Jagran Public School

Class:8
Sub: Sst
Disaster Management
Take off
• The Earth’s crust is broken into several plates that collide.
• The innermost layer of the Earth is called the core.
• The sudden shaking of the ground is called earthquake.

Warm up
The storms might destroy his crops. His crops would have destroyed already. The farmers should insure their
crops from before.

Find out
Answers will vary.

Explore
*Human activities lead to various environmental problems leading to deforestation, urbanization, and
pollution of land, air and water.

Work out
A.
1. epicentre 2. Water 3. Disasters 4. disaster management 5. 1984
B.
1. b 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. C

C.

1
Nuclear disaster Chemical disaster
While nuclear energy The accidental release
is used as a resource of one or more
to produce power and hazardous or toxic
electricity, exposure to substances, which
nuclear radiation can could harm human
be extremely health or the
dangerous and can environment,
cause irreversible is called a chemical
harm to the body. accident.
While all possible Chemical accidents
precautions could occur due to
are taken, accidents fires, explosions,
occur, and these are leakages or releases
considered the most of toxic or hazardous
devastating disasters, materials from
that causes factories or
widespread loss of life industries.
and property.
2.

3.
Focus Epicenter
The point inside the The point on the Earth’s
Earth where the surface, which is directly
vibrations originate above the focus, is called
is called seismic the epicentre of the
focus. earthquake.

4.
Flood Cyclone
A cyclone is a large
rotating storm that
forms over warm
Floods occur when a waters. Strong winds
sudden influx of blow from all
water submerges directions towards the
areas of land, causing centre, in a spiral
danger to life and motion. When a
property of people in cyclone hits, it brings
that area. The most with it heavy rains
common type of flood and winds strong
occurs when a river enough to destroy
overflows its banks buildings and uproot
and the water spreads trees. India has a
on the surrounding coastline of about
land. In India, floods 7,000 km, which is
frequently occur in very prone to very
the Ganga plains, in severe cyclonic
the Brahmaputra formations in the Bay
basin in Assam and in of Bengal and Arabian
the deltas of the Sea. West Bengal,
rivers Mahanadi, Odisha, Andhra
Godavari, Krishna Pradesh and Tamil
and Kaveri. Nadu are the most
vulnerable states.

D.
1. The sudden vibration inside the Earth’s crust, causing a part of the Earth’s surface to shake is
called an earthquake.
2. Leave your home or school building, and move into an open area.
3. Floods occur when a sudden influx of water submerges areas of land, causing danger to life
and property of people in that area. The most common type of flood occurs when
a river overflows its banks and the water spreads on the surrounding land. It can also be caused due
to blocking of river channels, due to landslides, strong tides and storms in the sea, change in the
course of a river, deforestation, etc. Most floods are seasonal, occurring during the rainy season
4. In India, floods frequently occur in the Ganga plains, in the Brahmaputra basin in Assam and
in the deltas of the rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.
5. A cyclone is a large rotating storm that forms over warm waters. Strong winds blow from all
directions towards the centre, in a spiral motion.

E.
1. Leave your home or school building, and move into an open area. After an earthquake, one
must first check for any injuries that others might have received, provide first aid to the injured, move
out in the open area and prepare for an aftershock, avoid broken wires and check for gas leaks.
2. Keep track of the latest weather information through radio and television, and act
accordingly. Move to a stronger building, in case it is a hut or a kutcha house. Keep an emergency kit
ready, and pack food items in a waterproof bag. After the cyclone, one should be careful about gas
leaks, fallen electric wires and damaged or weakened structures that might collapse.
3. To cope with such disasters, the following steps should be followed:
• Fire extinguishers should be kept in homes and buildings.
• Basic training on how to extinguish fires of different origins—there are different methods to
extinguish a fire caused by a gas leak and an electrical fire, should be provided.
• Evacuate the building immediately if it catches fire. Remember not to use elevators during
fires. Use the stairs instead.
• Remember never to throw water on fire.
• If the clothes you are wearing catches fire, roll over on the ground to extinguish the fire.
• Call the fire services department immediately, in case any fire breaks out in the building.
4. In 1986, there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, releasing large quantities of
radioactive particles into the atmosphere, killing a large number of people— about thirty people died
immediately within the plant, and more afterwards. More than 20,000 people had to be relocated,
and over half a million people suffered the long- term effects of radiation, through diseases like
cancer, which is currently still being investigated.
5. The accidental release of one or more hazardous or toxic substances, which could harm
human health or the environment, is called a chemical accident. Chemical accidents could occur due
to fires, explosions, leakages or releases of toxic or hazardous materials from factories or industries.
Precautions: Preventing chemical industries from operating in populated areas. Regular safety checks
and pollution checks should be conducted by government agencies. Relief measures should be laid
out so as to reduce the consequences.
Think
*Few pairs of clothes, some dry food, candles and torchlight, mobile phone with charger, medicines,
and first-aid box.

Link:
https://https://diksha.gov.in/play/content/do_31316513743325593614354diksha.gov.in/play/content/
do_31316513743325593614354