33 Extreme Weather Flashcards
Rip through sth
Move forcefully and rapidly through sth
Fierce winds/ hurricane ripped through Florida.
Take (a) hold
Become very strong and difficult to remove or stop.
As the fire started to take hold, people ran to escape the flames.
Sweep sth away
P.P: swept/ sweeped
(Often passive) ( of floods, a tornado,etc.) completely destroy sth.
He saw his home swept away by rising floodwater.
Wreak havoc ( on sth )
PP: wreaked / wrought
Cause a lot of damage, destruction,or confusion.
The tornado is wreaking havoc on all parts of the region.
Be/get caught up in sth
Become involved in sth undesirable.
Many tourists have been caught up in the forest fires in California.
Come to terms with sth
Gradually accept a difficult or unpleasant situation.
It’s hard to come to terms with the loss of whole communities.
In the grip of sth
Experiencing sth unpleasant that cannot be stopped.
The state of Texas is in the grip of the worst winter for 20 years.
Cave in ( on sb/sth)
(Of a roof, wall, etc.) collapse and fall.
The roof caved in on people but they were lucky to survive.
Lose your life
N: Loss of life
Be killed.
There has been no loss of life, but many have been injured.
Wipe sth/ sb out
PP: wiped
(Often passive) destroy or get rid of sth/ sb completely.
An American civilization was wiped out by earthquakes 3000 years ago.
Head for sth
SYN: make for sth
Move towards a place.
Make / head for the nearest exit quickly.
Catch sb unawares
Happen in a way that sb was not expecting and was not prepared for.
The snow caught me unawares.
I was caught unawares by the heavy snow.
Come to a standstill/halt
SYN: grind to a standstill/halt
Ground
Slowly stop completely.
Traffic ground to a standstill.
Tow sb/sth away
(Of a driver or car) pull another car using a rope or chain.
They towed the car away to the police station.
Run low
Sth is running low
Or
You are running low on sth
It means you only have a little left.
The food is running low.
We are running low on food.
