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I Survived True Stories: Five Epic Disasters

Page 7

by Lauren Tarshis

May 23, 2011

  AFFECTED AREAS: Just one day after the Tupelo tornado, two

  tornadoes merged into one massive twister, flattening homes,

  stores, and a large copper factory.

  DEATHS: 181

  4

  Gainesville, Georgia,

  April 6, 1936

  AFFECTED AREAS: Many city neighborhoods were destroyed.

  The final death count was actually far higher than the

  “official” one due to the fact that in the South in 1936, officials

  often did not include African Americans in official counts.

  DEATHS (OFFICIAL): 216

  3

  Tupelo, Mississippi,

  April 5, 1936

  Ben Franklin

  FOUNDING FATHER

  OF TORNADOES

  Statesman and scientist Ben Franklin became obsessed

  with tornadoes, which in the 1700s were called whirlwinds.

  He studied them closely and became known as an expert.

  Sources: Weather.com, US Geological Survey, Science World magazine

  TORNADO FACTS

  An average of 1,200 tornadoes strike

  the United States every year.

  Most tornadoes are small and last only a few minutes.

  The most powerful tornadoes can reach wind speeds

  of 300 mph.

  Tornadoes can move at speeds of 70 mph.

  Most US tornadoes happen in the

  spring, but tornadoes can strike

  at any time of year.

  Tornadoes that happen over

  water are known as water

  spouts.

  The first record of a US tornado

  was written in 1680, in Cambridge,

  Massachusetts Bay Colony.

  The largest tornado ever recorded was 2.6 miles wide,

  and struck on May 31, 2013, in El Reno, Oklahoma.

  The brownish color of a tornado comes from the dirt

  and debris inside.

  The word

  TORNADO comes

  from two Spanish

  words:

  tornar,

  which means “to

  turn” and

  tronada,

  which means

  “thunderstorm.”

  This Doppler on Wheels radar truck is used

  to research tornadoes.

  This radar image shows a supercell with a hook

  echo, a pattern that suggests a tornado might form.

  Tornadoes can strike anywhere, so any time

  there is a serious thunderstorm, watch the TV

  or monitor weather websites for warnings.

  Danger, like

  downed

  electrical wires and gas leaks,

  can linger after the tornado

  has passed. Be careful of

  damaged buildings.

  Underground basements are the safest

  place to take shelter. If one is not available,

  find a lower-floor closet or

  bathroom. Stay away from

  windows and top-floor rooms.

  Do not go outside.

  SURVIVING

  A TORNADO

  What should you do if a tornado is on the way?

  BE AWARE

  STAY SAFE

  DON’T TRY TO RUN

  TAKE SHELTER

  Tornadoes move at highway speeds.

  It is not possible to outrun them.

  Source: American Red Cross

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I want to thank my extended Storyworks family —

  editors, writers, designers, teacher gurus, and many

  others. I am deeply grateful for these many years

  of creative delights, friendship, and work that

  have brought great meaning to my life. Many

  dozens of people have helped make Storyworks

  the incredible magazine it is today. Extra special

  thanks to Albert Amigo, Judith Christ-Lafond,

  Jennifer Dignan, Deb Dinger, Linda Eger, Allison

  Friedman, Robbin Friedman, David Goddy,

  Margaret Howlett, Rebecca Leon, Spencer

  Kayden, Kristin Lewis, Lauren Magaziner,

  Danielle Mirsky, Justin O’Neill, Hugh Roome,

  Mary Rose, Barry Rust, Lois Safrani, Paul Scher,

  Kaaren Sorensen, and Leslie Tevlin.

  MY SOURCES

  Writing even a short nonfiction article requires

  countless hours of research. For each of the stories

  in this book, I relied on many sources, including

  books, newspaper and magazine articles, blogs,

  videos, maps, diaries, interviews, and face-to-face

  meetings.

  Below are my main sources for each of the

  articles, including some books that you can explore.

