NationStates Jolt Archive

New Orleans is/was built below sea level as we all know by now. I was aware of this well before Katrina hit and always though "dang, is that a good idea?" but it wouldn't have stopped me from living there if the right job offer came along. Now, in retrospect, it's easy to say "yeah, it was only a matter of time" or "why would anyone ever choose to live there?", but I'm wondering if there's anywhere in the U.S. that's actually safe?

Example: almost all of California's population lives along major fault lines that will inevitably someday result in a massive earthquake that will destroy everything. We've all speculated about "the big one" hitting L.A. or San Francisco or whatever, but millions upon millions of people still choose to live there.

Other examples abound. The entire state of Florida... heck, the entire Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast is vulnerable to someday getting slapped with a massive hurricane that could results in billions upon billions of dollars of damage. Elsewhere, there's the danger of flooding or tornados, drought, etc. I can remember a number of years ago a category 5 tornado formed in Oklahoma that was literally one mile wide and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Heck, even in Portland Oregon, they had the Mt. Helena fiasco back in the early 1980s.

So is anywhere really safe? Where in this country, or in the world, can we go and not worry about the possibility of being victimized by a natural disaster?

Right now I am kinda worried about what Vegas is goign to be like soon. :(

It seems with the climate changes and droughts and record heat waves that things could get ugly here. Although I just bought a house here and don't want to move just yet. I am at least not in any flood zones :P

I'm sure I'll be safe here in New Jersey, sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River on a piece of land no more than 15 feet or so above sea level.

Hm. Try the UK, or in fact most of Europe.

I live in Fort Collins, Colorado. I'd say it's pretty safe up here!

:D

i live in kentucky, yet if i had the chance, i would move to a coastal state, even with the threat of bad weather...but maybe im just crazy?

I'm sure I'll be safe here in New Jersey, sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River on a piece of land no more than 15 feet or so above sea level.


I'm in NJ too, but right on the shore in Ocean County. I will say I am ready to either shelter in place with enough food and supplies for 6 people to last several weeks with no outside assistance, or leave within a very short time of recieving warning. I would bolt due west into Pennsylvania-I have corresponding maps, lists of hotels, cash and a "grab bag" with supplies for the road.
I like to be somewhat prepared for whatever could happen.

New Orleans is/was built below sea level as we all know by now. I was aware of this well before Katrina hit and always though "dang, is that a good idea?" but it wouldn't have stopped me from living there if the right job offer came along. Now, in retrospect, it's easy to say "yeah, it was only a matter of time" or "why would anyone ever choose to live there?", but I'm wondering if there's anywhere in the U.S. that's actually safe?

Example: almost all of California's population lives along major fault lines that will inevitably someday result in a massive earthquake that will destroy everything. We've all speculated about "the big one" hitting L.A. or San Francisco or whatever, but millions upon millions of people still choose to live there.

Other examples abound. The entire state of Florida... heck, the entire Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast is vulnerable to someday getting slapped with a massive hurricane that could results in billions upon billions of dollars of damage. Elsewhere, there's the danger of flooding or tornados, drought, etc. I can remember a number of years ago a category 5 tornado formed in Oklahoma that was literally one mile wide and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Heck, even in Portland Oregon, they had the Mt. Helena fiasco back in the early 1980s.

So is anywhere really safe? Where in this country, or in the world, can we go and not worry about the possibility of being victimized by a natural disaster?

Go to northern Wisconsin

sure, they endure the occasional tornado, but so does the entire midwest.

there are 4 pronounced seasons, which is nice

lots of trees and lakes and fresh air

Winter
Bad: The average high/low in January are like 8 and -5F, respectively... it's freaking cold. There'll be at least several days each winter where the mercury hits -25 or lower, and wind chill makes 0 feel like -20 or worse.

Good: Lots of snow means lots of fun with snowmobiles, sleds, cross-country skiing, etc. There are nearby downhill ski places in north-central wisconsin (Rib Mountain) and the UP of Michigan (Indianhead, Powderhorn, Blackjack). Lakes freeze up there, so if you're into fishing, you can try ice fishing in the winter. Ya put up a tent on the lake, mabye bring in a generator for some warmth, and sit around drinking while your line sits in the water. hehe

Summer
Good: Lakes come alive with fishing, water-skiing, tubing, swimming, etc. There are something like a thousand lakes in Oneida County, Wisconsin (I grew up in Minocqua, way northern part of that county). There might be a few days where the temp hits 90, but it's really mild... mostly in the 70s and 80s.

