread lava everywhere! The lava caught up to a lot of parents, kids, and babies being carried by their parents! All the children were crying very loudly! Some couldn't run fast enough, and got caught in the lava’s trap! Many years later, people accidentally dug up the city’s ruins in 1748. Three-quarters of the city is now uncovered. The people that uncovered Pompeii found animals, moms, and dads, kids, and babies. It's like seeing what people did back then!

People can now go and see the city of Pompeii in Italy! When we get the next surprise from Vesuvius, we will get a big warning.

Dance choreographed and preformed by Celena Matos, Gr. 4, Riverview

Videographer/Editor-Lily Matos, Gr. 8, GRMS

Sinkholes

By Camden Sweatt, Gr. 3, Helen Thompson

This project was inspired from a sinkhole in my yard because I wanted to know more about how it had formed and why it was where it was. When I first saw it, I had no idea what it was. It looked like a rabbit hole, yet my dad told me it was a sinkhole. This is what gave me the idea of something to do for my weather project. I also knew it could have been formed partly by weather so I could use it as my weather project.

Sinkholes are dangerous holes that can form instantly or gradually. These holes can be from 3.3 feet to 2,000 feet across and in depth. They have been known to devour buildings, people, and even pets and trees. One large sinkhole is the Great Barrier Reef BlueHole. It is one of the largest sinkholes in the world. (Picture 1)

There are three types of sinkholes:

1. Cover Collapse-which forms quickly over about 2-5 hours and is formed when topsoil and dirt slide down into a void/cavern in limestone to make the ground collapse quickly. (WARNING! This is the most dangerous type of sinkhole so always stay alert because this type of sinkhole is hard to recognize!)

2. Solution-where sinkholes form slowly over a matter of days and are most commonly seen in areas that have a thin layer of topsoil, allowing the bedrock below to be eroded.

3. Cover Subsidence-which forms gradually where covering sediments contain sand and spall into secondary openings in the carbonate rocks below.

Sinkholes can be known as: sinkhole, sink-hole, cenote, swallow, swallow hole, or doline. According to the USGS, around 20% of the USA land is susceptible to sinkholes. The largest sinkhole in the USA is in Alabama and is called the Golly Hole. It is so large it could have an entire mansion could fall into it in just 30 minutes at 325 feet long, 300 feet wide and 120 feet deep.

This monster sinkhole formed suddenly in 1972 and is an unknown type of sinkhole. Signs of possible sinkholes are: withering plants and crops, cracks in foundations or buildings, depression or subsidence anywhere on property, cracks in roads or pavement, sudden drop in well water levels on a site, or a circular lake/deep puddle. (Picture 2)

If you see a sinkhole, you have three options: panic and run, call 911 for help (If large and very dangerous.), or make sure everyone is out of the death range where you would most likely fall into the sinkhole and die before it is too late.

You cannot prevent a sinkhole from occurring, but there is a way to fix the problem, although it costs large amounts of money to repair the damage.(Filling it in)

Sinkholes can be manmade or natural. The sinkhole above is an example of a natural sinkhole. (Picture 3) It does not have any special name given to it but still a sinkhole. Man made sinkholes have been made with mud and water in a Dunkin Donuts cup before just to see if they could make a sinkhole.

Above (Picture 4) you can see a man made sinkhole. The metal structure in it is used as a way to get in and out, acting as a ladder. Natural sinkholes and man made sinkholes are completely different because man made ones are controlled and natural ones are not.

Forms of weather that can affect sinkholes or make them more likely to happen are things like down pours where rain falls at an alarming rate and makes strong winds that knock things over. Sometimes things that fall over into a spot where a sinkhole could soon form and make it form almost immediately. Rain seeping into the ground from these storms (also any other forms of rain) makes the rocks below erode to form sinkholes. This kind of weather makes sinkholes more likely to form. In these conditions you might want to be careful because you might have one form unexpectedly right in your yard! So be careful at all times in those conditions.

For videos of sinkholes forming, just search for “sinkhole videos” and you can find videos of sinkholes forming!

by Benjamin Seed, Gr. 3, River View

Please click play to watch the video.

Works Cited

Hurricane Facts, www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/tropical_stuff/hurricane_anatomy/hurricane_anatomy.html.

“10 Facts about Hurricanes!” National Geographic Kids, 10 Feb. 2017, www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/geography/physical-geography/hurricanes/.

“40 Interesting Hurricane Facts.” Serious Facts, 17 July 2019, www.seriousfacts.com/hurricane-facts/.

“Hurricane Facts for Kids.” Facts Just for Kids, www.factsjustforkids.com/weather-facts/hurricane-facts-for-kids.html.

Lehnardt, Karin. “58 Interesting Facts about Hurricanes: FactRetriever.” Interesting Facts, Fact Retriever, 31 Jan. 2017, www.factretriever.com/hurricane-facts.

RinkeshA true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the sole motto of providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment. Unless you strongly believe in Elon Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another habitable planet . “40 Facts About Hurricanes.” Conserve Energy Future, 25 Dec. 2016, www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-hurricane-facts.php.

