Earthquake – trzęsienie ziemi
- the earth moves/ trembles – ziemia drży
- warning signal – sygnał ostrzegawczy
- collapse – runięcie, zawalenie się
- epicentre – epicentrum
- to measure in Richter scale – mierzyć w skali Richtera
Earthquake
An earthquake starts when the blocks which make up the earth move up and down. When one piece of rock starts to rub on another with great force, a lot of energy is used. This energy is changed into vibrations which make the earth tremble. The vibrations can be felt thousands kilometres from the epicentre and they are measured in Richter scale. An earthquake is one of the worst disasters; there are always a lot of casualties and almost nothing can protect houses from collapse.
Volcano – wulkan
- a volcano erupted – wybuchł wulkan
- eruption – erupcja/ wybuch
- volcanic landscape – krajobraz wulkaniczny
- active volcano – aktywny wulkan
- dormant – wygasły, nieczynny
- solidified lava – zastygła lava
- volcanic ash – wulkaniczny popiół
- to be in danger of volcanic eruption – być zagrożonym wybuchami wulkanu
Volcano
A volcano is a mountain made of lava which comes from deep beneath the Earth’s surface. When it erupts, pieces of hot rock and ash are thrown out with the lava. Then they cool down making layers of solid rock and solidified lava. Life in the neighbourhood of an active volcano must be really hard. People are in permanent danger of volcanic eruption and the landscape is sad and depressing.
Drought – susza
- bare – jałowy, nieurodzajny
- stockpiles – zasoby, zbiory
- parch – prażyć, wysuszać
- scorching sun – palące słońce
- insufficient rain – niedostateczne opady deszczu
- famine – głód
- starve – głodować
- malnutrition – niedożywienie
Drought
This year’s drought caused famine in many African countries. Dry summer and scorching sun parched the land damaging crops. People starve to death because there is not enough food and stockpiles of grain are running low. There’s no prospect of quick improvement, as a lot of animals died and the soil became bare due to insufficient rain. If developed countries don’t help Africa, its inhabitants will suffer from malnutrition and starvation for a long time.
Flood – powódź
- to burst out banks – wystąpić z brzegów
- heavy precipitation – potężne opady
- hurricane – huragan
- tornado – tornado
- typhoon – tajfun
- cyclone – cyklon
Flood
Heavy rain caused floods in many parts of the country. Rivers and streams burst their banks damaging houses, bridges and roads. What made matters worse was the hurricane which came along with heavy precipitation.
Avalanche – lawina
- to bring about an avalanche – wywołać lawinę
- to get under an avalanche – dostać się pod lawinę
Avalanche
Avalanches are one of the greatest dangers facing tourists in winter. You should be very careful when you are in snow-covered mountains as it’s easy to bring about an avalanche. If you see snow rushing down a nearby mountain you should get out of its way as quickly as possible. If you happen to get under an avalanche, just pray and wait for help.
