What natural disasters lurk where you live?

[CBGLuthier]

Some have suggested that people should not live on the gulf coast because of hurricanes.

In the interest of finding a safe place for us all to live please list the dangers of your neck of the woods.

I live in Oklahoma, In fact I am sitting about 500 feet from the path of the 1999 F5 tornado. Obviously, I must get the hell out of this dangerous place.

[KyndCulture]

1. I'm about an hour south of Canada... there's always a blizzard

that could wipe us all out...

Guess we should clear out the state of Minnesota.

[SteppingRazor]

6. I live in Florida -- nuff said.

But I grew up in California (earthquakes, massive wildfires), then moved to Colorado (blizzard), then went to college in Missouri (tornados) and finally moved here (hurricanes) after college.

I have experienced first-hand all the weather mentioned in the parentheses, and have come to the concluion that it takes more than an Act of God to kill me :evilgrin:

[hippiechick]

2. Ice storms in winter, tornados in summer and the New Madrid fault

.... Indiana's just a barrel of joy .... :(

[QC]

3. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding.

But most of the time it's real nice here.

[Catch22Dem]

4. I'm in Okla. too...

:toast:

[huskerlaw]

5. Nebraska

has tornados, blizzards, and most of this part of the state is on a 100 year flood plain.

In 2 weeks, Los Angeles. Hmm, let's see...earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, floods, the dreaded rolling blackout...am I forgetting anything?

[Demobrat]

38. Riots.

Serial killers. Smog alerts (days when it is not advisable to breathe the air unless absolutely necessary).

[Corgigal]

7. I live near Charleston SC

so I can have a hurricane, earthquake or tornado. I had a high F2 tornado hit my home several years back and that wasn't suppose to happen here.

[tridim]

8. I don't live there, but I've worried about the New Madrid fault

for a long time.. When the big one hits, structures like the St. Louis Arch will come down.

[elehhhhna]

9. The Bush Family.

(Houston). As my daughter (11) said of BeeazulBarb & GW "What caused her to conjure such a Demon?"

[ken_g]

10. I grew up in Sacramento, parents from Kansas and Oklahoma..

When I was young we never thought about tornadoes. This year we had more tornadoes than Oklahoma by May I think(F1). Weird, global warming?

BTW, Sacramento is at the convergence of 2 rivers and is below their level and protected by 140 year old levies. NO PROBLEMS THERE!

[Caoimhe]

11. Central Oregon

Maybe Earthquake, more likely a volcanic eruption. Flash floods/gully washers happen on occasion but nothing floods for long. Wildfires are a yearly joy. We got lots of ash from Mt St Helens here, but it would have to be Mt Hood or Mt Jefferson to really cause us much concern. Psst..its pretty safe here... don't tell anyone!

[Blue Belle]

35. Central Oregon should also keep focused on the 3 Sisters...

and Crater Lake/ Mt. Mazama. The North Sister (I think.. I can't remeber which one) has started to develop a lava bulge similar to Mt. St. Helens... and Crater Lake is still an active volcano - there is a lot earthquake activty/ volcanic activity in this region. :(

[ohio_liberal]

12. I live at the foothills of the Appalachians in Ohio

We have flash flooding, river flooding, the occasional monster snowstorm, and someday the experts predict we will have some kind of major earthquake.

[pinto]

13. My ex.

No sarcasm intended.

Statistically, I think it's the most common "natural" disaster most folks may face at some time or another.

[etherealtruth]

20. No sarcasm perceived ...

That's an unfortunate reality for many of us.

[IN-dem]

14. Tornados here in Indiana. But the job market is the worst disaster

[teach1st]

15. Are Canadian drivers a natural disaster?

'Cause we get them in the winter here in Cream Corn. Hurricanes in the summer, Canadian drivers in the winter, and fundy Republicans all the time, everywhere.

[Canuckistanian]

27. Hey! If you don't like our driving...

Stay out of your front yard.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

53. LOL n/t

[kcwayne]

16. GW Bush Supporters

outnumber intelligent citizens by a 2 to 1 margin in my neighborhood.

[Skidmore]

17. Tornados mainly.

[CrispyQ]

18. Front range

wildfires
flash flood
tornadoes
drought
blizzard

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Overlooking Local Disasters

[CBGLuthier]

26. Excellent cartoon

Makes the point perfectly. Thanks for posting that. :-)

[maxsolomon]

39. The Volcanos in the NW are not the danger you would assume

The have 2 possible ways of destroying things:

1. the blow up
2. the crumble & lahars spew out down the river valleys.

neither of these happen with only 3 or 4 days warning. like St. Helens did. How many people got killed? Under a 100. If Mt. Rainier goes, only 1 or 2 of the glaciers would result in significant damage, but not on the scale of Katrina.

