Eric&Bobby

=** AVALANCHES **=

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//How They Happen: //** Avalanches tend to happen when the climate warms up and there are some vibrations,snow and ice are not stuck to the mountain any more and it comes loose. **
 * //The Science: // Avalanches are rapidly descending large mass of snow and ice,or rock and soil. There are two types of avalanches. A snow and ice avalanche, and a debris avalanche, which is an avalanche with rock and soil mixed in it. Avalanches usually occur on a mountain that has a lot of snow then gets lots of rain and sleet. **

More Info

In the news : **SALANG PASS, Afghan rescuers at this dangerous mountain pass dug through piles of snow on Wednesday January 10th to extract more bodies from cars,buses and trucks buried in snow as the death toll from possibly the worst series of avalanches in Afghan's history. Officials are predicting they will find more victims. **

Afghan Avalanche

Historical Event: ** On May 31st 1970, the Ancash earthquake caused a part of the north side of the mountain to collapse. The avalanche mass, an estimated 80 million cubic feet of ice,mud and rock was about a half a mile wide an a mile long. It advanced 11 miles at an average speed of 280-355 km per hour. It buried the 2 towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca with ice and rock and killed around 20,000 people. **

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Safety tips: ** If caught in an avalanche try to get off the slab of the mountain. Skiers and snowboarders can head straight down the hill to gather speed then veer left or right out of the path. If there is no escape reach for a tree. if the avalanche hits you and you are covered in snow, dig a hole for air and reach an arm skyward so rescuers see you. **

Safety Tips

Book Nook:  **I recommend this book** [|Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain] **by Bruce Tremper** **,** **because it gives us lots of information on avalanches and it gives you great safety tips. I also recommend** [|The Avalanche Handbook] **by David McClung and Peter Schaerer. Both of these books are very useful and they have 5 stars.**

Video Analysis:

Avalanche Video

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<span style="background-color: #e72c2c; color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Experts:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Are experts are a giant organization that know alot about avalanches. There are over 300 experts on avalanches listed on there page. They are hooked up with all of the major avalanche organizations. Are organization can tell you everything you need to know about avalanches. Avalanches.org also has a team that goes in and helps you if you are stuck in a avalanche. **
 * Colorado Avalanche Information Center ||  || (303) 499-9650 || caic@qwestoffice.net ||

Experts

Avalanche Professionals

<span style="background-color: #00ff00; color: #8200ff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Sources/Thanks [|National Geographic: Natural Disasters] [|Wikipedia: Natural Disasters] [|Weather Widget] [|Weather Widgets] [|Books] [|CNN] [|Reuters]