Posted on 09/20/2005 5:25:47 AM PDT by Momaw Nadon
Government officials are evaluating and revising disaster plans around the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, just as they did after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While war and automobiles kill more people than nature, find out what natural disasters top scientists’ worry lists.
#10 Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquake
Geologists know it’s just a matter of time before another 9.0 or larger earthquake strikes somewhere between Northern California and Canada. The shaking would be locally catastrophic, but the biggest threat is the tsunami that would ensue from a fault line that’s seismically identical to the one that caused the deadly 2004 tsunami in Indonesia.
#9 New York Hurricane
Major hurricanes have made direct hits on the boroughs before, but the interval between them is so long that people forget, and officials fear they might not take evacuation orders seriously. The larger problem: It would take nearly 24 hours to make a proper evacuation of New York City, but hurricanes move more swiftly as they race north, so real warning time could be just a few hours.
#8 Asteroid Impact
Scientists can’t say when the next devastating asteroid impact will occur. Odds are it won’t be for decades or centuries, but an unknown space rock could make a sucker punch any time. Many experts say planning to deal with a continent-wide catastrophe should begin now.
#7 Los Angeles Tsunami
An earthquake fault just off Southern California could generate a major quake and a $42 billion tsunami that would strike so fast many coastal residents would not have time to escape. Add to that the unprecedented destruction from the earthquake’s shaking, and the situation would be reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina.
#6 Supervolcano
It probably won’t happen for hundreds or possibly even millions of years, but nobody really knows when Yellowstone will blow again, destroying life for hundreds of miles around and burying half the country in ash up to 3 feet (1 meter) deep.
#5 Midwest Earthquake
It has been nearly two centuries since a series of three magnitude-8 quakes shook the then-sparsely populated Midwest, centered near New Madrid, Missouri. Another big one is inevitable. Now the region is heavily populated, yet building codes are generally not up to earthquake snuff. What’s more, geology east of the Rockies causes quakes to be felt across a much wider region. Shelves would rattle from Boston to South Carolina. Some homes along the Mississippi would sink into oblivion.
#4 Heat Waves
Heat waves kill more U.S. residents than any other natural disaster. As many as 10,000 people have died in past events. As urban areas get hotter, electricity systems are strained and the population ages, the risk grows.
#3 East Coast Tsunami
It seems no coast is immune to the threat of tsunami. For the Eastern United States, the likeliest scenario is waves kicked up by an asteroid splashing into the ocean. Astronomers already have their eye on one rock that could hit in the distant future, but the cosmos could hold a surprise, too.
#2 Gulf Coast Tsunami
A fault line in the Caribbean has generated deadly tsunamis before. Up to 35 million people could be threatened by one in the not-to-distant future, scientists say.
#1 Total Destruction of Earth
Okay, so nobody is spending too much time worrying about what to do if the planet is annihilated, but at least one person has seriously pondered whether and when it could happen. From being sucked into a black hole to being blown up by an antimatter reaction, there are scientifically plausible risks of an event that would render this whole list moot.
Rats, I didn't type fast enough... 2 seconds.
Hampton Roads Virginia is pretty safe. It would take an very big asteroid or super volcano in the West to cause us much harm – and at that we would be among the last to go.
DOOMED!!!!
Any one of these disasters would involve a great conturbation to our country ;)
"Women and minorities hardest hit..."
What? No disaster around the Great Lakes?
Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit aren't disasters enough for you? ;~))
Detroit, Cleveland.
Only because of the two white Russian cosmonauts tending the space station in orbit when it hits.
Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit aren't disasters enough for you? ;~))
ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!! That's FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!! (from someone born and raised in Buffalo)
What? No disaster around the Great Lakes? I'm deeply saddened that our area is left out of disaster predicitions like this . . . . .
They forgot lake-effect snow. You know... leaving us looking like a scene from The Day After Tomorrow.
I thought global warming/cooling (depends on what kook group was predicting at the time) and the populaton bomb were suppossed to have ended life on earth years ago. At least that's what the doom sayers in the 1970s were predicting.
"#1 Total Destruction of Earth"
NY Times: "Impact greatest on minorities. Bush administration to blame."
#11 - Hillary in the Whitehouse
All Bush's fault.
I'm west of Lake Michigan, so I don't even think about those cities . . .
Now if Lake Michigan would rise to meet the Mississippi River, that would be a disaster of biblical proportions (at least in my neck of the woods).
We on the west side of Lake Michigan just don't seem to get much lake effect snow anymore (famous last words).
East Central New Mexico is supposed to be the safest place.
The Great Lakes is a very safe area to live in, virtually immune to all natural disasters. Tornadoes are a rare occurence in this are usually only having one or two in a given 50 mile area every year or so. The threat of a super volcano doesn't stretch far enough to effect the great lakes nor does a massive earth quake.
The only threat is flooding which is usually weak and only comes every 10 years or so.
How about Milwaukee? ;~))
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