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So Mt. Ranier is a volcano. I am 64 years old and I had never heard that until a few minutes ago when I read your post. All these years I was thinking Mt. Ranier is nothing more than the highest mountain in the State of Washington and I never gave it a 2nd thought. I never ever dreamed Mt. Rainier is also a volcano. That one caught me by surprise. Thank you for that little tid-bit of information.
I'm certain you've heard of Mt St. Helens. It's part of the same mountain range as Rainier (Cascades). These do blow their tops every few hundred years or so. It's just a matter of time.
Yes, the odds of you being hit by a really bad one is pretty rare. A tornado like a Moore, OK or Joplin or Plainfield that cause immense devastation and huge death tolls and injuries only happen once every few years. Because much of the Midwest and southeast is rural land with sparse populations, it would make sense people specifically aren't affected by tornadoes as much, because again they do impact a smaller area and the biggest casualty will normally be crops. Like you said though, Oklahoma, north Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, and Alabama are still a hotbed for tornadoes, and while the odds of one hitting you specifically in a specific city/town even in those states is slim, being hit by a bad one is very much so possible. It's big enough a risk that most people in these places, if they don't have a basement, they literally have a tornado shelter made for precaution, just like houses in parts of Florida are raised above the ground to prevent against flooding from a hurricane.
Well, I do want to point out that "most people" in these areas do not have a tornado shelter, and depending on soil types and frost line, many do not have basements. Such shelters generally cost about $5000 and that is one reason why most people don't have them. Also, much of the soil in these regions is clay, making building below ground shelters, or basements, difficult and problematic. https://www.seeker.com/storm-shelter...767554202.html
For instance, in the small city of Moore, OK (pop 55,000) there are about 3000 "safe rooms," cellars, or storm shelters. (Typical numbers/ratio for Oklahoma - lower in other areas such as the Tyler, TX metro area where I live.) https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22619929
Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas have around 150 state sponsored shelters. Texas has 49. In Oklahoma City, between 10 and 20 percent of homes have a designated safe room or shelter.
For tornadoes at the low end of the scale - 90 percent of them are under an F2 - taking shelter under some stairs or in a bathtub is generally more than adequate, so people are loathe to take on the additional cost and hassle.
For instance, I live in NE Texas and have for 25 years. I know one family who has an "official" storm shelter. I don't know any families who have a basement (due to the soil type and frost line, building a basement in this area - and much of the south - is not feasible). I myself don't have either. But what I DO have - and what I made sure was in this home when we bought it, so it is a consideration, just not a burning issue - is a small, windowless interior room. Actually I have two of them - a large space under my stairs and a tiny powder room right in the middle of the house. That's where I have gone the two times a tornado was close enough by to get even me into shelter mode.
I have an irrational fear of Earthquakes I think. They terrify me because while they're infrequent, they're unpredictable. I had experienced several tiny ones on the east coast, but in Feb. 2018, I experienced a significant one (and some after shocks) while in Mexico City. It was a nightmare. The "early detection" system gave us about 30 seconds at 1am to wake up, get shoes on, and make it down the stairs from our 7th floor of our airbnb across from Alameda during one of the aftershocks. We made it as far as getting out of bed before we felt everything shake. Also, this was less than 6 months removed from the devastating Mexico earthquakes of September '17, so there was a sense of panic all over the place. It was an awful experience and I can't imaging being there when an extremely destructive one takes place.
The rest of the disasters generally have a greater level of predictability, a smaller impact zone, are obvious as far as where the threat is generally located (Volcanoes), or all/some combination of the above. So yeah, earthquakes are an easy pick for me.
Well, I do want to point out that "most people" in these areas do not have a tornado shelter, and depending on soil types and frost line, many do not have basements. Such shelters generally cost about $5000 and that is one reason why most people don't have them. Also, much of the soil in these regions is clay, making building below ground shelters, or basements, difficult and problematic. https://www.seeker.com/storm-shelter...767554202.html
For instance, in the small city of Moore, OK (pop 55,000) there are about 3000 "safe rooms," cellars, or storm shelters. (Typical numbers/ratio for Oklahoma - lower in other areas such as the Tyler, TX metro area where I live.) https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22619929
Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas have around 150 state sponsored shelters. Texas has 49. In Oklahoma City, between 10 and 20 percent of homes have a designated safe room or shelter.
For tornadoes at the low end of the scale - 90 percent of them are under an F2 - taking shelter under some stairs or in a bathtub is generally more than adequate, so people are loathe to take on the additional cost and hassle.