Bad: Tourists. Lots of tourists... mostly from Milwaukee, the Twin Cities and Chicago. We call those from Chicago FIBs -- F***ing Illinois Bastards. hehe

Spring: Snow melts... then it snows again. Repeat the process about 5 times. by mid-May, generally the snow won't come back. And then it's almost summer.

Fall: Mid-September through November you see temps continually falling. Like spring, you'll see snow, then it'll melt... snow, melt... etc. by November it's sticking.

England, free of natural disasters since 1607 When a Tsunami hit Cornwall, after that it was the occasional level 3-4 earthquake normally in the north or in the midlands, don't go to a place called Melton Mowbray (where they make pork pies) it's built on top of a hollowed out mine, it gets severe earthquakes, flooding, gale force winds etc, it even got a sand storm once. I would suggest East Anglia, it seems to be immune to all natural disasters.

I'll stay where I am. I'min North Carolina, but far enough inland that I can reasonably expect to experience hurricane-force winds no more often than every 40 years or so. We do get the occasional ice storm, but there's nowhere absolutely immune to natural disasters of some kind, so I'll just have to take my chances with that.

What has always puzzled me about America is that they have this weird obsession about building houses out of timber (that rots) in areas that are prone to natural disaster.
In Britain where there is relatively little disaster, most of the houses are built with brick.

What an irony. Surely the costs of damage would be less in a disaster area if one simply had to repair a house rather than completely rebuild a house?

Hm. Try the UK, or in fact most of Europe.

the uk has some nasty floods every once and a long while. try here ;) tis free from any major natural disasters for a long while

Example: almost all of California's population lives along major fault lines that will inevitably someday result in a massive earthquake that will destroy everything. We've all speculated about "the big one" hitting L.A. or San Francisco or whatever, but millions upon millions of people still choose to live there.
Earthquake disasters aren't really common here. Earthquakes are common and an almost everyday occurance, but they're small. The ones you feel are quite enjoyable. It's like being on a vibrating bed. They're not all that dangerous at all.

"The Big One" is being prepared for unlike the Gulf is unprepared for hurricanes. All Californian buildings must be earthquake safe and should be able to withstand a pretty big earthquake. We're quite prepared for any earthquake that'll come our way all over the entire state.

Any in any case, this state is home for a huge amount of Mexican immigrants, and it seems that our low-class numbers are higher than Louisianna. We have less people able to move out of here.

We don't fear the earthquake. We'll take it when it comes because we're as prepared as we can be.

What has always puzzled me about America is that they have this weird obsession about building houses out of timber (that rots) in areas that are prone to natural disaster.
In Britain where there is relatively little disaster, most of the houses are built with brick.

What an irony. Surely the costs of damage would be less in a disaster area if one simply had to repair a house rather than completely rebuild a house?

In Discworld (The Colour Fantastic) there's a quote after the Barkeep starts a fire which burns down Ankh Morpork, it says; After the fire Ankh Morpork was rebuilt using the traditional materials of dried wood and tar.

Well, I can see the North Sea out my window. For whatever reason though, I doubt I'll have to move anytime soon.

the uk has some nasty floods every once and a long while. try here ;) tis free from any major natural disasters for a long while

Meh, we're expert sailors, and we know when the fuck to get out of our houses (unlike those in New Orleans).

Where my house is is ok. We have the River Lagan to the south and the valley Belfast sits in to the north. Belfast is in the valley, but our house is up on a ridge 100m or so above the river. It's good, you can see all over most of the city from here.

Meh, we're expert sailors, and we know when the fuck to get out of our houses (unlike those in New Orleans).

being an expert sailor's no use if you've not got a boat :p

being an expert sailor's no use if you've not got a boat :p

Just use an encyclopedia or something.

Just use an encyclopedia or something.

pardone mois? :confused:

pardone mois? :confused:


Expert sailors don't need boats to sail. They could just as easily use a cat to traverse the seas.

Hm. Try the UK, or in fact most of Europe.

Within the next few hundred years half of the uk will be underwater due to rising sea levels.

I posted a thread like this just this morning in an MSN group I'm in.

