# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/41 "2018-06-09T21:43:59Z")
South-eastern Australia, just bushfires here. And droughts that are often followed by floods, thankfully not where I live though. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/42 "2018-06-09T22:11:19Z")
Other than “winter”, there are few natural calamities that affect Southern Ontario. We have infrequent tornadoes; the occasional flash flood, ice storm, or hurricane remnant; and rare small earthquakes. No volcanoes, dust storms, locust invasions, monsoons, or rampaging herds. We don’t have extreme cold (or heat) either; we’re moderated by the Great Lakes, so temperatures rarely drop below -20C or rise above +35C. We do have mosquitoes, blackflies, and bears, though, at various times of the year (like now). ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/43 "2018-06-09T22:26:19Z")
California. Ha ha. I have lived through an earthquake (destroyed my house), enormous floods, evacuated for two wildfires (they were stopped before they got to us), and several extreme droughts. I moved though. Here it seems to be mainly blackflies, deer flies, and ticks. There are occasional big snow storms, and tornados, but in western New England we even miss the sea-storm drama where the cities are. I have traded up. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/44 "2018-06-09T23:24:33Z")
We get forest fires and the occasional blizzard, but the fire are usually confined to the mountains and the blizzards are on the Eastern Plains. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/45 "2018-07-02T21:56:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > For center-north Spain, the closest we get is the occasional heat wave or cold wave. Last year the small village where I have my vacation house broke 36ºC for the first time in recorded history, we’re still in shock. The previous year we’d passed 30ºC, which has been known to happen but hadn’t in 10 years. > > For the mediterranean coast of Spain, and the Mediterranean Basin in general, the “cold drop” heavy rains in September can be quite brutal. I thought Spain was really hot; hotter than 36 being a big deal anyway. (it’s like 39 here in Dallas today!) ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_think\_of\_a\_name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_think\_of\_a\_name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_think_of_a_name)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/46 "2018-07-02T23:56:06Z")
It’s one of the reasons I like living in England in current times - natural disasters are extremely unlikely here. Some areas are prone to flooding in some conditions, but even then it’s usually a slow flooding and very few people are killed even if a lot of property damage is done. There can be severe storms, but they’re rarely a serious risk to life on land. The worst one in current times killed 18 people, but that’s extremely unusual. No warning, no preparations - it was forecast as a normal storm, not really a problem, but instead it was the worst one ever recorded in this country. Things were different in the past, though. Parts of London used to flood repeatedly and badly, for example, and many people died. It was built on a flat area, much of it a swamp, alongside a large very tidal river. Not a good plan. Modern engineering put a stop to that - a couple of hundred flood control measures on the river Thames and in some places the river itself was altered. But compared to a lot of places, our weather is golden. The environment here is frequently grey and usually damp, but it very rarely kills people. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/47 "2018-07-03T00:07:30Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > 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. You are very brave to avoid mentioning the true disaster that afflicts our entire state, or perhaps you have understandably pushed it from your consciousness? Irrespective of geology, large fissures frequently open seemingly at random throughout the state. At the bottom of these fissures is, of course, lava. But the true horror are the flying tarantulas that pour out of the openings and plague our cities, farms, and livestock. Mainstream media doesn’t report these things for political reasons. But I assure everyone, Colorado is a place to be avoided at all costs, and during all seasons! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/48 "2018-07-03T00:18:09Z")
Infrequently. Of course Sandy was a direct hit and it was devastating to a lot of the state but that’s not a usual occurrence. Floyd wasn’t a hurricane when it hit here but the amount of rain caused awful flooding. The normal winter storms and Nor’easters aren’t too bad if you don’t have to go out in them. Not much else. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/49 "2018-07-03T01:12:53Z")
In Kentucky: Tornadoes and thunderstorms that would scare God silly. Floods too, though we regarded them as a fun time to canoe around the yard or down the raging creek. In 1980 we had a 5.2 earthquake and I thought the Russians were bombing us. In New Mexico: Drought. Endless drought. And the resultant fires, one of which burnt a considerable portion of Los Alamos. And once we had a blizzard which dumped a foot of snow on Albuquerque and all the snow shovels sold out. Fast forward to next November: a few snowflakes appeared, people panicked and made a run for snow shovels, and a fight broke out at Lowe’s over the last snow shovel. By the next day the weather was as beautiful as ever. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/50 "2018-07-03T01:41:50Z")
