Phrasal verbs: natural disasters

This ESL worksheet is dedicated to phrasal verbs about natural disasters, preparing and responding to different natural disasters (e.g. an earthquake, a tsunami, a hurricane, a blizzard, a drought, a wildfire). Students will learn and practise 14 phrasal verbs and talk about natural disasters. You might also like the worksheet “Phrasal verbs: the weather“.

The first 8 phrasal verbs (e.g. spread out, cope with, brace for, lash out) are introduced through 2 short texts: 1 about a wildfire, and 1 about a hurricane. Students work out the meaning of the verbs and then match them to their definitions. To practise, they complete 4 conversation questions with the correct phrasal verbs and then they use the questions to start a conversation with a partner. The rest of the phrasal verbs (cut off, weather through, rip through) are introduced through 2 more texts: about a blizzard and about a tornado. To practise them, students complete 3 sentences with their own ideas. As an additional practice task, students complete a multiple-choice task. The last 2 tasks are focused on speaking: first, students look at 6 photos and describe what the natural disaster is, how people can prepare and respond to it. Lastly, students are asked to research a specific natural disaster and to present their findings to the class. Use the printable conversation cards to practise and revise these phrasal verbs even further! This worksheet can be combined with lessons about natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, etc.)