I agree...though they will not indeed rethink it. History, sentimentality, tradtion...all will lend in the decision to rebuild right there.

IMO, I think they should at least try to avoid the lowest areas.

I feel relatively safe from natural disaster in Ohio. We have tornadoes, sure, but not often, and those are not usually MAJOR occurances, with few exceptions. They will take a house or two, sometimes parts of a small town, and very rarely large parts of towns (see Xenia), but it is rare.

We also may have an earthquake now and again...but very very rarely are they anything at all. No major damage has ever been caused (like more than a crack in the wall or a tad bit of shaking ever 250 yrs or so) to my knowledge here.

Within the next few hundred years half of the uk will be underwater due to rising sea levels.

Well that's Ok because we'll all be dead then.

For the moment I think that you're pretty safe in the UK, unless you count that impending French invasion.

Expert sailors don't need boats to sail. They could just as easily use a cat to traverse the seas.

ah yes, excuse me for my ignorance. maybe those years spent in america really has rubbed off on me :p

Well that's Ok because we'll all be dead then.

For the moment I think that you're pretty safe in the UK, unless you count that impending French invasion.

where! where! legalize guns for the general public! we'll invade them first! america will help us! america always helps us! wait, no it doesn't....

.....
I would suggest East Anglia, it seems to be immune to all natural disasters.
Apart from the occasional devastating flood, for example (http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/01_january/27/localradio_floods.shtml)

Not to mention the fact that it's sinking at an appreciable rate as Scotland bounces back from the last ice age.

Apart from the occasional devastating flood, for example (http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/01_january/27/localradio_floods.shtml)

I lived for 13 years in West Norfolk, every day on the News would say "Devestating flood heading to East Anglia!!!" We got some rain and then nothing, so yeah West Norfolk, there is a reason but it's long pointless and i'm not too sure on the facts.

Actually things have not been nicer here in a while :)

Arizona has had more rain this year than in a great many previous years combined.

I lived for 13 years in West Norfolk, every day on the News would say "Devestating flood heading to East Anglia!!!" We got some rain and then nothing, so yeah West Norfolk, there is a reason but it's long pointless and i'm not too sure on the facts.
I was thinking of the 1953 flood (check the link).

Anyone with guts will be able to find land at firesale prices in the Gulf Coast area after Katrina gets settled. This shook people up, they're going to be re-locating.

They'll rebuild NO to withstand a CAT-5, and eventually it will be fit to live in. Those young enough to invest and wait will have an opportunity there in a brand-new city.

I think almost every part of the US has something about it that makes life unpleasant for its residents. Any part of the southwest that isn't a desert is on a fault line. Florida is grotesquely hot and humid. NY is like Florida in the summer and Siberia in the winter.

Population pressures make us live in all these places. We move to where there's room, and we deal with the shit it gives us when we get there.

If we rebuild New Orleans, then we'll just have to rebuild on piles like they did in Chicago and parts of New York. Well, Queens anyway, it had large swathes of marshland at first, and then the area was built up to make it residential.

Dublin is rather safe from most natural catastrophies. And if the flood comes, we can all take to the Wicklows... ;)

Well, where I live in Austin TX doesn't seem to have too many devestating natural disasters. The areas around us occassionaly get floods, but since we live relatively high up in a valley, we get neither floods, nor cellphone reception. :p The hillcountry here doesn't get tornadoes, either. It's a pretty sweet place to live. :D Though it can get pretty blasted hot in the summer. >_o

I'm sure I'll be safe here in New Jersey, sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River on a piece of land no more than 15 feet or so above sea level.
Yeah we only get about 3 tornadoes a year and an occasional hurricane and ultrarare earthquake(it has happened). Here it's about 130 ft above sea level.

No self-respecting natural disaster would ever have anything to do with Atlantic Canada, because it would know that it's a total one-shot storm locale. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are naught but swamps, rocks and a rather odd tar hole, while PEI is sinking anyway. If we got a Katrina of our own we'd just pick up and move to Quebec or Ontario and forget about it. The best part is that if that happened, Alberta would have no one to blame for reckless spending.

astonishingly, i just got poured on walking back from class.

