Birdie and the earthquake

Published: 01 August 2023

Watch the video of Birdie and the earthquake to help young children learn about and cope with earthquakes and tsunamis.
Birdie and the earthquake

Transcript

This is Birdie. Birdie is a happy bird who likes to sing.

She lives in a nest in a tall tree on a mountain near the ocean.

Birdie feels cosy and safe in her nest high up above the ground.

She likes to talk with her friend Mr Frog.

Mr Frog lives in a pond with green lily pads.

One day when Birdie was looking for worms, she felt a strange shaking in the ground.

At first it was just a little shake but then the whole earth started to move and groan!

Birdie lost her balance and fell in the pond with a splash. Birdie flew back up to her nest and looked around.

All the birds were chattering and chirping. The insects were buzzing! The trees were wobbling and swaying.

Birdie had to hold on tight. Bang, crash! The nearby buildings were shaking and falling down.

It was an earthquake. Birdie was very frightened. She flew off to find a safe place.

Birdie and Mr frog found shelter in a cave high up in the mountain.

There were other birds and animals in the cave. They were chattering and screeching to each other. It was very noisy!

There was lots of dust. As the ground rumbled and shook, more dust kept falling from the roof.

Birdie and Mr Frog didn't like all the noise and the dust and the shaking. They hugged each other and closed their eyes tight.

Tap tap tap. Birdie was surprised to be tapped on the shoulder.

When she turned around she saw her friend Pellie who lived on the rocks down near the beach.

Pellie had a bandage around his beak. Pellie told her that down at the beach there were giant waves. They were huge.

The lifeguard had told everyone it was a tsunami, and they must go up the mountain to a safe place.

The monster waves crashed on the beach. They swept away the playground and the cars, the trees and the houses.

Pellie had to fly away as fast as he could. He hurt his beak helping the Seagull family.

The earthquake stopped and the ground was still and quiet.

They all peeped out of the cave. What a mess!

Pellie flew up high. Broken houses. Stinking mud. Sticks and branches everywhere. Nothing left!

The monster waves and the earthquake had stopped but there was mess everywhere.

Lots of people came to help. They came in boats and trucks and helicopters, in fire trucks, ambulances, diggers and police cars.

There were soldiers and police officers, doctors and firefighters. They came to clean and fix and plant.

They brought food to eat.

Dig dig dig went the shovels, chop chop chop went the blades of the helicopters.

Munch munch went Birdie and Pelly and Mr Frog.

The helpers were kind and knew what to do. They fixed everything even Pellie's beak!

Soon the trees and bushes started to grow and the people and animals and birds came back.

Birdie and Mr Frog and Pellie felt safe and happy again.


  • Audience General public
  • FormatVideo
  • LanguageEnglish
  • Last updated18 August 2023

Details

This video helps young children:

  • learn what happens in an earthquake and who can help
  • learn that earthquakes can cause tidal waves and tsunamis
  • work through sad or scary feelings
  • understand they will feel safe and happy again.

There's also an Auslan translation of Birdie and the earthquake.