Staff, Live Science. “50 Amazing Hurricane Facts.” LiveScience, Purch, 20 Sept. 2012, www.livescience.com/31751-amazing-hurricane-facts.html.

eSchooltoday. Hurricane Fact Sheet, eschooltoday.com/natural-disasters/hurricanes/hurricane-facts.html.

By Lucas Trafton, Grade 5, River View

Click play to watch the video.

Video by Natalie Fikus, Grade 4, River View

Click play arrow to watch video.

By Annabel Garvan-Soto, Grade 3, River View

Please click arrow beside the play button to ready at your own speed.

Flood Survival Guide

By Molly Takatsu, Gr. 4, Helen Thompson

FLOOD!!!!! FLOOD!!!!!!! Quickly, you need to go somewhere safe with food, warmth, and water. If you have a flood warning on your radio you better listen to this guide.

Before the Flood:

Find high grounds and make shelter with a stronghold if you usually have floods. If you don’t usually have floods the flood shouldn’t be that bad so at least have a tent with a little strength no matter what you have for shelter. Fill your shelter with extra blankets, food, and water. Tip, try to not get any of the flood water in your mouth. It has been mixed in with everything in your neighborhood like dirt, grass, dog poo, leaves, and insects. I bet you don’t want a mouth full of all that junk. Also, have your flood bag prepared and ready to go (more below).

During the Flood:

RRRRRRRR, the universe is groaning because the flood is about to happen. This is time to get your straight face on and get ready for a lot of water. You are looking out the window and right in front of your eyes the first flash of water comes your way. You have been prepared for this. You grab your flood bag that is filled with:

• two waters on the sides

• a blanket in the big pocket

• a food pocket in the second biggest pocket

• Also include matches, flashlight, a pencil, pencil sharpener, and a first aid kit in the big bag or another pocket but this bag is optional if you don’t want about five to ten pounds on your back you don’t have to I would but it’s your decision.

DO NOT try to go on bridges or anything held up by steel beams, the water could knock you and the bridge down. This would make it even more possible for you to die. Try not to freak out while you are in a flood that could make it worse because when you are in water and whining and crying it is going to make you slower to get where you need to go.

By Brody Richards, Gr. 3, Pittston Randolph

Escape the Blizzard Game

By Brody Richards, Grade 3, Pittston Randolph

• The goal is to get from the Blizzard section to the Sun at the top of the board. The first one to arrive at the sun, wins!

• Start the game at the starting point. You roll the single dice and you go forward that many spaces.

• If you land on an orange spot, you draw a card with a campfire on it. For example the card may say:

  • Trade places with any player.

    • Blizzard Fact: About 187 inches of snow (15.5 feet of snow) fell in just 7 days in Thompson Pass, Alaska in 1953 from February 18-24,1953.

• If you land on a blue spot then you draw a card with a snowflake on it.

  • Switch place with the player closest to the start.

    • Blizzard Fact: More than 400 people died in the North East during the Great Blizzard of March 11-12, 1888.

• The goal is to get from the Blizzard section to the Sun at the top. The first one to arrive at the sun, wins!

Brody made the game on a piece of wood using spray paint and a paint pen!

by Mia Nowell, Grade 4, River View

Please click the arrow beside the play bar to advance at your own pace.

by Nora Setchell, Grade 3, Riverview

Please click arrow beside the play button to self advance for easier reading.

Facts about Earthquakes

By Khloe Soucy, Grade 4, Pittston Randolph

• Most earthquakes are caused by the movements of the Earth’s plates.

• The Earth’s surface consists of 20 different constantly moving plates.

• Earthquakes usually happen because the pressure increases from the shifting plates that causes the crust to break.

• This allows stress to be released as energy which moves through the Earth in wave form also known as earthquakes.

• Did you know that the Southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes a year? But most of them are unnoticed.

• Did you also know that the largest earthquake in the world was 9.5 magnitude in Chili on May 22, 1960.

• Earthquakes until recently have been measured on the Richter scale. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake.

• An earthquake is measured using an instrument called a seismometer which produces a seismograph.

• The Richter scale is normally numbered 1 -10 but there is no upper limit.

• These are a few facts about earthquakes.

By Alexander Russell, Grade 3, Pittston Randolph

Escape the Weather

Instructions

Object of the game is to reach the storm shelter

1. Begin in top right corner at "start"

2. Highest roll on the die goes first

3. Play proceeds clockwise

4. If player lands on a point square, collect point token

5. Players can share a space

6. Hurricane space = lose 5 points

   1. If at zero points, don't lose any points

7. Blizzard = lose turn

8. Tornado = change places with any opponent

   1. If opponent is on a point square, steal those points from opponent

9. Green spot before start

   1. If have at least 50 points, move to inner circle

   2. If not, continue on the outside

By Randi-lyn Heath, Grade 5, Helen Thompson

Please press the arrow beside the play button to advance at your own pace.