8th grade students read the nonfiction article “Out of the Tornado”. As a follow-up activity, they researched historical accounts of local or state disasters and wrote a poem about what happened. Here are a few examples for you to enjoy.
The Great San Francisco Earthquake by Anna
Houses, buildings toppling over
“Crash” they went as they fell to pieces
Screams flooding the smoky atmosphere
Alarming those who were unaware
Sidewalks crack and crumble
Windows, shattering to pieces
A light, as bright and red as the sun,
Roaring through the town, disintegrating everything
And everyone in its path
Destruction comes and does what he does best–
Destroy
Five days later, the turmoil ends.
People cling to their loved ones
And ones they don’t know
Talking, conversing, deciding
Businesses and individuals
Working hard, working together
Nine years later, the city’s back
Buildings hover,
Houses stand,
Sidewalks support,
Windows offer a look in as a reminder of what used to be
And what now remains
From the earthquake of 1906
Natural Disaster by Luisa
San Franciscans felt the strong shaking
April 18, 1906, 5:12 a.m. people were just waking.
buildings crumbling and earth’s crust cracking under the street
At Point Reyes Station the earth rose 24 feet.
Along 290 miles of the San Andreas Fault the earth split
At most it was only 60 seconds, but it felt like the shaking would never quit.
Broken gas lines, stove fires, wooden buildings, a quarter of San Francisco would burn
Fires burned for three days and three nights, people had nowhere to turn.
Over half of San Franciscans left homeless
28,000 buildings destroyed and left a mess.
With newspapers and magazines spreading the word
$400 million in damage is all that they heard.
Just as this sudden disaster hits this young state near its start
People from all over the nation pitched in and did their part.
The Northridge Earthquake by Alaina
On a crisp, cool January morning,
the Earth shook violently. Was it mad?
The Earth rumbled. Was it in for a fight?
The Earth trembled. Was it afraid?
The Northridge Earthquake–Why the change?
On a crisp, cool January morning,
People shook violently. Were they shaken by the Earth?
People were rumbled. Were they at odds with the Earth?
People trembled. Were they afraid of the Earth?
The Northridge Earthquake–Changed people’s lives.
On a crisp, cool January morning,
violent movement,
rumbled battles,
trembling fear.
The Northridge Earthquake–Twenty seconds that changed history.
Saint Francis Dam Collapse by Natalie
In the last remaining two minutes of March 12, 1928
Slabs of concrete make way to a mass of Los Angeles water
An unyielding wall shows no mercy to the homes it consumes
It destroys all in its path, and claims the lives
Of over an approximate six hundred
In the late hours only thirty minutes before,
A man rides through the night
With only a motorcycle to accompany him
Another, known as Ace Hopewell, precedes the first rider
The last known soul to see the dam in its full glory
To his ears reach the sound of tumbling boulders
A beast finally breaks through its restraint
Eager to run free, careless of its obliteration
Twelve million gallons of water roar
At a speed of eighteen miles per hour
In its path stand a power plant, the city of Castaic Junction,
And 65 working men nearby with their families
Yet they stand no chance against the mountainous beast
In its wake it floods the towns of what is now Valencia and Newhall
Until it continues further to Fillmore, Bardsdale, and Santa Paula
Fillmore telephone operators and two motorcyclist policemen
Rush to alert any who face the potential threat of the monster
Yet it refuses to cease until it reaches the Pacific Ocean
With it, it disposes the bodies of the lives it claimed
Onto nearby beaches as south as Mexico
And as quickly as it begins its excursion it ceases
It leaves only the heart of the dam behind, just to be demolished not long after
No evidence is visible any longer, though the Castaic dam has taken its place
Yet its legacy lives on, the memory of all the lost lives never to be forgotten
And we will know what happened the night the water in the dam broke free
The Dam Disaster by Lucas
It’s dark, midnight is upon us.
All is at peace,people recline in their dwellings.
Just miles away, out of dark and dusty canyon.
Water surges, churns, and grasps a yearning for freedom.
Crack! Roaring rapids fill the canyon; walls of water take everything in its path.
Like slick ice slipping down a slope, the reservoir approaches many.
Tearing ruthlessly, destroying, and flooding the inland. Children cry, adults weep.
St. Francis has done the unexpected, no one saw it coming.
People evacuate to their roofs, among shingles and night raptors, both watching
crestfallen at their submerged community
