Natural Disasters

[VernalLapin]

A weird topic for a thread, I know. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing certain things, or anything, remember it’s not obligatory! I just find this topic interesting and have some questions:

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?
2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)
3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?
4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?

For me, personally:
1. I live in the midwest so it’s usually tornadoes. We get a few warnings/watches every year. But earthquakes sometimes happen.
2. I’ve never seen a tornado, thankfully, but I’ve been in public when there were ones nearby and 0/10. One time I was at a dollar tree and that was really scary, me and one of the employees were so terrified but the other employee gave no cares. The other time was at a Target and I was the only one panicking. My sweet boyfriend helped calm me down. As for earthquakes, I only remember experiencing one. It wasn’t destructive but it was wild to hear the whole house rattling and see the sky and trees shaking outside…
3. Tornadoes scare me quite a lot. I have pretty frequent nightmares about them. I feel safe if I’m in a basement away from windows. I was really scared of earthquakes as a kid, but since they don’t seem to be that common here they don’t weigh on my mind a lot. If I was somewhere where they were, I think it definitely would.
4. As much as I fear tornadoes, they’re also the most interesting of natural disasters to me. Isn’t it interesting how fear can spark curiosity? If you like learning about tornadoes as well, you should check out swegle studios on youtube! He makes lots of tornado vids with lots of info!

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I think flooding is the main problem in my area.. that and heat waves.

But I've lived in Michigan where we had tornadoes, those always scared me. Heard a lot of tornado sirens and participated in a lot of tornado drills but never saw one. Then I lived in Washington State for a lil bit where earthquakes can happen apparently but I never experienced one there either! And then I lived on the southeast coast for a bit where hurricanes were the main thing, and I had to evacuate a few times, but luckily nothing bad happened to our stuff.

I think the natural disaster that fascinates me the most is probably tsunamis because you can't outrun a tsunami.. Tornadoes are really scary too but they're also kinda neat.

 

[Bluelady]

1-2.There’s the yearly earthquakes. They’re usually weaker than a 4.0. However, a 6. something has hit this area several decades ago. The most recent earthquake did knock down my computer though.

Some streets do flood when we get heavy rain. Thankfully that doesn’t happen often though. Who knows if that will change with climate change.

3. Up until now, I didn’t have a lot of funds to start an emergency kit. Especially for the more expensive stuff like a generator, tent, or emergency cash. Every time that an earthquake would hit, it would be a grim reminder that we’re not ready.

The most recent earthquake was no different. I’ve put off mounting my furniture to the wall because of family reasons, but my computer paid the price for it. Even if it’s temporary, I should still mount my furniture.

4. Earthquakes. There’s no warning signs at all. The ground just shakes underneath you, and you have to quickly decide if this is something that you can sleep off or not. The little alert on my phone doesn’t help when it starts blaring while an earthquake is already in progress.

 

[VernalLapin]

I forgot floods were a thing…we get those here and they’re not dangerous but just enough to be a pain in the ass and ruin a bunch of stuff in the basement :^P There is a spot near me that pretty much turns into a deep pond some aprils which is always interesting

 

[Snek]

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?

Earthquakes and mudslides. Fires are common during dry seasons.

2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)

Earthquakes but I either don't feel them or sleep through though so...not too bad.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?

Not really

4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?

Probably tornados. I find them interesting. I've only seen them in films or on the internet.

 

[.: Meri :.]

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?
We do get tornadoes here sometimes—also flooding near the rivers if we're speaking about the more general area.

2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)
North Carolina experienced a nasty outbreak of 30 tornadoes (some of which got up to category EF-3 I think) in April 2011. We weren't directly impacted, but it was a terrifying day, and a lot of people got hurt or killed. My mom was still at her old workplace at the time, so we were super worried about her and vice versa.
On other occasions we've also had tornadoes get within a few miles of our house, close enough for the sky to get eerily dark for midday, and early one morning one was close enough that I could actually hear the telltale "train sound", so those were... not fun times.

