RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

I have only lived in 3 areas.
A country town in NSW, Australia - I was born there - however there was very little work there.
Blue Mountains, Australia - For work (the major problem is bushfires)
Sydney, Australia - For work and I married a local girl. There are no major problems except it can be be very hot in summer.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

Because!!!.
Bill

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

A couple of thoughts... Katrina was under the Bush administration (4 election cycles ago) and if one actually looks, there was as much state and local government ineptitude as there was federal. As for Puerto Rico, while my heart bleeds for the people affected there, to be fair, there was an almost non-existant power grid, corrupt local officials, archaic and convoluted communication system, and an infrastructure that was crumbling long before the hurricane hit. Most of the U.S. has infrastructure that ONLY needs to be repaired after disaster, not replace completely. While the human toll in Puerto Rico was/is horrible, as for disaster relief in recent times, I would consider it an outlier.

Often people who are not of the states do not understand the vastness of our land mass. A tornado (even an F5) might only be a mile wide at most and will stay on the ground for seldom more than a couple of miles. SO a big tornado will affect 8-10 square miles. Do you know how many square miles are in Oklahoma alone? You have a better chance of winning the lotto here than getting struck by a tornado in your lifetime.

As for hurricanes. I can speak for Florida, but I imagine that it is the same with building codes all along hurricane areas. New construction is designed to withstand the onslaught of a major hurricane. I saw it first hand in the Florida keys last year. Major hurricane, direct hit, and while there was damage, most buildings of newer construction withstood the onslaught and the area was up and running within the week. The old buildings/infrasturcture was demolished and has now been replaced with new. This is ongoing and will happen again.

People make all kinds of choices for all kinds of reasons. But I am sure from a distance some of this makes no sense, but here in the states, scale is way different than it is in Europe or GB. The 24 hour news cycle will show damage way beyond scale for long periods of time simply to fill the cycle......Just my opinion

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Well, my perspective is that in trade for the occasional natural disaster, there are many decades of living in delightful surroundings. Of course there are limits. I live in the central piedmont of NC, and we are about to be visited by a very destructive hurricane. Where I reside, approximately 150 miles inland, we have a serious hurricane that makes it this far inland every 20-30 years, or maybe 2-3 time in a lifetime, and while it can be extremely unpleasant during the recovery, it typically only lasts a short while, and the remainder of the time we are blessed with rolling hills, a relatively moderate climate (although hot and humid for some of the summer) and an abundance of lovely green trees. In fact, flying into our city, you are struck with the extremely dense forests that cover a large portion of the city.

Personally, I live on heavily forested land, and while in times like this (our last bad hurricane hit was 1996) we fear having a tree hit our house, the remainder of the time we enjoy the pastoral setting, the shade, birds, wildlife and tranquility of the forest. As I write this, I have 2 chainsaws, a generator, and all the provisions necessary to survive for a week or two “off the grid”. It’s like waiting for a battle to begin, because hurricanes are not quick, but long and relentless. Unpleasant, but I am reminded that it has been 22 years since the last similar event. Of course, we could cut down all the large trees except ornamentals near our home (as migrants from the Midwest often do), but the advantages seem worth the trade off of the occasional accident. Knowing that karma is a bitch and enjoys punishing hubris, I expect a hundred foot Poplar to land on my house in the next few days 😳. We have also had two tornadoes hit our city in the last 30 or so years, but I’m not aware that anywhere in the US is immune to them although some araeas do experience more - they are relatively random events and difficult to predict.

The other consideration is that the majority of the US population lives on the east or west coast, so resettlement inland of 150 million people is hardly feasible. On the other hand, I would not build a new house facing the beach on the coast of NC, but many do. In fact, we have just sold our condo at the beach that we have owned for over 40 years. We (and our children and grandchildren) have had thousands of wonderful hours at the coast, but I felt it was time, partly influenced by the projected sea level rise and climate change. The new owners, who have only owned it a few months , are now facing a potentially very damaging storm - karma again.

