# Does your region have periodic or repeated natural disasters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669 "2018-06-08T06:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/21 "2018-06-08T19:01:12Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > What do you mean by “region”? Something smaller than a country, unless you live in Liechtenstein or Belgium. > [@](#): > > What do you mean by “periodic” or “repeated”? Periodic means it comes and goes on a regular cycle, like forest fire season (late summer and early fall) in Missoula. Repeated means there’s no regularity, but it’s common enough people aren’t surprised by it, like small earthquakes in California. > [@](#): > > Most of the U.S. population lives in the general area of some kind of regular natural disaster–depending on how narrowly you define these terms. Yeah,t that’s part of what I was driving at with this thread: I know there are myriad threats in America, but wasn’t sure about other parts of the world. Looks like Europe is mostly fairly safe. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/22 "2018-06-08T19:10:15Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > We got a few inches of snow this year, first time in nearly a decade. It took over a week before the shops had bread again, and the entire county just… stopped. Even many of the _pubs_ shut, and that’s when you know people are panicking. There’s something similar in the Southern US: The [Waffle House Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index): > [@](#): > > The Waffle House Index is an informal metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine the effect of a storm and the likely scale of assistance required for disaster recovery.[1] > > If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad. That’s when you go to work.[2] > > The index has three levels, based on the extent of operations and service at the restaurant following a storm:[2][3] > [ul] > [li] **GREEN** : full menu - restaurant has power and damage is limited.[/li][li] **YELLOW** : limited menu - no power or only power from a generator, or food supplies may be low.[/li][li] **RED** : the restaurant is closed - indicating severe damage.[/li][/ul] Given where Waffle House is, this is mostly relevant to tornadoes and hurricanes, and, while this isn’t official on the part of FEMA, [Waffle House has policies for staying open in severe storms](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fema-waffle-house-index/): > [@](#): > > Its hurricane playbook explains how to reopen a restaurant and what to serve if there is gas but no electricity, or a generator but no ice. An important element is limiting the menu so the company’s supply chain can focus on keeping certain items stocked and chilled or frozen. In May, the two Waffle Houses in Joplin, Mo., were among the few places to stay open after the deadliest tornado in six decades tore through the area. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/23 "2018-06-08T19:12:18Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > well we get half decade long droughts ….and earthquakes but the worst things happen annually here is wildfires ……. That sounds like us, except the earthquakes are so minor I’ve never felt one. Tornadoes can happen, but for some reason they are exceedingly rare right here even though this is part of Tornado alley. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/24 "2018-06-08T19:23:10Z")
I live way, way up in the Colorado Mountains, and we get a shit ton of snow every year (my house gets 25-30 feet a season). But, we are well prepared to deal with it. Work has only closed once in the 25 years I’ve been at the same job (County Government). I’ve missed work twice because of snow. Anyway, one thing that is a concern in the mountains is wildfire. We’ve been lucky so far. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/25 "2018-06-08T19:23:53Z")
West Virginia. We get flooding, but only in the flood plains. There are enough houses in the flood plains that they can be devastating, but if you don’t live in the flood plains, you’re not in any particular danger or worry. I live about 300 feet in elevation above the highest the water has ever gotten, so unless Noah comes floating by, it’s not an issue. We occasionally get tornado warnings, but I’ve never heard of one doing any more damage than ripping some shingles off or knocking over a tree. I don’t know if it’s the mountains or the weather patterns or what, but they don’t seem particularly strong and rarely make it to the ground. We also get lots of snow at times, but I’m not sure if that’s a natural disaster or not. Now that I’m on the Allegheny Plateau instead of the Highlands, the amount of snow is pretty marginal. A storm that drops a foot on you is pretty extreme for down here, so not anything particularly crazy. We do get brush fires, but nothing that really threatens much. We’re a pretty damp place to live, so the forests don’t tend to dry out like they do in the west. Keeps them small and easily contained. They had a 20 acre one last month that one firefighter called “The largest of his career” Overall, I’d say that we’re pretty natural disaster proof as long as you’re not living in a river or stream bed. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/26 "2018-06-08T19:35:24Z")
Here in southeast Missouri, we’re not immune to tornadoes, but AFAIK there has never actually been a touchdown in Iron County. Similarly, if (when) the New Madrid fault blows, it’s taking us with it. The real danger here is forest fires. I live right in the heart of the Mark Twain National Forest, and more than one local has told me that if the governor says to evacuate, he ain’t kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/27 "2018-06-08T19:50:57Z")
Here in Chicago, our primary periodic natural disaster is the Cubs. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/28 "2018-06-08T19:51:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It hasn’t happened in recent history, but if Mt. Rainier were to have a major eruption, it’d pretty much demolish most of the Seattle-Tacoma area. According to the USGS, Olympia and Seattle look pretty safe but Tacoma could get some nasty [lahars](https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount_rainier/hazard_lahars.html). Ash fall, as with St Helens, could hit the eastern part of the state pretty hard. I would not want to be in the river valleys… ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/29 "2018-06-08T19:54:58Z")