These are very unusual for our area, but we did also experience a very mild earthquake once. I remember just being kinda confused as to why my desk suddenly started shaking.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?
A lot honestly, I regularly experience bad weather nightmares about tornadoes and I don't like the times of year when they become more common.
Tornadoes tend to like flat areas and roads, so I do take some comfort in not living in their ideal terrain. Although, I'm not sure how I really cope with it exactly, because I tend to mainly respond to these sorts of emergency situations after the fact. Like, (although this could also be that my priorities are just. very skewed), when a tornado gets really close, once the cats are safe I usually start grabbing my stuff, with an entirely too cocky attitude of "if it gets really close, I think I can still book it to the closet in time". My parents hate that I do this and that's fair tbh, please do not be like me.
Then once the situation is over I'll get super shaken up lmao

4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?
Volcanic eruptions, maybe? But I don't think I'm really fascinated by any of them. I'm not sure I experience anything beyond my fear and dislike of them.

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I mostly experience tornados, as someone that lives in the Midwest in USA. I have been in a couple of super super small earthquakes but they are very rare where I'm at.

Tornados are the thing you have to worry about most where I live. Often times they don't last long, but they randomly appear and you don't always get a warning, of yes it is there and will be there in x mins, or even know it happened until the next day. The warnings, of yes it is there and will be here in x mins, are usually a tornado that lasted long enough to travel through a couple of towns. You kinda have to guess when you live out in the country or even the outskirts of a town. But people should be taking precautions anyway when the weather stations say watch or warning. Luckily, the weather station is pretty good about letting you know conditions are good for a tornado to form and put out a watch or a warning.

I have seen a tornado in person once, and it was a weak one (F1 or F0). It still destroyed someone's house by knocking a large tree into it that wasn't dead. I have seen funnels a few times. And there have been times the storm was bad and sounded like a train was outside and nothing was said about a tornado beyond a general warning because the conditions were really good and funnels and stuff have been seen randomly here and there. I live by a train now, but I didn't always!

Flash floods can be a problem, as it is super flat where I live. But they usually leave as quick as they came, so you just have to stay home a few hours after a heavy storm before going out.

These things don't bother me, unless it isn't looking good outside at the time compared to most storms, then I'm a little weary and I start moving stuff into a bathroom but honestly there isn't much you can do but wait it out in a safe place in your house.

I would think the most uncomfortable natural disaster would be a tsunami or a hurricane. So I would say those are the scariest. Those can't happen where I live fortunately. We have enough with tornados that can happen any time of the year if the conditions are met.

I do think tornados and lightening are probably the most interesting to me. They come in interesting shapes and they are so tall. Oh and comets . But I'm not sure comets count as a natural disaster unless a town was pummeled by them or something. But sometimes people's houses or cars get hit with one.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Ohh I forgot to mention but I have also seen funnel clouds a couple times during car rides as a kid, and it always freaked me out. One was kinda thin and wispy, but the other was larger and dark. Either they didn't turn into anything or they were recently done being a thing, thankfully.

 

[Asarena]

1/2. I live in Kentucky. Tornadoes are probably the biggest concern. There was a crazy tornado outbreak in 2012. We were under a PDS tornado watch that day. Once the storm started, you could hear the wind howling. It was so dark outside. And the tornado sirens just kept going. Ultimately, an EF3 tornado did end up forming and going through a portion of the southern part of the county I was in. From there it continued into other counties. No fatalities thankfully, but some homes/structures were badly damaged/completely destroyed. I was home alone that day, and I was terrified. Somehow my power didn't go out, which was almost equally as crazy since it went out during normal storms somewhat often

There's also a risk for earthquakes since there's a fault line that's near the western part of Kentucky, the New Madrid Seismic Zone. There was a large series of earthquakes there in 1811 and 1812. We did both tornado and earthquake drills at school.

