The Boy and the Sand Trap
Once upon a time a young boy was digging a ginormous hole on the beach, but then disaster struck, the hole caved in, and he found himself stuck up to his neck in the sand like a human popsicle. Thankfully, his parents were able to keep the sand out of his mouth. Emergency Services swooped into the beach soon after some effort the boy was taken out.
Experts say sand is tricky and can be super unstable when mes with, so the moral of the story is going ahead and have fun on the beach but if you’re planning on digging a hole big enough to fit your entire body be mindful of the size and location. It turns out that this is not a one-time incident, making deep holes can lead to serious injuries or even worse. According to a study there have been over 50 incidents of sand hole collapses worldwide with many of them resulting in fatalities. (See a Hole in the Sand, Don’t Step on It)
Helpful Tips to Stay Safe While Digging on the Beach
So here are some helpful tips from experts to keep you safe and sound. Never dig a hole deeper than the knee level of the smallest person in your group, and always fill in any hole you make before you leave, day or night. Lastly, avoid digging near the Dune line or water line where emergency vehicles travel.
The Mysteries of Sinkholes
Since we started with holes on the beach, we might as well continue with sinkholes. Sinkholes also known as snake holes or swallow holes are like chameleons on Earth’s surface, they can be big they can be small, and they can pop up seemingly out of nowhere. It’s like playing a game of whacko, but instead of moles, it’s sinkholes. These sneaky things form over the years, they require specific conditions and processes.
How Sinkholes Form
So what’s the deal with sinkholes, well they’re basically natural depressions or holes in Earth’s surface caused by CST processes and what are carst processes you may ask they occur when bedrocks are soluble. It’s as if rocks have a secret weakness and water is their Kryptonite. Now, even though sinkholes form slowly they’re like that one friend who’s always full of surprises, they can be unpredictable and show up when you least expect them. Interesting fact time this giant pit is over 2,165 ft (0.66 km) deep, it’s the biggest and deepest sinkhole in the world.
Some researchers think a meteorite might have caused it, but others believe it formed over the course of 128,000 years as underground Rivers eroded the surrounding Limestone. Either way, it’s pretty mind-boggling. The locals have known about it for ages, but it wasn’t until 1994 that the rest of the world learned about it thanks to a group of British explorers. This massive hole is home to over 1,200 plant and animal species, including rare ones like the good tree and the clouded leopard. A waterfall Cascades into the pit in the rainy season feeding an underground river and Cave System below, it’s like a whole other world out there.
Hailstorms: Nature’s Icy Fury
Next we have hail storms, think of them as’s way of saying heads up in the most intense way possible. Hail is like frozen rain on steroids and when it starts pelting down you better take cover. Hail storms typically last for about 15 minutes, but in that short time they can cause serious damage to buildings cars and crops. They can even knock out power lines and bring down trees, and if you’re unlucky to be caught out in the open during a hail storm, you might find yourself feeling in like a human pinball. Here are some of the things that make hail storms a real bummer, watch out ples if you think turbulence is bad, wait until you encounter a hail storm in the air. A plane crashed during a hail storm in northern Mexico in 2018 thankfully everyone on board made it out safely, phew.
The Impact of Hailstorms
Hail is not just a danger to airplanes but also to cars on the road imagine driving down the highway and then boom your windshield shatters into tiny pieces you can barely see where you’re going, and the road is slippery. Farmers have it rough during a hail storm too those strong winds and giant ice pellets can destroy crops leaving behind a trail of broken plants and stripped bark all that hard work goes down the drain in a matter of minutes leading to significant losses.
The Danger of Rip Currents
What if it’s summertime who doesn’t love soaking up the sun playing in the sand and catching some waves oops rip currents those powerful narrow channels of fast moving water are everywhere along the East Gulf and West coasts and the Great Lakes Shores. They can move at speeds of up to 8 ft per second people who panic in rip currents often try to swim straight back to shore which is the wrong move and could Tire you out or even worse. So what should you do if you get caught in a rip current first stay calm and don’t fight it instead swim parallel to the shore and then back to land at an angle. A little clarification, rip currents and rip tides are not the same thing, rip tides are a specific type of current that happens when tidal water moves quickly through places like inlets and harbors.
Landslides: A Sudden Collapse
Landslides are another type of danger that can catch you off guard mountains look like they’re stable Rock Solid things that have been around forever but don’t let appearances fool you, landslides can happen anywhere at any time. Basically landslides happen when a big pile of dirt rocks and other debris gets all shaken up and starts tumbling down a hill sometimes it’s because of rain sometimes it’s because of something like an earthquake and sometimes it’s just because the ground decides it’s had enough.
Heat Bursts: Nature’s Hot Breath
Mother Nature’s got some more tricks up her sleeve first up we’ve got heat bursts this weather phenomenon is hotter than a jalapeño now these aren’t your everyday thunderstorms for a heat burst to occur the atmospheric conditions have to be very specific. We need dry air high altitude defense and an absence of evaporated precipitation when all these factors come to together the result is a heat burst that can reach speed so fast that you’ll feel like you’re riding a rocket to the Sun. And not only is the air scorching hot, but it’s also so dry that it evaporates moisture right out of anything it touches including poor defenseless vegetation.
Fire Whirls: Tornadoes of Flames
Have you ever heard of a fire whirl also known as a fire devil or fire tornado it’s like a swirling Vortex of fire and Ash that that can eat up debris and combustible gases? Think of it as a mini tornado that’s fueled by a raging fire. These things usually start with a swirl of wind which you can see thanks to all the smoke. They happen when rising heat and windy conditions team up to create whirling eddies of air these Eddies can sometimes get so intense that they form a tornado like Vortex that’s hungry for anything and everything in its path.
How Fire Whirls Differ from Tornadoes
Now sometimes people call a fire whirl by its other names like fire NATO fire swirl or fire twister, but those terms typically refer to a different thing where a fire is so intense that it creates an actual tornado. Fire worlds are a little different because their Vortex doesn’t typically go from the ground all the way up to the clouds and even if they do, they’re not typically considered a classic tornado because they don’t form in the same way. These things can get pretty hot too we’re talking up to 2000° F fur WHS are more likely to happen during wildfires or firestorms when there’s enough wind to create big vortices. The biggest ones can be massive they can even uproot trees that are 49 ft (ca. 15 m) tall or more.
Conclusion
There you have seven sneaky natural phenomena have you ever encountered any of these comment below and let us know
That’s it for today! So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, Explore more Amazing Facts and stay on the mudassirmirza.online!