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Which natural disaster do you fear the most?

Most feared natural disaster

  • Avalanche

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Earthquake

    Votes: 15 19.7%

  • Volcanic Eruption

    Votes: 4 5.3%

  • Flood

    Votes: 5 6.6%

  • Tsunami

    Votes: 9 11.8%

  • Tornado

    Votes: 17 22.4%

  • Hurricane

    Votes: 3 3.9%

  • Wildfire

    Votes: 2 2.6%

  • Space Rock Impact

    Votes: 12 15.8%

  • Other (Note in comments)

    Votes: 8 10.5%
  • Total voters
    76
SilentPanda

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Oct 8, 2002
9,997
33
The Bamboo Forest
Your answer needn't be based on your locale. Pretend you live in an area where any natural disaster is possible (you really should move if that's the case :)).

Also, got any stories about being in one?
 
I have an active vulcano in my backyard so that concerns me a bit, it didn't before and the vulcano was never active (As far as they know) but the last 6 months it became active, spewing ashes although not a lot and sulphur gases.
 
I'd probably say an earthquake but most of the other disasters you listed have some sort notice of approach. That notice may be short but all in all there's enough warning for most of those disaster to try to get to safety.

An earthquake on the other hand just hits and there's really no place safe to go, other then trying to get outside away from everything shaking and falling.
 
maflynn said:
I'd probably say an earthquake but most of the other disasters you listed have some sort notice of approach. That notice may be short but all in all there's enough warning for most of those disaster to try to get to safety.

An earthquake on the other hand just hits and there's really no place safe to go, other then trying to get outside away from everything shaking and falling.
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I saw a program last week about the Japanese earthquake 2 years ago, they seem to have found a way to detect them before they hit, the atmosphere above the area where the Epi centre was changed days or weeks before, normally there was some kind of activity in the atmosphere which was higher during day time than nighttime, but the days/weeks before the big one hit saw much higher values during nighttime above that area.
Can't recall the gas or phenomena involved though.
 
Tornado because in the list they are fairly common and destructive. A space rock might wipe us out, but the odds are much less than a vortex...
 
maflynn said:
I'd probably say an earthquake but most of the other disasters you listed have some sort notice of approach. That notice may be short but all in all there's enough warning for most of those disaster to try to get to safety.

An earthquake on the other hand just hits and there's really no place safe to go, other then trying to get outside away from everything shaking and falling.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. You get warnings for all of the other natural disaster, but not earthquakes.
 
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Where I live. Nothing really.

If anything was possible? Godzilla attack. Or aliens. They always seemed to cause the biggest mess in Sim City.
 
I can't say I actively fear any of them. But I'd least want to subject myself to living in an area prone to tsunamis. The other natural disasters either carry some degree of warning (volcano, hurricane, wildfire, flood) or can be prevented (bombing an avalanche prone slope) or the danger reduced through building standards (earthquake resistant buildings, tornado shelters) or you can't do anything about no matter what (meteor strike.) But with a tsunami, when a bad one hits if you're in its path no prior preparation would let you ride it out, you might only have a few minutes to get to higher ground for safety, and they're incredibly destructive and deadly.

What about sinkholes? In certain areas, they can happen without any warning and can be deadly.

And drought? Very deadly in some areas, highly destructive to property and economics in other areas. I wouldn't be surprised if drought is the most damaging of all natural disasters.

Landslide. Disease outbreak. Excessive heat. Ice storm. Derecho. Dragon swallowing the Sun.
 
We fear mild drizzle in july the most over here in the UK. Also chilly winds and partial cloud cover.
 
We're subject to earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanoes. I guess space rocks too, technically. And tsunamis in a locally peripheral way.

We don't 'fear' them... but we respect 'em and prepare for them.

Our region is also annually impacted by floods and avalanches (several dead people this year). And while we technically don't get 'hurricanes' here, we do regularly get hit by winter storms that pack hurricane force winds. Sometimes a few times a year. All we need now are rocks from space, eh?
 
We had 2 very unusual earthquakes in Maryland within the past 3 years, the first one was like train rolling through the house, the second was much stronger and not as linear, just awful. So earthquake is number 2 for me.

Hurricanes, --seen plenty here, including a category 3 (but 2 when it went straight across the island we were on) in the Bahamas which created a great deal of damage.

But number 1 would easily be "Other" - a Derecho. Last summer we had a huge one roll through with straight-line hurricane force winds and it was the scariest natural thing I've lived through so far. There were outriders first, winds which drove debris ahead of the main event and it was like hordes of wolves running up the side of the house and over the roof, all the thumping and clicking of twigs, acorns, sand, branches, was like claws. Then we could hear the really strong wind approaching several minutes before it hit --it bowed the new (locked) double-paned windows inward letting wind gusts into the room, it blew the curtains out 90º. The house just felt hammered. The dogs were rather nervous before the derecho arrived. Augh, horrible. I can still taste adrenalin thinking about it.
 
No fear here. Would be very uncommon occurrence where I live. We get the very odd tornado warning every several years, but if prepared, it takes away the fear for me.

P.S. No hero here, just know that when the time comes, nothing will stop it.
 
firedept said:
No fear here. Would be very uncommon occurrence where I live. We get the very odd tornado warning every several years, but if prepared, it takes away the fear for me.

P.S. No hero here, just know that when the time comes, nothing will stop it.
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I know from experience that tornado warnings are only issued the moment the weatherman spots the weird shapes on the doppler radar, which can sometimes be a few minutes after it's touched down and already knocking houses over. And even when they're issued, people don't take them nearly as seriously as they should, because they always seem to be somewhere else.

...until they're not.

That's what's so scary about tornadoes. You can tell when conditions are favorable for one, but they're impossible to predict otherwise. In fact, when my town got hit by one almost two years ago to the day, we didn't even get a take shelter warning come over the news or weather radio. It wasn't even mentioned until after it was gone.
 
andalusia said:
Tsunami's. They're so powerful, so devastating, bloody scary and nothing would stop one. Yeesh.
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One thing about tsunamis is that you at least have a warning. Either you are close enough to feel the earthquake and to then head of high ground. Or if the earthquake was too far to feel then there will be warnings issued. You still come back to devastation... but with some preparation you will have time to save yourself.
 
Around here, a major hurricane like Sandy we had several months ago. I luckily had no damage. Can't say that for some of my unlucky neighbors.

One of my unlucky neighbors
 

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In my area, not too worried about hurricanes or earthquakes or volcanoes...

So I guess, flu epidemic or other such disease outbreak. Especially with our current global economy, anything that starts could easily spread worldwide very quickly, so many movies have illustrated.
 
Other

The continued pattern of evolution where humans can no longer form rational thoughts.


Sorry, I just came from the PRSI
 
Hurricanes? I sat on my front porch watching the birds fly backwards during the last hurricane. Tornadoes? Worst thing that happened to me during a tornado was a house dropping on my mother-in-law.;) Earthquake... felt a few of those on a sky trip to California; made it easier to stir the hot cocoa.:D Fire? Puh-lease.:rolleyes: Nah... the only thing that can scare me anymore is...

54Godzilla.jpg


Nothing says brown trousers time like a neigh indestructible monster stomping through downtown breathing radioactive fire.
 
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