Earthquakes are a danger if the building you're in is shit. If you live in a wood-frame house, the building flexes & rarely fails, especially if built to current lateral code.

I would rather put up with these risks than a tornado or hurricane.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

44. There is lots of valley building going on. Also, glaciers can melt fast.

[maxsolomon]

87. i don't live there & i don't recommend anyone build in those valleys

i live on a hill.

the building departments that approve construction in the path of a lahar should be criminally liable.

[Catherine Vincent]

52. Great toon and very truthful.

[RC]

21. Blizzards, tornadoes, flooding, Rove.

At one time the water was 600 feet deep where I live now.
rove was here over the weekend trying to suck money out of the well to do rightwingnuts.

[LeftyMom]

22. Sacramento is rather flood prone

but just about the only place in California that isn't over a fault line. It all balances out. :shrug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. I live 10 minutes by car from a nuclear power plant. The evacuation

plan was rejected by Pataki and FEMA approved it. There is no way that the millions of people in areas surrounding this plant could evacuate safely. There is only one major parkway that is within a 15-20 minutes drive from the plant on this side of the Hudson, all else are a few routes and mostly local streets. Not comforting at all.

BTW.. I realize that this isn't a natural disaster but it could be a very suddden and swift one if anything should happen here. This plant was on the flight path of AA flight 11 that crashed into the North Tower of the WTC. If the hijackers wished to do infinite harm to the US that would have been the real target.

[Mz Pip]

24. Earthquakes

If there is a big one in the San Francisco area it could be disasterous. Many buildings are built on landfill and they pretty much turn to jello during an earthquake. We also have a Delta region that could flood in the right circumstances; lots of levees, too.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Saphire]

25. San Antonio, flash flooding.

[Eugene]

28. A few in Eastern Mass...

Blizzards and ice storms
Hurricanes and nor'easters
Floods (plenty of rivers)
Occasional tornadoes

A major earthquake has not happened here
in 300 years. It is remote but real threat.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

70. Nor'easters....

probably the worst thing up here in the NE... I speak from experience, unfortunately... ;)

[SeattleGirl]

29. Earthquakes, volcano eruptions, flooding. n/t

[NYC]

30. Earthquake, believe it or not.

There's a fault line running crosstown in Manhattan. (But I wouldn't describe us as earthquake prone.)

[annabanana]

31. I sweat out hurricane season

on the south shore of L.I.

which really has NO evac route that doesn't take us through NYC

[Violet_Crumble]

32. Here in SE Australia it's bushfires...

I'll take that over hurricanes and tornados any day!


Violet...

[MrSlayer]

33. Nothing really too bad. Blizzards are about the worst of it.

And even they are no big deal, they serve as an excuse to take a few days off.

[leveymg]

34. Come to DC, where we're completely safe. I live 40,000 feet from this.

Sandia Labs radar image.

[Demobrat]

36. Have already survived one major quake.

I live in San Francisco. Believe it or not, the night of Katrina, I actually heard the words "they shouldn't live where there are hurricanes" come out of the mouth of one of MY NEIGHBORS.

After I picked my jaw up off the sidewalk, I responded "well, we shouldn't live in earthquake country", which got me a deer-in-the-headlights stare and a fast goodbye.

Some people just don't deserve to live in paradise.

[Blue Belle]

41. I heard the same thing... and I lived on the Oregon Coast at the time..

This guy said, "How stupid are you living in an area that is below sea level.". I just sat there in awe... I turned to the guy who said it and told him, "People are going to say the same thing about us when we're hit by a Tsunami." We've been feeling minor earthquake activity off our coast, and get issued a Tsunami warning every 3-4 months (each time revealing how UNPREPARED these communities are in terms of Mass evacuation and first responder alertness)... but hey, I'm sure all this tsunami stuff is just hype and will never happen in a million years. :eyes:

[LibDemAlways]

37. In the hills of Southern California...

earthquakes and fires are always a possibility.

[tinrobot]

40. Earthquakes, fires, mudslides... maybe tidal waves.

I'm in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has also produced such cinematic disasters as Waterworld and Ishtar.

[Blue Belle]

46. Well if we are to believe the predictions in the movie...

"The Day After Tomorrow", LA is on course to receive some wicked tornados!! :crazy:

Speaking of Cinamatic Disasters... :eyes:

[neverforget]

42. Portland, Oregon we have earthquakes. The Cascadia Subduction Zone

will kill thousands of people in Oregon and Washington when it finally lets go another 9.0 quake. Of course, there's always the freak urban wildfires, flooding and volcanoes.......

[WritingIsMyReligion]

43. Snowstorms... :D :D Had 100+in of snow last winter...

But that's the price you pay for living in Maine, of course.