  THE CHILDREN’S BLIZZARD, 1888

  The Children’s Blizzard, by David Laskin, New York:

  HarperCollins, 2004

  The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, New York:

  Harper & Bros., 1940. Paperback reprint, New

  York: HarperCollins, 2008

  Dakota, A Spiritual Geography, by Kathleen Norris, New

  York: Ticknor & Fields, 1993

  Great Plains, by Ian Frazier, New York: Farrar, Straus

  and Giroux, 1989

  More books you might like:

  Blizzard!: The Storm that Changed America, by Jim

  Murphy, New York: Scholastic, 2006

  Dear America: My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah

  Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska,

  1881, by Jim Murphy, New York: Scholastic, 2001

  DK Eyewitness: Weather, by Brian Cosgrove, New York:

  DK Publishing, 1991

  Worth, by A. LaFaye, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004

  A Year Without Rain, by D. Anne Love, New York:

  Holiday House, 2000

  THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC, 1912

  Titanic: A Survivor’s Story and the Sinking of the S.S.

  Titanic, by Archibald Gracie IV and John B. Thayer,

  Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2005

  This includes Jack’s own account of his experiences on the

  Titanic.

  A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord, New York: Holt,

  1955

  The Story of the Titanic as Told by Its Survivors, Jack

  Winocour, editor, New York: Dover Publications,

  1960

  Titanic Voices, by Donald Hyslop, Alastair Forsyth, and

  Sheila Jemima, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999

  More books you might like:

  Dear America: Voyage on the Great Titanic:The Diary of

  Margaret Ann Brady, RMS Titanic, 1912, by Ellen

  Emerson White, New York: Scholastic, 1998

  Discover More: Titanic, by Sean Callery, New York:

  Scholastic, 2014

  Titanic Trilogy: Unsinkable, Collision Couse, S.O.S., by

  Gordon Korman, New York: Scholastic, 2011.

  Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, by Deborah Hopkinson,

  New York: Scholastic, 2012

  I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, by Lauren

  Tarshis (of course!), New York: Scholastic, 2010

  THE GREAT BOSTON MOLASSES

  FLOOD, 1919

  Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by

  Stephen Puleo, New York: Beacon Press, 2003

  This is a complete history of the flood, and many of the

  details of the article are drawn from Mr. Puleo’s detailed

  reporting.

  “Boston’s Great Molasses Flood, 1919,” by Ethan Trex,

  Mental Floss, 2011

  “The Science of the Great Molasses Flood,” by Ferris

  Jabr, Scientific American, July 17, 2013

  “Sweet, Sweet, Death: Boston’s Molasses Flood of 1919,”r />
  by Ella Morton, Slate.com

  “A Sticky Tragedy: The Boston Molasses Disaster,” by

  Chuck Lyons, History Today, Volume 59, Issue 1, 2009

  More books you might like:

  DK Eyewitness: World War I, by Simon Adams, New

  York: DK Publishing, 2007

  The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919, by Deborah Kops,

  Boston: Charlesbridge, 2012

  My America: An American Spring: Sofia’s Immigrant Diary,

  Book Three, by Kathryn Lasky, New York: Scholastic,

  2004

  A Place for Joey, by Carol Flynn Harris, Honesdale, PA:

  Boyds Mills Press, 2001

  The War to End All Wars, by Russell Freedman, New

  York: Clarion Books, 2010

  War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo, London, UK: Kaye

  and Ward, 1982. Paperback reprint, New York:

  Scholastic, 2010

  THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI, 2011

  The basis of my story came from an article by Setsuko

  Kamayi of the Japan Times. She discovered the story of

  Kamaichi East, and then provided additional reporting

  for my story, including an interview with Mr. Sato.

