Earthquakes: Witness to Disaster by Judy and Dennis Fradin, National Geographic Books

Have you ever wondered what causes earthquakes?  By reading this book, you’ll learn all about the reasons earthquakes take place.  Maps and diagrams will help you understand tectonics and stunning photos will show you the effects of an earthquake.  By reading the accounts of people who have lived through earthquakes, you’ll get a clearer idea of what it’s like to witness one.

Excerpt:  The ground would not stop shaking.  I turned and watched my house squirm and groan as though in last mortal agony.  It was as though someone had engaged in it in a gigantic taffy pull, stretching, twisting and shrinking it.”  Eyewitness Account.

Tsunamis: Witness to Disaster by Judy and Dennis Fradin, National Geographic Books

In this book you’ll learn about some of the most powerful tsunamis that have occurred in recent history. You’ll find out about the forces that cause a tsunami and the damage that tsunamis can do. Stunning photographs and eyewitness accounts, along with maps and diagrams, will help you understand how plate tectonics cause these gigantic disasters, and you’ll hear from people who have lived through them.

Excerpt: On Maikhao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, a ten year old school girl from England was vacationing with her parents. Two weeks earlier in geography class she had learned about the way that, before a tsunami wave strikes, the sea sometimes recedes from the shore. Tilly noticed the same thing happening in Thailand and warmed her family that a tsunami might be coming. As her family left the beach, they warned other tourists. Thanks to the warming, the beach was evacuated and no lives were lost. “