Hurricane Matthew has been downgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane, according to The Weather Channel’s website.
That means that weather experts believe that much of its destructive power is lessening.
That’s good news for more than a million people in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, who were forced to flee the storm.
Many companies and individuals have donated money to help the residents of the southeastern United States and Haiti, two areas affected by the storm. TD bank has donated $200,000 and Apple (the computer company) has created an electronic button on their iTunes website where people can donate to the Red Cross. The Red Cross is a charity that helps people affected by disasters like the hurricane.
Hurricane Matthew’s high winds and heavy rains affected millions of people in parts of the Caribbean and the southeast coast of the U.S.
The storm took the biggest toll on the island nation of Haiti, forcing tens of thousands of people to move in order to escape its up to 233 kilometre-an-hour winds. Many Haitians were injured by the storm and the more than 24 metres of water that have flooded the country.
Theme parks in Florida, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Legoland and Sea World were forced to close early during the worst of the storm, but have since reopened.
Residents of several southeastern states in the U.S. are now cleaning up the damage left by the hurricane and the flood waters it caused.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
When natural disasters occur, many people and organizations rush in to provide support and help the individuals in need. Why do you think some people run to help others, while others do not? What character differences exist between these types of people be?
Reading Prompt: Extending Understanding
The people of Haiti have survived many challenging times in recent years. Read TKN’s article about Haiti and explore how today’s article takes on a new meaning given the country’s recent history.
Junior
Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Language Feature: Hurricane Names
Because there are quite a lot of hurricanes each year, the World Meteorological Organization created a list of names that are used to identify each one. These names are given out in alphabetical order to the tropical storms. Names can only be repeated after six years have passed; however, the names of really severe storms are never used again.
Create your own list of Hurricane names starting with the following letters:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T V W