Finally, I think Big Sur, on the California coast, is one of the most beautiful spots on earth, and I am glad that we and our children have seen it, because, sadly, California is overdue for a large earthquake. Why do people still live there? I imagine they think the beauty is worth the occasional but potentially catastrophic risk.

Sorry for the long response, but questions such as the ones you pose, are very much on our minds as we await the storm.

therwol Loc: USA

I can't think of any place in the US that isn't prone to some natural disaster at some time or which may not have the resources to support a large population of people. The biggest threat for a large number of people in the US and globally will be rising sea levels, and all coastal cities, London included, may soon be underwater. As far as flooding in the UK is concerned, it can be rather severe. I've spent time visiting the north and have seen the results of flooding in Carlisle and Cockermouth where water depths were on the order of 8 feet. Should people in the UK consider moving elsewhere? Where? You can't really blame insurance companies for not insuring properties that have flooded in the past. If they did, they wouldn't stay in business.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

For those who continue to stay in or return to "disaster" areas, I would say it's where home is. They have history, family, and roots there. I was born in NYC in a tenement neighborhood. Both my parents were immigrants. With the exception of 7 years in the Marines. I have always lived in the city. I am as you say a "defeatist" I retired in Dec. of 2017 and will soon declare residency in New Hampshire. We will put the brownstone in a trust. Adjust all revenue streams to New Hampshire institutions and be drawing from those accounts. NYC may not have all the disasters you mentioned. However, it is becoming a disaster zone. The political situation is ridiculous. . If you spend a generation or two on every on every entitlement program on the planet you are the new hero. There is a zero level of expectation that you will never be able to support your self. Do not let that concern you. The taxpayer will continue to take care of you. If you are a success (thank you mama and papa) you are the
bad guy. We and our tax dollars are NH bound. The brownstone will be for family times during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also for a quick city fix.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The northeast US appears to have the least propensity for any natural disaster.
(Given the fact that they can occur anywhere.)

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

I live in an area where tornados are common. But it is just a storm and the odds are in your favor to never encounter one in your lifetime unless you go looking for them.

One can spend their lives living in fear of the could be and miss out on life altogether. Key to survival on this planet is always be aware of your natural environment. Read the signs that nature gives and take heed if you need to.

If everyone believed as you do we would all be crammed in a very little space we deemed safe and what fun would that be. Part of living is being in charge of ones own life and we chose to live where we do for a number of reasons that can't be explained.

If you live in a city you have more to fear from other people than nature.

I saw a few posts on climate change in this thread and is another thing people can chose to worry about and have no control over even though some think they can control it. The earth goes through cycles of warming and cooling and man as vain as he is thinks he knows the cause and can reverse it. Good luck with that. Makes me wonder what our leaders and experts would have done about 1 mile thick ice sheets and who they would blame for that...

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Reading through the new posts, I think the "comparative vastness" is one key to understanding. I mentioned California earthquakes, but didn't touch on Seattle's proximity to Mount Rainier. Talk about disaster waiting to happen! Yet, for how many generations have people enjoyed the scenery, the waters of Puget Sound, the moderate climate and mostly robust economy there (and yes, they've had earthquakes too). Since there are so many areas of potential natural disaster in the U.S., involving many millions of people, and with the majority of those people having only rarely, if ever, been directly affected, we just shrug our shoulders and get on with life.

btw, tiny Yakima, where I've lived since 2002, was hugely affected by the airborne ash from the Mt Saint Helens eruption 150 miles away (and 20 years before I moved here). But it has recovered, to be among other things, the Hops Growing Capital of the U.S.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

[quote=Linda From Maine]Reading through the new posts, I think the "comparative vastness" is one key to understanding. I mentioned California earthquakes, but didn't touch on Seattle's proximity to Mount Rainier. Talk about disaster waiting to happen! Yet, for how many generations have people enjoyed the scenery, the waters of Puget Sound, the moderate climate and mostly robust economy there (and yes, they've had earthquakes too). Since there are so many areas of potential natural disaster in the U.S., involving many millions of people, and with the majority of those people having only rarely, if ever, been directly affected, we just shrug our shoulders and get on with life.

