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Natural Disasters

by Kurt
11 replies
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What natural disasters do you have to worry about where you live?

I'm high in the Rockies...The main thing is probably lightning. Forest fires and flash floods, rock slides and avalanches are also an issue.

The area just 20 miles to my east is 2nd in the USA for lightning strikes, only behind Florida. We have cool air over the mountains that meets the warm air on the great plains and get lightning, hail and tornados.

My aunt was driving down the Big Thompson canyon a few years back and had a rock about the size of a microwave come through her windshield. Luckily the airbag saved her life and she just had some broken bones.

Coming up is the 34th aniversary of the Big Thompson flood that killed about 147 people. I drive down the Big Thompson canyon to get to town and think about it a lot this time of year...

There has been a flood warning system installed in the canyon, but...

Here's a cool time-lapse video of the 26 mile drive (40 minutes) down the canyon:

(At the 5:38 mark is a real "Rocky Mountain traffic jam" in the town I live in...)




  • Profile picture of the author ThomM
    Nothing comes to mind here Kurt.
    Occasionally we get some bad ice storms, but that's about the worse we get.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Kurt - that made me homesick....except in Empire, traffic jams were rams. And rams don't like it when you move a vehicle. Trust me on that one.

    Thom -- what was that freaking flood down the road from you? You might be on a hill, but the people downhill from you do get flooded. LOL.

    Out here, Earthquakes. And stupidity.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      Kurt - that made me homesick....except in Empire, traffic jams were rams. And rams don't like it when you move a vehicle. Trust me on that one.

      Thom -- what was that freaking flood down the road from you? You might be on a hill, but the people downhill from you do get flooded. LOL.

      Out here, Earthquakes. And stupidity.
      Population control
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      Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
      Getting old ain't for sissy's
      As you are I was, as I am you will be
      You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

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  • Profile picture of the author Shaleniie Devi
    Over here in Singapore, I'm thankful to say that we are in a rather 'Natural Disaster Free Zone' since we are buffered from earthquakes and tsunamis from the countries around us.

    However the recent spate of torrential downpours that have wreaked havoc with trees falling left right center, killing some unfortunate souls... I've had to have a rethink about just how 'safe' we are from Mother Nature... especially considering that this time of year is supposed to be the hottest period usually.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas
    In Ireland: Nothing... at all.
    • No big earthquakes.
    • No tsunami.
    • No major snowstorms.
    • No scary tornados.
    • No big landslides.
    • No wildfires (it never gets dry enough; and there aren't that many forests anyway).
    • No major flooding.
    • No major electrical storms.
    • No real extremes of weather at all, in fact.
    • No dangerous animals (except humans, perhaps).
    • No poisonous snakes (thanks, St. Pat! ).
    • No big spiders (biggest I've ever seen was about an inch...before I stomped him).
    • In fact, no wild animals with fangs, or claws, or any of the other assorted ways nature has devised to rip you apart. The worst "wild animal attack" you're likely to experience would be a stern look from an angry rabbit as he zooms past you.
    The closest we have come to a natural disaster in living memory here was last winter when we had 2 or 3 inches of snow - which was the worst "snow storm" we've had since at least the early 1960s!
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    You name it, we got more ways to die (or at least recieve horrific injuries) in Australia than just about anywhere else.

    Bogans (pronounced bow-gunz - the Aussie equivalent of rednecks);
    More animals that can kill you than any other nation on Earth (snakes, spiders, sharks, blue ringed octopii, jelly fish, and others);
    Floods;
    Droughts:
    Bushfires;
    Eartquakes;
    Cyclones;
    Sunshine (skin cancer);
    Crime gangs;
    Police (bogans in uniform);
    Australian Rules Football;
    Rugby;
    Rugby League
    ... and so on.

    Despite all this, Aussies have one of the highest life expectancies in the world - go figure.
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  • Profile picture of the author erikainsandiego
    lately we've had to worry about earthquakes because they've been happening very frequently and strong...it's something I will never get used to they are still scary
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I could not get used to earthquakes!

      We have hurricanes - but you know they're coming in advance. Lightning can be a problem here....and then there's BP.

      Aussies live long because they learn to duck and run at an early age?
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    Tornados

    I love/hate the ominous feeling in the air of a tornadic storm first rolling in. It is so much different than a regular storm approaching.
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  • Profile picture of the author jabraheadset
    Over here, we have volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, landslides and infestations.
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    • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
      Originally Posted by jabraheadset View Post

      Over here, we have volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, landslides and infestations.
      Infestations. Now there is something that everyone from NYC can claim too. Rats everywhere.
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