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Other than earthquakes, LA doesn't really get many terrible disasters. We get mudslides and floods on occasion but not on the same level as other places.
If you ask me, I'd much rather be in an earthquake than a tornado or hurricane.
Also, if you want to debate with me over California falling into the ocean, I have plenty of proof that completely proves that theory wrong.
I have been in Houston since 1999 and have not been through a hurricane here (was out of town for Ike). I should probably knock on wood.
I think Galveston would have warranted more votes if the OP had listed it instead of Houston.
Houston's problem is due to flooding caused by concreting over flood plain. The Hurricane surge and the winds themselves are not that bad by the time it gets to the city
What about the risk of a tsunami off the coast of LA or SF??? We have all recently seen the recent devastation that happened in Tokyo and the Indian Ocean.
Because Hurricane Katrina got an INCREDIBLE amount of media attention (due in no small part of the colossal f*** up of federal rescue efforts) and we saw people scrambling on their roofs like animals, most of the US is convinced that living in New Orleans is amazingly dangerous. I witnessed this myself during Issac this year. My phone blew up with calls and texts from family and friends who were concerned that I was being washed away, raped at the Superdome, or shot in the street. In reality, my power went off for approx ten minutes ( I was lucky, yes, I realize that many of my neighbors suffered without AC for a week), plants in my garden got blown around, and my hurricane shutters lost a few slats on one window. It was a big storm. The wind sounded scary. But honestly, I never felt endangered.
Its all about perspective. The Gulf Coast gets a BAD storm about every 20-30 years and less bad storms make landfall every few years. If San Francisco suffered from another earthquake like the big one at the turn of the century next week, and we saw houses down and bodies in the street, we would all be saying "OMG! SF is a warzone! How can people live there!?" When I lived in the Bay Area, we had little quakes every few months. No one thought anything of it. But if the Big Bad came, you better believe people would be scattering and saying "No way I would live there!"
What about the risk of a tsunami off the coast of LA or SF??? We have all recently seen the recent devastation that happened in Tokyo and the Indian Ocean.
Yeah I mentioned that in one of my posts - basically saying that is much more frightening to me than an earthquake and especially a mudslide or wildfire (which is seriously laughable). Although I think Hollywood is at a high enough elevation that I would make it out ok.
But honestly this is something every coastal city would have to worry about, even those on the East Coast or Gulf Coast. Obviously it is less likely to occur in those places than the WC.
Yeah I mentioned that in one of my posts - basically saying that is much more frightening to me than an earthquake and especially a mudslide or wildfire (which is seriously laughable). Although I think Hollywood is at a high enough elevation that I would make it out ok.
But honestly this is something every coastal city would have to worry about, even those on the East Coast or Gulf Coast. Obviously it is less likely to occur in those places than the WC.
The East Coast does have to worry about it, Cumbre Vieja is an active Volcano and if there was a big earthquake or volcano there the eastern seaboard would get a tsunami.
Because Hurricane Katrina got an INCREDIBLE amount of media attention (due in no small part of the colossal f*** up of federal rescue efforts) and we saw people scrambling on their roofs like animals, most of the US is convinced that living in New Orleans is amazingly dangerous. I witnessed this myself during Issac this year. My phone blew up with calls and texts from family and friends who were concerned that I was being washed away, raped at the Superdome, or shot in the street. In reality, my power went off for approx ten minutes ( I was lucky, yes, I realize that many of my neighbors suffered without AC for a week), plants in my garden got blown around, and my hurricane shutters lost a few slats on one window. It was a big storm. The wind sounded scary. But honestly, I never felt endangered.
Its all about perspective. The Gulf Coast gets a BAD storm about every 20-30 years and less bad storms make landfall every few years. If San Francisco suffered from another earthquake like the big one at the turn of the century next week, and we saw houses down and bodies in the street, we would all be saying "OMG! SF is a warzone! How can people live there!?" When I lived in the Bay Area, we had little quakes every few months. No one thought anything of it. But if the Big Bad came, you better believe people would be scattering and saying "No way I would live there!"
Largely because of building codes, The “Big One” in LA or SF will likely inflict damage not dissimilar to that of the Chilean earthquake. 2010 Chile earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tragic indeed, but not likely to extract the same human cost if the same magnitude quake were to strike Haiti, Pakistan, etc.
Then there’s deaths attributable to exposure to natural elements (which are natural disasters to those specific people) which are more likely to occur in other cities as well.
Munich Re developed a natural hazard risk index to calculate the danger of natural disaster in a given area as well as the value that may be destroyed. No 1. Tokyo scored 710 points, while San Francisco was a distant No. 2 with 167 points. Tokyo's risk was the highest due to its huge population and a high risk of earthquakes, along with lower levels of risk from storm damage, volcanic eruption, and tsunamis.
Top 10 cities with the biggest damage potential from natural disasters:
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