IELTS Preparation

Describe a natural calamity that you fear


IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 306 with Model Answer:

Describe a natural calamity that you fear.

You should say:

  • what it is
  • why do you fear it
  • how it affects people’s lives

and explain how you think the damage can be reduced.

to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer:
Often we are to fall victim of natural calamities. It may happen for a good number of reasons. I fear earthquake most for many reasons. I have seen the devastating impacts of the earthquake from an early age and thus I am afraid of it. Besides, there are some other natural disasters are also available on my land but this is one of the most terrible ones to me.

Earthquake is a natural disaster that may occur at any time of the day or the year. In Indonesia, there are less number of natural disasters but I think this one is more frequent than any other disasters. When it appears with a massive strike, it damages a good number of properties and people. There are no exact reasons have been found so far but it is assumed that it happens for the release of energy from the ground level of the earth. Besides, it is also caused by the slippage of the geological faults.

I am afraid of this disaster for many reasons. First of all, the aftermaths of an earthquake are really dangerous. It brings disaster with it. It can destroy a civilisation within a few seconds. Actually, the sudden shock from the underground creates an imbalance on the stuff located on the ground. As a result, they become displaced. When the shock is more severe, it shakes the buildings, vehicles, humans and other things on the ground level. As a result, everything collapses and fall victim of the earthquake. Even it takes months to remove the debris and bring out the bodies and other remains. Some recent earthquake events could be cited in this case. The earthquake in Nepal in 2015 killed almost 9000 lives and the damages were also serious. It took a long time for the nation to recover the losses. An earthquake in Sumatra last year killed over 100 people within a second and also ruined huge properties. So, there are many reasons to fear this natural calamity.      

Earthquakes, generally, cause damage to human lives and properties. Besides, it also damages livestock and other available resources to human. In fact, it becomes really difficult to start everything from ground zero. And, as a bonus, the affected people need to spend lots of time to get back the things they lost in the disaster. When an earthquake takes place in a densely populated area, it becomes hard to conduct a rescue operation. And if the epicentre is in the locality, it really becomes impossible to get everything in order. So, life becomes difficult for the affected people. As everything collapses, they do not get the basic needs. Emergency relief becomes a must in the locality. Fortunately, when the earthquake epicentre is far away, the damage radius is lower. Life resumes immediately if there are not any massive damages. But the scale of the disaster in the adjacent locality of the epicentre is completely different. Life stalls for an uncertain period.

I am not an earthquake specialist but I think there are several ways to control the earthquake damages. It is natural that earthquakes will hit the larger structures on the ground. So, they should be able to prevent or at least tolerate the earthquake blow. In most of the cases, earthquake-resistant building code should be followed. Besides, people should be made aware of the pre and post impacts of the earthquake so that they could cope up with the disasters. Furthermore, a general preparation may also help greatly to overcome the disaster impacts.

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