No earthquakes, no hurricanes (or tornadoes), but every 20 years or so we get the IMF… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/30 "2018-06-08T20:03:40Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > For the mediterranean coast of Spain, and the Mediterranean Basin in general, the “cold drop” heavy rains in September can be quite brutal. Well, we know the rain stays mainly on the plain there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/31 "2018-06-08T20:14:42Z")
Droughts and wildfires mostly in my part of California. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/32 "2018-06-08T20:27:09Z")
Central New Hampshire(NH). We really don’t get major natural disasters here that cause deaths. The worst are probably blizzards and ice storms in the winter. Some remote locations could lose power for up to a week. They are more of an inconvenience than a disaster though. There hasn’t been a hurricane in NH in years. I’m far enough inland that most hurricanes have been downgraded to tropical storms by the time they reach us. They mostly end up just dumping lots of rain on us causing flooding in low-lying areas. There is also spring-time flooding along the rivers in the state, but they rarely cause any deaths just property damage. Tornadoes happen rarely. Earthquakes occur occasionally but they are usually magnitude 3 or less. The strongest earthquake epicenter-ed in NH was Magnitude 5.8 back in 1940. It doesn’t get dry enough for wildfires to be problem here. I can’t think of any other natural disasters NH experiences. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/33 "2018-06-08T20:32:26Z")
To some extent, it’s relative. Normal summer weather here might be considered a drought or a heatwave in some parts of the world, but not having rain and having daytime highs somewhere between about 95-105 Fahrenheit for about 3 straight months is not unusual here. By the same token, the amount of snow and/or ice that would cause serious disruption is much smaller here in North Texas than it would be in say… Kansas or parts north. Some hurricane remnants may pass over us, but they’re unlikely to do any serious damage because we’re 300 miles inland, more or less, and any remnants that would hit us would have traveled even further, as the curvature of hurricane paths means that a hurricane hitting us probably made landfall somewhere between Houston and Corpus. We get floods along the river, and tornadoes, and that’s about it for the natural disasters we see here. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/34 "2018-06-08T20:33:14Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I live in the South West of England. We don’t generally get natural disasters - the only kind I can think of is flooding, although this only occurs in certain flood prone areas. I also live in the south west, and can confirm that it’s all pretty stable hereabouts, disaster-wise. We still talk about a hurricane from 1986. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/35 "2018-06-08T20:35:08Z")
Panama is remarkably free of widespread natural disasters. We are outside the hurricane belt (they pass north of us). There are occasional strong earthquakes on the western and eastern ends of the country, but the central part where Panama City and the Canal is located doesn’t get strong ones (which is one reason they put the canal here). No tornadoes, no wildfires, no snow or hailstorms. No active volcanoes. Occasionally torrential rains in the wet season can produce local flooding, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/36 "2018-06-08T22:33:41Z")
Hey, I live in Kansas. It’s tornados for us. In grade school we have drills on getting to shelter. In the library building where I work there are periodic tornado drills. State offices have them too. And today is June 8th, the 52nd anniversary of the big tornado here in Topeka. If you live in Chicago, or watched “Investigative Reports” you’ll recognize one guy, in the video, Bill Kurtis. He was a young law student doing some extra work as a television announcer on local television. his calm on air demeanor is credited with saving lives, by impressing on folk this wasn’t just another drill. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/37 "2018-06-08T22:47:55Z")
I live in San Francisco. Our earthquakes are world-famous! ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/38 "2018-06-09T01:02:08Z")
My family is from Galveston. I swear that half of the family stories involve one hurricane or another. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/39 "2018-06-09T01:06:40Z")
Minnesota here. We get tornados that sometimes wreck entire towns, but we don’t consider blizzards anything but an inconvenience. Nowadays anyway. Back in the settler days you could be trapped in your cabin or home and freeze to death or starve. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/40 "2018-06-09T21:30:03Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Central New Hampshire(NH). > > We really don’t get major natural disasters here that cause deaths. > The worst are probably blizzards and ice storms in the winter. Some remote locations could lose power for up to a week. They are more of an inconvenience than a disaster though. > > There hasn’t been a hurricane in NH in years. I’m far enough inland that most hurricanes have been downgraded to tropical storms by the time they reach us. They mostly end up just dumping lots of rain on us causing flooding in low-lying areas. > > There is also spring-time flooding along the rivers in the state, but they rarely cause any deaths just property damage. > > Tornadoes happen rarely. Earthquakes occur occasionally but they are usually magnitude 3 or less. The strongest earthquake epicenter-ed in NH was Magnitude 5.8 back in 1940. It doesn’t get dry enough for wildfires to be problem here. I can’t think of any other natural disasters NH experiences. This is pretty much the answer for my area as well. We’re located in an identified fault zone, but I can only remember two quakes in 50 years that were strong enough to be noticeable, as well as one smallish tornado that damaged a few cottages. Flooding happens every few years along the rivers, mostly where people built on the actual flood plains. Snow and ice storms are the main problems, and rarely reach a level that could be classed as a disaster, rather than an inconvenience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669.md?page=3)