"Discusses the dangers of earthquakes, how to prepare for them, and how to stay safe during and after an earthquake."--

The lives of three women are changed forever when an earthquake devastates San Francisco, exposing the financial fraud of socialist Sarah Sloane's husband, allowing teen pop sensation Melanie Free the chance to practice her true calling as a nurse, and testing Sister Maggie Kent's devotion to her calling.

"In the book of Genesis, when God calls out, 'Abraham!' to order him to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham responds, 'Here I am.' Later, when Isaac calls out, 'My father!' to ask him why there is no animal to slaughter, Abraham responds, 'Here I am.' How do we fulfill our conflicting duties as father, husband, and son; wife and mother; child and adult? Jew and American? How can we claim our own identities when our lives are linked so closely to others?...

Junior tells of the games he played in his mind during the eight days he was trapped in his house after the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. Includes author's note about Haitian children before the earthquake and her own children's reactions to the disaster.

"One early April morning in 1906, the people of San Francisco were jolted awake by a mammoth earthquake--one that registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Not only was there major damage from the quake itself but broken gas lines sparked a fire that ravaged the city for days. More than 500 city blocks were destroyed and over 200,000 people were left homeless. But the city quickly managed to rebuild, rising from the ashes to become the major tourist destination...

Photographs and text explain the causes and effects of volcanoes and earthquakes and examine specific occurrences throughout history.

Presents information about cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and other deadly natural disasters, and provides examples of some of the deadliest of each type in history.