Global weather disasters
Why has 2010 been a year of global weather-based disasters?
On St David's day this year, heavy rains caused floods and landslides which destroyed a community called Nametsi in Uganda. It is twinned with communities in Rhondda Cynon Taff.
As people across Wales started to organise themselves to help, locals started digging to try and find the remains of as many as over a hundred people. Many of the people trapped were women and children who had been sheltering in Nametsi because the river was too swollen for them to get home.
Mud Slides in Uganda
At the same time as the Namestsi disaster, floods and droughts were reported across many parts of Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.
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Did you know?
Under normal conditions the winds in the Pacific Ocean drive warm surface water westwards where it 'piles up' around Australia and Indonesia. This allows cold water off the coast of South America to rise to the surface. This causes warm moist air in the west and colder drier air in the east.
If the winds weaken above the Pacific Ocean, the warm water in the west flows towards the east. This causes heavy rains in South America and droughts in places like Australia. The local fishermen in Peru called these weather conditions El Niño. This happened in December - March in 2010 causing the climate disasters around the world at the start of the year.
After El Niño the winds did not go back to normal but became much stronger. So even more warm water than usual was piled up in the west of the Pacific and it was this that helped trigger the floods in July and August. These conditions are called La Niña by the local fishermen.
What about Wales?
Even though Wales has seen extremes of weather this year, disasters are rare and happen on a much smaller scale. This is because we have a very hard working group of people who make it their business to keep us safe. This is the Environment Agency in Wales. The Agency issues flood warnings and lets people know if their homes and businesses are at risk of flooding.
The Environment Agency releases flood risk maps and you can enter your postcode to see if your area is at risk of flooding. Take a look:
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If you register your address, they will send you a text, email or call you with a recorded message if there is a flood watch, flood warning or severe flood warning which might affect you.
Probably the most visible activities of the Environment Agency in Wales are the flood schemes to prevent flooding across Wales.
Decision-making exercise
Find out about the risk of flooding in and around where you live or go to school. Use the Environment Agency Website to help you.
Look at different flood schemes in Wales and make a decision on what aspects of other schemes would work in your local area.