RARELY hurricanes, pretty much never tornadoes... yes, I like it up here. Unfortunately, though Maine loves the income tourists bring, you could live here the rest of your life and not be a "Maine-ah." (Though the more I think on it, that could be a good thing.... :D :D) Maineiacs are born, not made.

Added on edit: I forgot Poppy's mansion in Kennebunkport, which pretty much every person down there HATES with a mad passion, so it's pretty funny. Other than that, though, it's a blue state, albeit a cold one...

Added on second edit: I forgot the mosquitoes, seriously the "state bird..." You should see how big they get! Yum, yum! :sarcasm: :D :D

[WritingIsMyReligion]

55. Since I'm sick of editing it AGAIN...

...let me just add the final thing: TOURISTS! Sorry, y'all, but being in a car behind New Yawkers, Massholes, and wild fundie Southerners AIN'T fun. (No offense to New Yawkers or Massholes. Offense to wild fundie Southerners.)

:D :D WIMR

[tinfoilinfor2005]

45. Florida Keys: hurricanes, water spouts, alligators, crocodiles,

scorpions, hang-overs and tourists. Still, it's my home and I'm here to stay.

[cassiepriam]

47. Tornado, earthquake.....

[BiggJawn]

48. 40 North, 86 West

Tornados
Flooding
Blizzards
Ice Storms
Earthquake (The New Madrid's comin', an' it's gonna be the BIG one, Lizzabeth!)
Drought
Locust
Boils
Frogs
Box Turtles
Hail (seriously, wanna good deal on a car that looks like it has Acne scars?)
and Steve Buyer...

[cynatnite]

49. Potential disasters here aren't natural...

Eastman Chemical, Holston Army Storage Depot, a battery plant and I heard there was a nuclear waste disposal place around here somewhere.

Anything happens, it'll be totally man-made. I'm in E. TN, BTW.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

50. That's a lovely thought... :) n/t

[LiberalEsto]

51. Bush, Cheney, Rove... I live near Wash. DC

We don't usually get hurricanes or big tornados or earthquakes or mudslides or tsunamis here in Rockville, Maryland.

But I live right in the flight path between the White House and Camp David, and I have to listen to the rattling helicopters of those sumbitches. Not to mention B*sh shows up at local schools to promote his neocon gobbledegook now and then.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

54. Tornados and ice storms

Actually, my area is considered relatively safe. It's not on the New Madrid Fault, which is past due for at least a 6 on the Richter Scale, and could go to beyond 8 as it did in 1811-1812.

[LittleClarkie]

56. Tornados and

Blizzards and subzero temps. We've had stranded cars in the middle of the downtown streets because of a blizzard. And 20 below without windchill is nothing to mess around with.

[Shine]

57. Earthquakes. I'm in the Monterey Bay area of California.

Danger can lurk everywhere, so the bottom line is, be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for at least 3 days after a natural disaster.....WHEREever you are...because it's obvious our damn gov't isn't gonna be much help.

Good luck finding the most perfect and "safe" place to live! ;)

~Shine

[mtnsnake]

58. I guess The Great Ice Storm of 1998

It was unreal. Day after day of continuous freezing rain, until finally everything just gave way to the weight of the ice and snapped. No power for weeks, all the roads completely clogged with downed trees, branches and power poles, no water, no communication, and it was for weeks on end like that in the middle of the coldest part of winter. Nothing but neighbor helping neighbor and a will to get through it. It was toughest on some of the older people, but the thing I felt the baddest for were the beautiful forests which took such a beating. The utilities workers who finally got to our area after a couple weeks to restore power were great. They came from all over the country and had to brave the cold weather up here.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

65. We had a '98 ice storm

here in Maine, too, but I notice your profile says you're in NY... interesting.

:D :D :D

[Jersey Devil]

59. Pissing into the wind

especially on cold days in winter with a brisk northwest wind

[youthere]

60. My sister-in-law's two children.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

66. LOL. I'd laugh harder

if I didn't think you were quite serious... what a nightmare!

[youthere]

75. Oh I'm dead serious...

I'd rather take a beating than have them come to my house.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

77. Ouch. You have my sympathy. n/t

[OnionPatch]

61. Earthquakes

I live about a mile away from the San Andreas fault! We're prepared for an emergency, we have extra water and food stashed away. But we could be better prepared for earthquakes by securing more of our furniture and wall-hangings, etc. better.

The worst part about earthquakes is that there is no warning with them. The big one could hit today! Or a hundred years from today. :shrug:

Oops, edited to add FIRE. LibDemAlways reminded me. (I live in the Southern CA hills too. :hi:) How could I forget? I think it's actually worse than the earthquake danger. Especially for my family because we live right against the national forest.

