elnino

=El Nino/Natural Disaster=

You just received the latest polling data for the your boss, the Mayor of Malibu. Unfortunately for you and the Mayor, it looks like you may both need to find a new source of income after the upcoming election. It seems the people of Malibu feel as though their Mayor has lost touch with the people and their most basic needs. As the Mayor's press secretary, it is your duty to make the Mayor look good and provide for him/her every opportunity to shine in the eyes of his/her constituents. As you search for anything positive to raise ratings, you come across an article in the newspaper related to the weather phenomenon, El Nino. According to the report your city is again going to be at the mercy of Mother Nature. For many this news is awful, for you it means an answer to prayer.

After getting the Mayor's ear, you outline your plan to boost his ratings and secure another victory in the upcoming election. You explain the concept of an El Nino Election, an idea that if worked properly will allow the Mayor to take an active role in saving the lives and property in this majestic community. Through the auspices of the Mayor's office, you are going to arrange a task force made up of prominent city leaders and officers. The task force will include the City Manager, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, the leader of the Citizens Patrol team and, of course, you.

After contacting everyone individually and securing agreements, you arrange a press conference for the Mayor to announce his intentions. Through proper planning and the Mayor's guidance, a plan is going to be formulated by the aforementioned people that will guide the citizens of Malibu through the upcoming El Nino winter. Before you get too excited it would be important to remember that you haven't done anything yet, and the important questions do not yet have answers.

Your job begins this way:

Dear Members of the El Nino Task Force, As I am sure you are all aware, the predicted El Nino figures to be the strongest ever recorded. As citizens of Malibu, you and I know of the destruction that has faced us in the past. Your job is to plan and strategize ways to overcome the potential for disaster and in the event disaster does strike, a way to minimize the pain. In order to accomplish this I have prepared a series of questions for you to answer and, when completed, I expect a written report detailing an approach I can take to guide our citizens through this trying time. I know you can do it and remember, I'm just like time, I wait for no one.

1. What is an El Nino? How and when do they occur?

2. What are some of the problems we can expect here in Malibu as a result of El Nino?

3. In the event disaster does strike, how do we get FEMA here? What is the most amount of help we can expect from FEMA?

4. Do we have a part of town in need of a special evacuation procedure if flood or mudslides occur?

5. What steps do we take to get the Red Cross involved?

6. What are the available shelters here in town?

7. What are the economic costs associated with El Nino here in Malibu?

8. What businesses here in town stand to be affected the most?

9. Do we have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) regarding El Nino that we can make available to our citizens to help them?

10. Where can citizens get sandbags? Do we have anyone available to help the elderly sandbag their homes?

11. What would be the best ways to disseminate this information once we've collected all of it?

12. Last, but not least, what's the best thing the Mayor's office can do for the citizens of this town?

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the wonderful citizens of this town.

Sincerely, James Needs your help

sand bags || Have the students gather data and graph for easy understanding || Discuss global wind patterns and the cause of El Nino || What media would be best to get this information out? || Talk about natural disasters and set up a "local task force" || Excel spreadsheet and graphs || water tube with or without a fan blowing and have students record temperatures to see the effect of the wind stopping on ocean temperature || News cast with all information addressed || Research the area and come up with the best plan possible || Presentation software || in flood zone? || Relate convection currents to weather patterns || Research and create a disaster plan handbook || Learn about natural disasters in the past and learn about how the government responded - then come up with a response from your team || Research || evacuation route (time/distance) ||  ||   || History of storm ||   || Weather Channel ||  || to help save town ||  ||   || Longitude and latitude ||   || Back to Content Ideas
 * = ==Engineering== ||= ==Math== ||= ==Science== ||= ==Language Arts== ||= ==Social Studies== ||= ==Library Media/Technology== ||
 * Build dikes with
 * || Data analysis || Set up a lab with
 * || How many homes
 * || Calculate the best
 * || Cost of sand bags ||  ||   || Storm tracking on
 * || Cost of extra stuff