Well, where I live in Austin TX doesn't seem to have too many devestating natural disasters. The areas around us occassionaly get floods, but since we live relatively high up in a valley, we get neither floods, nor cellphone reception. :p The hillcountry here doesn't get tornadoes, either. It's a pretty sweet place to live. :D Though it can get pretty blasted hot in the summer. >_o

What???? What a short memory you have. One of the worst tornados ever to hit Texas hit near Austin. http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/052897/twister.htm

And the hill country gets some pretty hellish floods.

Hm. Try the UK, or in fact most of Europe.

Didn't you folks in the UK have a few tornados not too long ago?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4137456.stm

And then York flooded last year. My sister was there when that happend.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3448713.stm

Well. I'm currently sitting in a house about 100 metres above sea level on an island wedged between the mainland and a bigger island, thousands of kilometres from the edge of my tectonic plate and without an extremely unextreme weather. So no fear of hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, draughts, or the likes. The only real threat here comes from the 60 000 or so other inhabitants on and around this island and my own stupidity. Come to think of it, that's a pretty serious threat...

I was thinking of the 1953 flood (check the link).

oki, so East Anglia flooded once, 50 years ago..... so?

I am slightly worried about where i live, right next to the River Orwell in Ipswich, on the ground floor, if there's gonna be a flood then i'm gonna be one of the first to feel the effects :(

New Orleans is/was built below sea level as we all know by now.
It works fine in Holland

New Orleans is/was built below sea level as we all know by now. I was aware of this well before Katrina hit and always though "dang, is that a good idea?" but it wouldn't have stopped me from living there if the right job offer came along. Now, in retrospect, it's easy to say "yeah, it was only a matter of time" or "why would anyone ever choose to live there?", but I'm wondering if there's anywhere in the U.S. that's actually safe?

Example: almost all of California's population lives along major fault lines that will inevitably someday result in a massive earthquake that will destroy everything. We've all speculated about "the big one" hitting L.A. or San Francisco or whatever, but millions upon millions of people still choose to live there.

Other examples abound. The entire state of Florida... heck, the entire Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast is vulnerable to someday getting slapped with a massive hurricane that could results in billions upon billions of dollars of damage. Elsewhere, there's the danger of flooding or tornados, drought, etc. I can remember a number of years ago a category 5 tornado formed in Oklahoma that was literally one mile wide and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Heck, even in Portland Oregon, they had the Mt. Helena fiasco back in the early 1980s.

So is anywhere really safe? Where in this country, or in the world, can we go and not worry about the possibility of being victimized by a natural disaster?

IRELAND!!! Come over to my place we'll have a party :D

There are plenty of countries that would be 'safe' to live in. Moving inland I suppose will be the next step if the weather gets unbareably bad. Most European countries will be fine.

I'd have to say that Kansas is fairly safe.

Think about it - "Tornado Alley", here in the Sunflower state, only nets an AVERAGE of 4 deaths and 26mil in damages yearly. I think single-vehicle accidents kill more than that, and 26m is a drop in the bucket.

When a tornado decides to finally touch down, we have a death count measured by wheat bushels, rather than human lives (thank God), since the odds of it hitting a FIELD and not a CITY are about 20 - to - 1.
And the nearest LAKE that could actually flood and do damage to a city is about a thousand miles off - well outside the state borders.

The last "disaster" we had was an ice-storm in Wichita, that knocked out power for most of the city, but only for 24 hours, and once again - zero deaths.

No hurricanes, no earthquakes.. well above sea level, and no huge bodies of water to overflow their banks and cause death and destruction.

Does it get much safer?


Weather tends to range from 20(ish)F in the winter to 95(ish)F in the summer - not too terrible, IMO.

No self-respecting natural disaster would ever have anything to do with Atlantic Canada, because it would know that it's a total one-shot storm locale. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are naught but swamps, rocks and a rather odd tar hole, while PEI is sinking anyway. If we got a Katrina of our own we'd just pick up and move to Quebec or Ontario and forget about it. The best part is that if that happened, Alberta would have no one to blame for reckless spending.

Atlantic Canada does actually seem pretty immune to natural disaster. I mean, every so often we get a nasty storm, but other than that... I think the worst disaster in Atlantic Canada was probably the whole Halifax Explosion thing, and that most certainly wasn't natural.

However, if anything like a tsunami ever Atlantic Canada, it would probably entirely wipe out Nova Scotia and PEI. I mean really, they're just little pieces of land barely jutting out of the ocean.