Floods are also a concern in some areas. I have a lot of family in Eastern Kentucky, and they had bad flooding there in 2022. Nine people died in the country most of my relatives live in. I saw videos of the flooding on YouTube, and it was insane. Flooding also happens in my more immediate area as well. The Ohio River floods sometimes, and low lying areas near creeks and rivers are always at risk during heavy rains. The Ohio River flood of 1937 is infamous. I haven't personally been affected by a flood though

Remnants of hurricanes can also pack a punch as well, although I think that's a rare occurrence. It happened once when I was younger. We had a crazy wind storm caused by a hurricane. The power was only out for a day at my house, but school was cancelled for three days, and when we went back some of my classmates still didn't have power back at their house. Usually, hurricane remnants are just gray skies and rain for us. I looked it up, and the hurricane was Hurricane Ike in 2008. There's also a Wikipedia article about the effects of Hurricane Ike in inland North America

3. Tornadoes scare me the most. I cope with it by being weather aware and knowing where to go and what to do during a tornado. I'd surely be scared during an earthquake, but who knows if a large earthquake will even happen during my lifetime. Storms with the potential to cause tornadoes happen multiple times a year though. Also, I do generally know what to do if an earthquake happens as well. I'm not in a low lying area, so flooding isn't much of a concern. Hurricanes obviously can cause damage here as I experienced previously, but that's rare

4. I feel like I'm a bit fascinated by them all. Their power and destructive force is amazing and terrifying at the same time. I probably pay the most attention to tornadoes though since they're the most likely to happen where I live

 

[ali.di.magix]

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?
Earthquakes and cyclones are the most common.

2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)
Oh boy have I been through a lot lol.

I have been in a 7.1, 6.3, 6.1, and 6.0 magnitude earthquakes with epicenters close to where I was living. Also 10,000+ smaller aftershocks over several years

While the 7.1 was the largest in magnitude, the 6.3 was by far the worst. It was centered close to the city and the shaking was incredibly intense (the acceleration was recorded to be up to 2g in all directions! It was also rated an XI on the mercalli intensity scale, which is the second biggest rating). It felt like the house I was in had been lifted and ripped off it's very foundations. The rest of the earthquakes were strong, but had more of a rolling motion to it.

As a result of these earthquakes, it caused about NZD$77 billion dollars in damage. Looking at this estimate now, it truly is baffling that they caused that much damage! But it also makes sense as our infrastructure was destroyed in a lot of areas.

I've also been through a Category 2 cyclone. Fortunately, I wasn't impacted by flooding. But our infrastructure took a massive hit; the roads were closed for months afterwards, only way to get in and out was by flying.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?
Natural disasters scare me a lot. So much so that I suspect I have PTSD from them. I don't deal well with the unknown - as in, where is the next one going to hit, how bad is it going to be, what is going to go wrong. I find it very hard to self-soothe in these situations. Spending time with loved ones seems to be the only thing that helps

4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?
Ironically enough, probably earthquakes. I always loved geography and earth science growing up, and still do.

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I live in Eastern Canada, so the most common natural disasters we have are thunderstorms and blizzards. We also have floods and wildfires, but those two aren't as frequent.

I haven't lived through any blizzards intense enough to knock out power sources and ice up roads, but there was an especially terrible blizzard that happened in Quebec in 1998 where many residents were without heat and power for weeks. We also get thunderstorms during the summer, sometimes with strong winds. I dealt with one of these heavy thunderstorms last summer, which was a little scary but not enough to warrant much danger.

Honestly, there aren't any natural disasters that fascinate me. All of them are pretty terrifying.

 

[Aniko]

1. In my area it's rather floods in spring, wildfires in summer, icestorms in winter, an a few earthquakes once in a while.