[rene moon]

62. Drought and no water

AZ experienced a super-hot summer. In June, it was 110 for about 2 weeks. 20 people died in Phoenix because of the heat.

It's 103 today on September 26!

ARGH

[WritingIsMyReligion]

68. OMFG I'd KILL myself

if I had to live through that. I can take Maine winters, but I could NEVER take that heat.

[Lindacooks]

63. Upper Midwest, tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms, floods, earthquakes,

brush fires, severe thunderstorms, lightning strikes. About the only things we don't have are hurricanes and mudslides (the latter because it's flat around here).

NO area on the face of the earth is safe from natural disasters.

[Midlodemocrat]

64. Let's see. We had a hurricane that did a lot of damage,

tornadoes, a flood that just about washed out downtown, and an earthquake.

What is that sound? I believe it is the sound of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

[Whoa_Nelly]

67. California Earthquakes

But here in the San Joaquin Valley, this is a rare event.

However, am moving back to Oklahoma where I grew up (Oklahoma City), and so tornadoes will be the happening thing. I actually love tornado season, but will definitely have a 'fraidy hole near by.

[erinlough]

69. I live next to a nuclear plant

that was supposed to be decommissioned this year (25 years) but was granted 20 more just this year. Nice huh? Oh well since we are only 3 miles away it has always been a case of "kiss your ass goodby" and the way things are going in this country.....

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

71. Supernovae?

A supernova or two in my region of the galaxy could ruin my day.

And in California where I live, earthquakes, tsunamis, brushfires, mudslides, and nuclear reactor meltdowns could be pretty bad, too.

[Ediacara]

72. I think you may be missing the point

People (scientists generally) want others to abandon homes on barrier islands and wetlands because they worsen the effects of hurricanes in cities. Building on the coast destroys the coast. Additionally, hurricanes happen with much greater frequency and with much greater impact than most other natural disasters, even earthquakes. Also, buildings can be built to withstand earthquakes, buildings cannot be built that are effectively hurricane-proof and flood proof (well, not if you want windows and doors in them they can't).

The problem is not only with the depletion of coastlines and wetlands, but with insurance. Why should people who live with minimal natural disaster risk have to pay to rebuild a home over and over and over again when it's on a barrier island in south Florida and destroyed on a regular basis? Low lying coastal and barrier island homes get destroyed with a much much greater frequency than homes in any other natural disaster risk.

That being said, I live in an area prone to earthquakes up to magnitude 8.0 with a frequency of 100 to 200 years. Additionally, there is a volcano nearby that erupts with a frequency of 100,000 to 500,000 years (I am talking about Yellowstone).

[Mr_Spock]

73. Here in NH is boring. Edgar Casey suggested it would be safe here

or so I'm told. I've been told second hand (don't hit me if the info is bad) that highland areas here in NH and other inland areas are safe from the upcoming flooding. I know we almost never get Hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, wild fires, volcanos, excessive heat, pollution, poisoned water, lightning deaths, etc etc etc... EEE from mosquitos is an issue though.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

76. Maine's just like that...

...safer than most places, thank gosh.

[Mr_Spock]

78. It just get's cold up here.

Having a true four seasons isn't for everybody :D

[mandyky]

74. We get tornadoes occassionally

and small earthquakes. Flooding also if it rains a lot.

[philosophie_en_rose]

79. Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Snowstorms, Smog..

That's at school. During breaks, I only run the risks of tsunami and earthquakes. :P

[sakabatou]

80. Earthquakes, possible flooding

[BringEmOn]

81. Mayor Jim West

...or, maybe that's an unnatural disaster. Well, you did say "lurk."

[mvd]

82. Southeastern PA gets..

* some tornadoes

* flooding (though I'm on higher ground)

* remnants of hurricanes and slight risk of direct strike

[MiniMe]

83. Washington, DC - no natural disasters, unless you consider *........

a natural disaster. Now that I think of it.........

[CBGLuthier]

84. there is nothing natural about that creature nt

[all.of.me]

85. wildfires

last time this question was asked, i said we didn't have any, but then i thought about it. duh... wildfires. northern new mexico.

[Cleita]

86. There really is no one hundred percent safe place anywhere,

however, there are certain things you shouldn't do, like build a home on a cliff on the coast of California. In the rainy season they fall down because there isn't anything there to hold what is a sea of mud when the ground gets saturated, so that's kind of asking for it.

Besides mudslides, there are earthquakes and fires.

[shanti]

88. sacramento valley....floods

and rarely at that. we aren't really affected by fires or earthquakes like areas east and west of sacramento.

[TrogL]

89. some of the houses are built on unstable ground

They built on the river's edge for the view. They forgot about erosion.