  2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake,

  by various authors, Amazon Digital Services, Inc.,

  2011

  Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami, by

  Gretel Ehrlich, New York: Vintage, 2013

  Into the Forbidden Zone: A Trip Through Hell and High

  Water in Post-Earthquake Japan, by William T. Vollman,

  San Francisco: Byliner, 2011

  Reconstructing 3/11, by various authors, Abiko, Japan:

  Abiko Free Press, 2012

  Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami,

  and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, by Lucy Birmingham

  and David McNeill, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave

  Macmillan, 2012

  Japan Times, various articles by Setsuko Kamayi

  “Aftershocks,” by Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, March 28,

  2011

  “Tsunami Science,” by Tim Folger, National Geographic,

  February 2012

  “Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone,” by Martin

  Fackler, The New York Times, April 20, 2011

  “Explaining Nuclear Energy for Kids,” The Washington

  Post, March 17, 2011

  More books you might like:

  The Big Wave, by Pearl S. Buck, Philadelphia: Curtis

  Publishing, 1947. Paperback reprint, New York:

  HarperCollins, 1986

  DK Eyewitness: Volcanoes and Earthquakes, by Susan van

  Rose, New York: DK Publishing, 2008

  Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr,

  New York: Puffin, 1977. Paperback reprint, 2004.

  Tsunami Disasters, by John Hawkins, New York: Rosen

  Central, 2011

  I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011, by Lauren Tarshis,

  New York: Scholastic, 2013

  THE HENRYVILLE TORNADO, 2012

  I traveled to Henryville to speak to teachers and students

  of Henryville in May, 2013, and followed up with different

  students in writing and by phone.

  F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado

  Outbreak of the Twentieth Century, by Mark Levine,

  New York: Miramax, 2007

  Tornado Alley: Monster Storms of the Great Plains, by

  Howard B. Bluestein, New York: Oxford University

  Press, 2006

  Storm Kings: The Untold History of America’s First Tornado

  Hunters, by Lee Sandlin, New York: Pantheon, 2013

  More books you might like:

  DK Eyewitness: Hurricane and Tornado, by Jack Challoner,

  New York: DK Publishing, 2004

  Tornado, by Betsy Byars, New York: HarperCollins, 1996

  Tornado!: The Story Behind These Twisting, Turning,

  Spinning, and Spiraling Storms, by Judith Bloom Fradin

  and Dennis Brindell Fradin, Washington, D.C.:

  National Geographic, 2011

  Tornadoes, by Seymour Simon, New York: HarperCollins,

  2001

  PHOTO CREDITS

  Photo Editor: Cynthia Carris

  © Photos: background file folder (throughout): hanibaram/iStockphoto;

  paper clip (throughout): jangeltun/iStockphoto; p1: The Granger

  Collection; 7: George Silk/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; 9:

  Brand X Pictures/Media Bakery; 12: National Weather Service;

  15: North Wind Picture Archives/AP Images; 19, top: Media

  Bakery; bottom right: HarperCollins Publishers; bottom left:

  Brooklyn Museum, 2004; 20, top: Solomon D. Butcher/Nebraska

  State Historical Society; bottom: Everett Collection/SuperStock; 21:

  Golbez; 22–23: Media Bakery; 23, inset: ImagineGolf/iStockphoto;

  25, top: Wallace G. Levison/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images;

  bottom: Brooklyn Museum, 2004; 27: Library of Congress Prints and

  Photographs Division; 28, book cover: HarperCollins Publishers;

  pencil: Sezeryadigar/iStockphoto; 29: HarperCollins Publishers; 31:

  Popperfoto/Getty Images; 34: The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty

  Images; 37, top left: The Granger Collection; top right: Universal

  Images Group/Getty Images; bottom: SSPL/Getty Images; 39:

  Albert Harlingue/Roger Viollet/Getty Images; 46: National Archives

  and Records Administration; 48: The Bridgeman Art Library/

  Getty Images; 49: Universal Images Group/Getty Images; 51:

  Bettmann/Corbis; 52–53: The Granger Collection; 55, left: Splash

  News/Corbis; 55, right, and 56: dgmata/iStockphoto; 57: Dave

  Thompson/PA/AP Images; 58–59, background: Henry Groskinsky/

  Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images; 58, inset: Rex Features/AP

