Scariest Natural Disasters

[Helel]

So, this has been the topic of numerous conversations I've had with people, but the premise is pretty straight forward: what manner of natural disaster scares you the most? You don't need to justify your reasoning, but it may help for the sake of discussion.

Also, if you think I've left anything out, let me know and I'll add it. :o

You're free to change your response as you like as well.

[Cece]

Don't know which is worse, being in the path of one, fearing for those in path, or being first on the scene...

[AmbushCat]

Living in the middle of the continental USA, I think it's safe to say that the ol' twister disturbs me the most. I'd known that Kansas was notorious for having those, but it didn't really get driven home until about a month after I first moved out here from Michigan; the county seat in the county west of us got pulverized. I've been unnerved each spring ever since.

[Miku-chan]

I just drove thru Galla Springs, Virginia yesterday morning and I worked relief for Katrina and the damage from the tornados disturbed me more due to the fact of the suddenness along with the damage. At least with a hurricane, you get some warning and predictability...

[Raleigh]

I mostly fear third impact. What with the whole loss of more or less every life on the planet I think it would be something to be more worried about.

[Mitera Nikkou]

Some of those options aren't really natural disasters... But you did miss flooding (a tsunami floods, but is still a different beast entirely) and blizzards.

Anyway, humanity aside, natural disasters are rather predictable. You know where they can happen, how they can happen, and take the necessary precautions. If you're afraid of a tsunami, stay away from the coast. If you're afraid of an earthquake, don't live near a fault line. And if you feel like dallying with danger, there are ways of constructing buildings so that they resist earthquakes, adding basements/shelters to take you out of harm's way when a tornado comes, and other such things.

As far as scary things go, though, I honestly wouldn't know. I'm not scared of any of these things. But if I had to pick out one that's the most universal and prevailing, and thus the cause of the most loss of life, I'd go with microorganisms. They're numerous, everywhere, not all (currently) can be dealt with, and they change. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones, et cetera only change in magnitude, not nature. They'll always be old dogs with old tricks. One day taking care of them will be like putting dishes in a dishwasher, while at the same time we'll still be trying to outmaneuver the pseudo-intelligence of microorganisms... And I wouldn't be surprised if many of the new ones were engineered by humanity.

[Helel]

Finally updated this since I'm been out of internet and completely swamped with life these last couple of weeks.

Personally, I hate the idea of earthquakes- no predictability basically, potential for causing massive, widespread secondary disasters (tsunami, volcanic eruptions, etc) really gives me pause from considering places like California for potential residency.

Hurricanes don't bother me in the least, and though the potential for tornadoes (along with the recent tornado disaster), I still think there's a bit more you can do to get out of its way compared to earth below me shaking like mad.

That said, I think engineering has come a long way with dealing with both of these kinds of natural disasters, but we still have a long we to go yet.

[Zilla]

I agree on that count, Earthquakes are scary because they hit fast, and they hit hard. You don't really have much time to prepare for an earthquake, and there's not much refuge you can feasibly take.

[Just some lady]

Mm, a sufficiently dangerous epidemic seems like it could be pretty terrifying...

That said, it was certainly a bit scary when the quake hit while I was in Japan, even though it wasn't dangerous where I was.