Fire is a chemical response when specific circumstances are met. When heat, fuel, and oxygen are mixed, fire is produced. This happens because of combustion. Before starting a fire, specific safety measures must be taken into consideration. Whether you choose to build your fire in the woods, on a campground, or in your backyard, different precautions must be taken for each situation.  If you are starting a fire in the woods, you must choose a space that meets specific guidelines. The space that you choose should be clear of dangers…

Do you know that unlike more geographically localized natural disasters like wildfires, tornadoes,k2 rf and hurricanes, flooding can happen almost anywhere, and the effect can be devastating if you are unprepared? Every year floods cause massive damage across the world. Floods accounted for 12% of all the deaths due to natural disasters in the last decade. It caused about 93,000 fatalities. Floods can result in widespread destruction causing loss of life and personal property. More than 2 billion people were affected worldwide due to floods between the year 1998-2017. Some…

Do you know that a heart attack is one of the leading causes of death globally? Studies have shown that cardiovascular diseases are responsible for taking 17.9 million lives annually. Every year about 790,000 people have a heart attack in the United States. With such a considerable number, chances are most likely that you might have heard of someone close to you getting a heart attack. The graph below shows the number of worldwide deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. Source:Statista The health care systems and hospitals have completely redefined the…

Tornadoes are vertical funnels of quickly spinning air. Their winds may surpass 250 miles an hour and clear a pathway a mile broad and 50 miles long. Also known as twisters, tornadoes are born in thunderstorms and are often followed by hail. Huge, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes. These violent storms occur worldwide, but the United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year. The single most violent tornado to ever hit the United States was the “Tri-State Tornado.” It killed 695…

Hurricanes can destroy lives as well as damage property. Being prepared for it can help minimize the impact.  What is a hurricane? A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that can cause torrential rains, high winds, storm surges, and flooding for two weeks or more over open water. Fundamentally determined by its wind speeds, a hurricane must be 74 mph or higher (anything lower is classified as a tropical storm). A hurricane is on average 500 miles wide and 10 miles high and moves forward like a giant spinning top at…

A pandemic is an outbreak of global dimensions. It happens when infection due to a virus becomes capable of spreading widely and rapidly. The disease behind a pandemic can cause severe illness and spread quickly from one person to the next. Contrary to certain perceptions, COVID-19 is not the first time humans have confronted a pandemic disease. We have confronted pandemics from plagues to SARS and influenza, from smallpox and measles to cholera and HIV. What is a pandemic? According to the WHO, a pandemic is described as the “worldwide…

There are very few things in life that can act as boon and bane in equal measure. Fire, an integral part of our day-to-day lives, is one of those. On a regular day, we cook food, preserve it, chill by it during winters, and it is the center stage of memories for a lifetime.  But when it becomes violent, you would seldom want to be on its radar. Be it forest fires, house fires, or any other kind, millions of human beings, animals, and birds lose their lives every year…