# Which natural disaster is most frightening to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089 "2011-04-28T22:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pinguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac8455/32.png) [@pinguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinguin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/41 "2011-04-30T00:26:28Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Earthquake! > > Mainly, as others have said, because it’s rare to have any warning. If you grew up in a earthquake zone, you’ll know that you have about half a minute warning. The first to come are low frequency waves, usually with underground sounds, and just when you are getting ready, the main waves come. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/42 "2011-04-30T00:32:15Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > I went with other. The worst natural disaster I can think of would be an asteroid or comet strike on the earth. The other disasters are bad, but big rocks falling from the sky have the capacity to sterilize the earth. The other disasters on the list, while severe for the people effected, are very localized. I’m cowering behind you in agreement. And also, if a large strike happened on the opposite side of the planet from you, you’d likely get the worst of all the other stuff on the list in a very short time (before the atmosphere heated up to the temperature of the “clean” setting on your oven, that is…). ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/43 "2011-04-30T00:48:12Z")
Well none of them are particularly appealing although blizzards are generally pretty ‘meh’ to me - I live in a part of the world where if there really is a blizzard from hell it’s perfectly acceptable to stay the hell home so they’re pretty easy to avoid. I chose other, because as nasty as tornados, earthquakes and tsunamis are, I live in mortal fear of [sink holes.](http://thepenningtonpress.com/2011/after-a-crazy-2010-web-bots-predict-sinkholes-will-increase-in-2011/) **GAH!** just trying to google up an appropriate picture gives me the willies. ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/44 "2011-04-30T03:22:07Z")
Do you mean which one is scariest if you had to experience it, or which one is scariest factoring in how likely it’s going to happen where you live? For the former, I’d go with tsunami or earthquake since they seem the most destructive… maybe a really big volcano too (but how many really big active volcanoes are there that are not being monitored?) For the latter, meh, tornado and blizzard are the only ones I really have any chance of experiencing, blizzards aren’t scary at all (really? snow falling down is a scary natural disaster?) so I guess… tornadoes. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/45 "2011-04-30T04:21:32Z")
I chose “other.” Most of the options listed either you can run away from or they kill you quick. My big fear is avalanches. You can’t run away from you and they kill you slow if you’re not lucky. Being buried alive with little hope of rescue is one of the worst horrors I can imagine. Of course, an earthquake or tornado can bury you alive in the rubble, but it’s only the thought of avalanches that gives me the shakes. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/46 "2011-04-30T04:29:58Z")
The most horrifying is a Gamma Ray burst that hits the the Earth, partially occulted by the sun or moon. The burst wouldn’t be enough to immediately wipe out all life on Earth, just enough that Earth would be sent into a long and unrecoverable spiral where the ecosphere entirely collapses. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/47 "2011-04-30T04:32:20Z")
Seriously people - no love for a [**MASSIVE HOLE STRAIGHT TO HELL**](http://cee.engr.ucdavis.edu/faculty/boulanger/geo_photo_album/Erosion%20and%20piping/Karst%20sinkhole/Karst%20P2.html)??? Surely I’m not the only one… ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/48 "2011-04-30T05:07:10Z")
Bushfire is the scariest because it is the most likely to affect me, but technically a tsunami is more frightening. Actually they’re both pretty equal. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/49 "2011-04-30T05:12:00Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I chose “other.” Most of the options listed either you can run away from or they kill you quick. My big fear is avalanches. You can’t run away from you and they kill you slow if you’re not lucky. Being buried alive with little hope of rescue is one of the worst horrors I can imagine. Of course, an earthquake or tornado can bury you alive in the rubble, but it’s only the thought of avalanches that gives me the shakes. Also, if you’re buried by an earthquake, you’re probably in a city or other urban area, and people are going to be looking for survivors. You’ve got a decent chance of someone finding you there. If you’re buried in an avalanche, you’re probably out in the wilderness somewhere, and there’s a good chance that you’ll never be found at all. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089/50 "2011-04-30T09:19:17Z")
Anything that removes everything in it’s path is scariest for me; tsunamis and wildfires. I’ve been through hurricanes and blizzards with preparation but tsunamis scare the fuck out of me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-natural-disaster-is-most-frightening-to-you/580089.md?page=2)