Home region (Puerto Rico) : unless you have been held prisoner somewhere with no access to any sort of media, you know about the Hurricanes. Season every year, major ones every couple decades, with periods of lower and higher activity, but virtually every season at the very least a tropical depression or extreme rainfall event and a near-miss of a named storm. Plus, it’s near sideslip/subduction tectonic plate boundaries. Historically, major quake/tsunami on 75-ish year intervals and it has been 100 since the last big one. ---
**Author:** ![betterlifethroughchemistry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betterlifethroughchemistry/32/3094_2.png) [@betterlifethroughchemistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betterlifethroughchemistry)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/51 "2018-07-03T04:07:03Z")
Upstate NY (Cap District), but originally from Baltimore, we have a family home in the OBX of NC and my mother is from VT with family still there…Hurricane Irene impacted all four places, no damage to the OBX home, but across the street on the sound side was extensively damaged, we lost power for 3 days in NY and my aunt and uncle were very impacted in VT…so, to the point one poster made, trading the occasional but potentially devastating occurrence in the East for more frequent occurrences in the west…and we have the rare tornado in the NE, NOTHING compared to those in Tornado Alley, I’m not sure I could live there… ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/52 "2018-07-03T04:30:24Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > South-eastern Australia, just bushfires here. And droughts that are often followed by floods, thankfully not where I live though. Pretty much. Vulcanism is non-existent, and seismic is about nil - this continent is old and tired. I will note, it doesn’t take much rain to flood out roads, as the soil is basically clay. It _does_ make it up in fauna. I don’t mind the poisonous…everything, but I am freaked out at magpies\* attacking me for no reason! Folks up on the north coasts may well have cyclones pop by, but not around here. \*Think crows in fancy dress. Good sized birds, and they get _real_ territorial and aggressive around nesting time. They seem to have a particular hatred of bicyclists, for some reason. I’ve never heard of anyone who has been killed directly by them, but it’s not for lack of trying! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/53 "2018-07-03T22:14:03Z")
Parts of Arkansas are in tornado alley. We’ve had people killed. Towns destroyed. People in those areas have storm shelters in the yard or a reinforced safe room in the house. A lot of businesses have installed safe rooms for employees. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_think\_of\_a\_name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_think\_of\_a\_name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_think_of_a_name)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/54 "2018-07-03T23:19:54Z")
> [@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 live in a city, on a steep street, so although there’s a river at the bottom of my road, I wouldn’t ever experience flooding. > > But earthquakes, sever blizzards, volcanos, tornados? Nope. We had a couple of inches of snow this year (for the first time in 5 years), and the place ground to a halt. We had some visiting colleagues from Reno who thought our reaction was hilarious. As far as I know, there isn’t a strict lower limit on the size and duration of a tornado. If that’s true, the UK gets quite a lot of tornadoes. Very small and very brief and almost always in countryside, but technically tornadoes. There was one in Birmingham about 10 years ago. Or maybe 20. It was national news for a couple of days. IIRC, nobody was hurt and property damage was relatively minor. Some windows, some roofs, some trees. That’s far worse than usual - the usual outcome of a tornado here is some crop damage in one field. I looked it up - 19 people were hurt, but nobody was killed. Property damage was about £40M. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/55 "2018-07-03T23:30:53Z")
Eastern Washington doesn’t have much going on in the way of natural disasters, even historically. No big quakes, no (local) volcanoes, no bad flooding (at least since Glacial Lake Missoula came roaring through), no tornadoes, no hurricanes. I suppose a big blizzard isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, but I don’t recall hearing anything about any Great Blizzards. Been here 25 years, and the worst thing that happened was the Great Ice Storm of 96. Been some wildfires, but not the sort of thing that affects lots of people on a monstrous scale. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669/56 "2018-07-05T13:54:46Z")
The Hackensack River floods Hackensack, New Jersey with great regularity. I’ve been on buses that have to go to another town to get over their bridge cause Hackensack is flooded out. You build a city on a river so the ships can get in, and 400 years later your descendants are cussing you out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-region-have-periodic-or-repeated-natural-disasters/815669.md?page=2)