2. Last summer we had several wildfires going on, some not so natural in the end, thanks to some psycho, it was not too bad in my area but we had orange skies and smog.
Floods is what I experienced the most, with water in the basement but it's nothing compared to people who live near streams and rivers or who lost their houses.
Last year many people celebrated holidays without heat and electricity due to a snowstorm, many trees fell and it took weeks for some to get power back. In my area, I was one of the lucky ones not affected, it was so weird, excepted for 3 streets in my neighborhood everything else was pitch black.
It's been a while since we had an earthquake, but it's just small ones. It's still a bit scary. We were at the epicenter once, it happened the evening and we lost power, we were in total dark and the noise was so deafening I couldn't hear anything else, not even my family yelling and asking where I was.
So nothing majors for me... Ah! Once a mini tornado took our patio table and BBQ, but nobody got hurt, I saw it from the kitchen windows, it started with a pretty leaves dance, then got bigger and bigger and before I understood what was going on, everything on pation flew away, even a full gas tank.
Even if tornadoes are not frequent or that big, I will always remember that man who lost his life like three years ago or so, I think I was more shocked because it's not something that usually happens here.

3. It scares me a lot so I'm happy to live in a a relatively safe area, *cross fingers*

4. Not sure if I'm fascinated or horrified but sink holes and maelstrom

 

[Gabby]

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?

Really only earthquakes. Though where I grew up, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes were very common.

2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)

There was an F3 tornado that really tore up my town when I was a child. Other than that, I haven't been a part of any natural disasters, though I've felt a couple earthquakes.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?

The concept does scare me but since I'm in a place that doesn't really have too big of a threat of natural disaster, it doesn't really take up any of my mind space.

4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?

Man made ones, like the Chernobyl disaster. If we're not counting those, tsunamis fascinate and terrify me.

 

[SkyKnight03]

Tornadoes are fairly common. Hurricanes are less common, earthquakes even less so.

Earthquakes scare me for the complete random factor. Tornadoes give me a feeling of impending doom. There's not much to do except helplessly hunker down. No real fascination and I'd rather not experience more of them.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

We tend to only really get earthquakes here, but honestly I don't really feel them that much unless it is a really powerful one. We haven't had "the big one" yet, and I think the last really bad earthquake we had at least here was the Northridge earthquake though I could be forgetting other ones.

We do get wildfires, but I don't think that is a natural disaster since it has to be started by someone or something compared to it just happening. Those can be pretty devastating and it's very hard to tell how a fire is going to go because it could be in control one minute and then sometime later it could be much worse. It also doesn't help when we get those awful winds too.

 

[xlisapisa]

1. What type of natural disasters happen in your area?
floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, extreme heat and severe winter weather.

2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)
One time I was outside in the backyard at a friends house when the ground started trembling, they had brick flooring and the bricks started to shake going up and down. we thought we were tripping at first like wth is going on right now. it didn’t last long, maybe like a good 3 to 4 mintues then we had to look it up and sure enough it was an earthquake. not sure how big it was or all the technical info, but that ish was crazy. This happened in the DMV. also back when I lived in California I slept through a couple of small earthquakes, didn’t feel a thing only knew about them because other people were talking about at work.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?
I mean it’s pretty scary stuff but I feel like there’s not much you can do when you’re in it, just hope for the best I guess. sometimes I’d like to imagine I am the main character of this story and main characters don’t usually die sooo I should be fine right?

4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most?
Volcanoes erupting is interesting to me as long as I’m not there when it’s erupting. I also find Tsunamis and crazy lighting storms fascinating, pretty to look at but scary to be in.

 

[DaCoSim]

1.What type of natural disasters happen in your area?
I live in a big hurricane area
2. What sort of natural disasters have you been through/witnessed? How bad were they (add richter scale, category, etc if you know/want!)
I lived here for some of the bigger ones for sure. Ike and Harvey were prob the biggest 2 I’ve seen. I’ve been near tornados though never been through one thank god.

3. How much do they scare you? How do you cope with this fear?

I did just fine through all of it. I keep a pretty level head and try to be prepared as much as possible.
4. What sort of natural disaster fascinates you most? Prob tornados