The game is played by two teams with the teacher acting as the pitcher who asks questions to students. When students correctly answer the questions, they move to the next base.

"I can remember in grade school that we often used the baseball format as a way to practice spelling words," recalls Jon DeMartino, UHL writer and creative consultant, who developed Disaster Baseball. "It was a lot more fun than writing lists of words, and being able to stand up and move around the room from base to base was always a welcome break."

Questions cover a variety of emergencies, from tornados to floods, blizzards to earthquakes, and many more.

"The students loved the game, and the teachers in general thought it was a great way to discuss and review safety issues," says Peggy Nelson, Weber guidance counselor. "Mrs. Kurtz (Weber teacher) said they played the game for an hour and the kids wanted to keep going."

Content for the Disaster Baseball questions comes from governmental policies and recommendations. Jon wrote questions that the students can relate to, including the following:

Q: On a flooded road, how much water does it take to actually wash a car away? One foot? Two feet? Twelve feet?

A: Just one foot of rushing water will cause most cars to float. Two feet of rushing water will carry away most SUVs and even pickup trucks. (Reference: FEMA)

"I tried to write the more difficult questions in a way that still allows for a calculated guess by the batter," Jon adds. "I think the students will have fun with this game and will learn a lot about disaster preparedness."

UHL expects to partner with a University of Iowa group to market the game.