  Images; 59, inset: Ralph White/Corbis Images; 60, top: Ralph

  White/Corbis Images; bottom left: Andrew Gombert/EPA/Alamy

  Images; bottom right: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images;

  61, top left: Bruce Dale/National Geographic Creative; top right:

  Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic/Getty Images; bottom: Splash News/

  Corbis; 63: AP Images; 67 and 72: Bill Noonan/Boston Fire Depart-

  ment Archives/Boston Public Library; 69: Alasdair Thomson/

  iStockphoto; 74 and 78: Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston

  Public Library/Leslie Jones Collection; 79: The Boston Globe/Getty

  Images; 80: MLHalsey; 83, bottom left: Roberto A. Sanchez/

  iStockphoto; bottom right: Glasshouse Images/Alamy Images; 84,

  bottom: Glasshouse Images/Alamy Images; inset: Everett Collection/

  Alamy Images; 85, top: CSU Archives/Everett Collection/Alamy

  Images; bottom: Underwood Photo Archives/SuperStock; 86, top:

  Rue des Archives/The Granger Collection; bulb: Roberto A Sanchez/

  iStockphoto; lantern: Thinkstock; 87: Hennepin County Library

  Special Collections; 88–89, background: National Library of Scotland;

  89, inset: Neurdein/Roger Viollet/Getty Images; 91: Ho New/

  Reuters; 96: Katsushika Hokusai/Library of Congress; 98: termi-

  nator1/iStockphoto; 101, combo photos: JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty

  Images; 103: Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images; 105: Asahi Shimbun/

  EPA/Corbis Images; 106: The Japan Times; 107: David Guttenfelder/

  AP Images; 108: Yomiuri/Reuters; 109: jeremy sutton-hibbert/Alamy

  Images; 111: Tori Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images; 113, top: The Asahi

  Shimbun/Getty Images; bottom: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg/

  Getty Images; 114: Jim McMahon/Mapman; 115: Hiro Komae/AP

  Images; 116–117: Se
rgey Ponomarev/AP Images; 119: Clint Spencer/

  iStockphoto; 125: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock; 129: Al Behrman/

  AP Images; 131: Ann Johansson/Corbis Images; 132: Philip Scott

  Andrews/AP Images; 133: Timothy D. Easley/AP Images; 134–135

  (all): Bob Hower; 136: Brynn Anderson/Lincoln Journal Star/AP

  Images; 137: Sally Riggs; 140: joecicak/iStockphoto; 142, top: Ryan

  McGinnis/Alamy Images; bottom: Science Source; 143: sshepard/

  iStockphoto; 155: Courtesy of Storyworks/Scholastic Inc.; 166:

  David Dreyfuss.

  ABOUT STORYWORKS

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  Do you have what it takes?

  UNSINKABLE. UNTIL ONE NIGHT . . .

  George Calder must be the luckiest kid alive. He and

  his little sister, Phoebe, are sailing with their aunt on

  the Titanic, the greatest ship ever built. George can’t

  resist exploring every inch of the incredible boat, even

  if it keeps getting him into trouble.

  Then the impossible happens

  —

  the Titanic hits an

  iceberg and water rushes in. George is stranded, alone

  and afraid, on the sinking ship. He’s always gotten out

  of trouble before . . . but how can he survive this?

  THE

  SINKING

  OF THE

  TITANIC,

  I SURVIVED

  1912

  THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER . . .

  Chet Roscow is finally feeling at home in Elm Hills,

  New Jersey. He has a job with his uncle Jerry at the

  local diner, three great friends, and the perfect summer-

  time destination: cool, refreshing Matawan Creek.

  But Chet’s summer is interrupted by shocking news.

  A great white shark has been attacking swimmers along

  the Jersey shore, not far from Elm Hills. Everyone in

  town is talking about it. So when Chet sees something

  in the creek, he’s sure it’s his imagination . . . until he

 

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