And let's not forget that most of the U.S. east and west coast cities and suburbs were established well before anyone even knew much about hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes. Erik Larson wrote a great book named, "Isaac's Storm" about a 1900 hurricane that devastated Galvaston. He details the status of hurricane prediction that was pretty much non-existent even as late as 1900, the year of that event. Meteorologists didn't even know hurricanes rotated until the 1920's. As Linda and others stated, America is so vast, the odds of your being in a catastrophic event were incredibly low and it's because of today's mass communications that these events seem so frequent. However, people who build houses right at the edge of the ocean where hurricanes and major storms routinely alter the shoreline can't claim ignorance or a low chance of suffering damage...to a certain degree, they deserve what they get in their quest to own expensive waterfront real estate. I might add that one attraction to New England where she and I live, is a lack of catastrophic weather, wildfire or geologic events.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

People tend to stay in the area where they are born. Tornado Alley covers thousands of square miles. Most people in this area never experience a tornado. As for hurricanes, those are usually coastal events. In the U. S., 30% of the population lives near the coast, but relatively few are devastated by hurricanes. I live in the Catskill Mountains, and although we get hurricanes, and one destroyed our roof six years ago, the weather hasn't caused significant problems in the fifty-two years I've lived here.

If I did have to live in Tornado Alley, the first thing I would do is build an underground shelter and hope I was home when the tornado hit. : )

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

[quote=fourlocks]

I spent at least two weeks in CA and was disappointed that I didn't experience so much as a single tremor.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

If by "she" you mean moi, I only lived in New England, off and on, for about half of my life. But I was there in the late 1990's for the horrendous ice storm in Maine, and my brother and sister-in-law lived in Mass. during the blizzard of the mid-1970's.

Jerry, sorry you missed out on experiencing an earthquake! Though I lived in San Francisco Bay area for 10 years, the worst I was in was still very moderate, and nothing even fell off the shelves. But it's no fun to not know how strong it will be, or how long will last, and whether it's just the beginning of several.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Tornados are small scale disasters that for the most part occur in prime farming areas that are relatively sparsely populated.

That would include the entire eastern seaboard of the North American continent.

You want absolute safety? Move to the desert areas of the American West. The only problem is that there is relatively little water, little agriculture, searing summer heat. Do you need more reasons not to live there?

"Lives at risk" is relative. I'd rather be here that in a country with massive influx of possible terrorists and subject to a socialist leaning government structure.


We are all absolutely connected to our environment no matter where you work.


This we agree on. The barrier islands and immediate costal areas should be left undeveloped or not redeveloped after one of these beasts. How big the buffers needs to be should depend on topography and historical data.



Oh and yes the best reason to live with all the dangers is the tremendous opportunity to photograph crazy weather phenomena.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

My parents lived in Oklahoma City (tornado alley) their entire lives... (My dad passed away at 93 and mom at 90) and neither ever saw or was struck by a tornado... We were within 10-15 miles (Oklahoma City Metro covers roughly 6359 square miles.. so a tornado sighted in "Oklahoma City" might not even cause rain storms in other parts. Having said that, I lived in Oklahoma city from 1952 until Feb. 1995 and saw 20 or 30 tornados.. but I did a lot of spotting for local media and worked for the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman Oklahoma (University of Oklahoma Campus). So my sightings numbers are skewed. Many people in Oklahoma may see severe storms but, I would guess that far more people in the United States are affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, brush fires, etc. Yes, Oklahoma has tornados, but a tornado is generally less than a mile wide and is rarely on the ground more than 20-30 miles... and Oklahoma is still about 60% farm/pasture, ranch or rural so short of living in Moore, a large area being hit by a tornado is less than being struck by lightning. You have a better chance of drowning in Oklahoma than dying in a tornado. I'm sure many of the other places in "Tornado Alley" have similar experiences.