For instance, I live in NE Texas and have for 25 years. I know one family who has an "official" storm shelter. I don't know any families who have a basement (due to the soil type and frost line, building a basement in this area - and much of the south - is not feasible). I myself don't have either. But what I DO have - and what I made sure was in this home when we bought it, so it is a consideration, just not a burning issue - is a small, windowless interior room. Actually I have two of them - a large space under my stairs and a tiny powder room right in the middle of the house. That's where I have gone the two times a tornado was close enough by to get even me into shelter mode.
Interesting, and I had no idea. I just know in Kansas where I have family, most people have shelters/basements. In Texas, especially closer to the gulf, it would also make sense less people have basements because of hurricanes/flooding, which I'm sure is an issue there.
Interesting, and I had no idea. I just know in Kansas where I have family, most people have shelters/basements. In Texas, especially closer to the gulf, it would also make sense less people have basements because of hurricanes/flooding, which I'm sure is an issue there.
Thanks but the main reasons that most people in Texas don't have basements is because of the frost line and soil type.
Lots of people don't realize that which is why I point it out often.
I have an irrational fear of Earthquakes I think. They terrify me because while they're infrequent, they're unpredictable. I had experienced several tiny ones on the east coast, but in Feb. 2018, I experienced a significant one (and some after shocks) while in Mexico City. It was a nightmare. The "early detection" system gave us about 30 seconds at 1am to wake up, get shoes on, and make it down the stairs from our 7th floor of our airbnb across from Alameda during one of the aftershocks. We made it as far as getting out of bed before we felt everything shake. Also, this was less than 6 months removed from the devastating Mexico earthquakes of September '17, so there was a sense of panic all over the place. It was an awful experience and I can't imaging being there when an extremely destructive one takes place.
The rest of the disasters generally have a greater level of predictability, a smaller impact zone, are obvious as far as where the threat is generally located (Volcanoes), or all/some combination of the above. So yeah, earthquakes are an easy pick for me.
I wouldn't say it's an irrational fear, it seems pretty logical to me for exactly the reason you laid out--they are very unpredictable.
There is often plenty of warning before a hurricane. Blizzards aren't known to kill people and tornadoes usually have a very narrow path. Even volcanoes give hints before they blow.
Your experience in Mexico sounds terrifying and I couldn't imagine having that one; glad you made it out of there.
Totally agree that earthquakes are something to fear in terms of natural disasters.
Interesting, and I had no idea. I just know in Kansas where I have family, most people have shelters/basements. In Texas, especially closer to the gulf, it would also make sense less people have basements because of hurricanes/flooding, which I'm sure is an issue there.
Kansas does build basements frequently. Oklahoma and Texas don't. Here in Oklahoma they tell us several things about basements.
1) Unless you go to the expense of a reinforced basement roof........they aren't all that safe. So they are building "safe rooms" above ground these days.
2) Kathryn mentioned the frost line in Texas. Frost line is much shallower in Texas and Oklahoma than in Kansas north. Up there they might as well build a basement because they have to dig so much deeper.
That is unnecessary in Oklahoma (and Texas). They don't have to dig as deep. It's cheaper to just build the foundation at 18 inches for the foundation and build a small shelter if you want. In the old days most people passed on that. Now days shelter construction is cheaper. But anybody who can afford it is doing the safe room thing.
3) In Oklahoma there is a lot of clay soil. It expands and contracts with moisture levels. It is hell on foundations. Basements wouldn't have a chance against that clay.
4) There are lots of places in Oklahoma and Texas where the water table is too high unless you wanted a basement swimming pool.
5) Finally, they admit that the local contractors don't have the foggiest notion on how to build basements.......which may actually be the real reason.
I live in Seattle. Rainier isn't a danger to the core city. It could cause a mudflow on a river that ends up in Tacoma.
Even a sideways blast like St. Helens would only get a fraction of the way here.
Absolutely correct. Rainier is not in the danger zone for Seattle, but Tacoma might be affected with some flooding. Another fact is Rainier has shown no signs of erupting, though it could...100...200...years from now. The great subductive quake off the NW coast is more likely, but even that has proven to be not a major threat to the inland cities, atleast from the reports of complete devastation, that are not founded.
I have live most of my life on the Gulf Coast and also a few years in SF Bay area and I have never understood why hurricanes are so feared.
Hurricanes travel like an old man, you see them coming for weeks and have plenty of time to escape.
So do Floods and Wildfires.
But Tornadoes and Earthquakes sneak up with no warning.
And actually tornadoes do not "sneak up with no warning." We live smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley and we ALWAYS get "possible severe weather" warnings at least a day or two in advance. And even then, the vast majority of tornadoes are small and cause little or no damage.
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