Hurricanes v. Earthquakes: Which is more scary to you?

[PUSH]

Windows can be a blessing in a basement. Our has two small windows and I always think, "Hmm, what would I do if I needed to get out of here in a hurry?" I think I could fit through them, but I'm not 100% sure.

I agree. I'd never leave my cat behind, even though they are masters of survival.

Yeah, I love our basement. It's completely exposed on one side, and we have a sliding door so we can get out.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

You guys are brave. I can see myself now, being scared to death if a major hurricane ever hit California. I remember watching Hurricane Katrina and Sandy on television and feeling bad, but at the same time, I thanked God it wasn't me in that situation.

With Sandy, it just depended on the area you were in. Where we were it wasn't bad at all. We had power, internet, TV, everything. The only thing that was bad was spending the entire time in a small space with my parents and brother. I got all of my college applications done that night, though, which was really nice. New Jersey got hit hard. Katrina was bad. I was in elementary school but remember it vividly. I had been in Disney the week before. It missed us completely. It was just moderately windy. Then we got home. I was up early (a novelty now) and I told my parents that Katrina was a catagory 5. They didn't believe me. The damage was horrible. My school rallied to raise money to send down to help.

On Dancing with the Stars tonight, Jacoby Jones was talking about Katrina. He talked about not having a home to go back to and how his high school is no longer there. It was destroyed by the hurricane. That's so unimaginable. You get attached to your high school. To see it gone...

But hurricanes, as long as you are prepared and listen to instructions on the radio about how to prepare, really aren't that bad. If you lose power, it's mainly the boredom that sets in that's the worst. Thankfully, this happened only during Isabelle for me. I wasn't home during Irene, but our neighbors said the power was out. I was enjoying the Florida sun.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

At least in hurricane season it's warm. Not like today...

 

[RedDad]

As a structural engineer I have to say earthquakes bother me more than hurricanes, although both can do serious damage. It's only fairly recently that we really started implementing effective seismic requirements in the building codes, and that's really only for certain regions with a history of seismic activity. Just look at the licensing requirements for engineers - states with known high seismic regions generally require advanced licensing for anyone wanting to design buildings there. Not the case for hurricane prone areas (yet...).

 

[StarWarsGirl]

As a structural engineer I have to say earthquakes bother me more than hurricanes, although both can do serious damage. It's only fairly recently that we really started implementing effective seismic requirements in the building codes, and that's really only for certain regions with a history of seismic activity. Just look at the licensing requirements for engineers - states with known high seismic regions generally require advanced licensing for anyone wanting to design buildings there. Not the case for hurricane prone areas (yet...).

Yeah, go down to Charleston, SC and there are still remnants from an Earthquake that happened over a century ago in their buildings and in their structures. They have what essentially are big screws in some of their buildings keeping them together.

 

[katexo]

Well as someone who is going to graduate school to study neotectonics ( ie. earthquakes ) id have to say hurricanes!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

there is no question... hurricanes are far more agreeable in that

- they do not show up unexpected

Can you imagine what it was like, say back in 1900, when hurricanes did show up unexpected??? Back then there was really no true forecasting of hurricanes nor was there the rapid/mass information transmission the way we have now. Like the Great Storm of 1900 that hit Galveston. People went to bed clueless. The next morning more than 6,000 people were gone. It's really amazing to read about that storm and the aftermath then contrast that to the "big ones" we know from today. One of the big things that strikes me is how they literally raised up so much of an island to a higher elevation using such primitive-to-us methods. From an engineering standpoint it's really quite amazing the things that were accomplished as a result of that storm.

I think if you take the forecastability of hurricanes away it makes them truly terrifying.

 

[AllyInWonderland]

Living in Alabama...... Tornadoes

 

[Nemo14]

Can you imagine what it was like, say back in 1900, when hurricanes did show up unexpected??? Back then there was really no true forecasting of hurricanes nor was there the rapid/mass information transmission the way we have now. Like the Great Storm of 1900 that hit Galveston. People went to bed clueless. The next morning more than 6,000 people were gone. It's really amazing to read about that storm and the aftermath then contrast that to the "big ones" we know from today. One of the big things that strikes me is how they literally raised up so much of an island to a higher elevation using such primitive-to-us methods. From an engineering standpoint it's really quite amazing the things that were accomplished as a result of that storm.

I think if you take the forecastability of hurricanes away it makes them truly terrifying.

Back in 1938 (before my day) New England was hit hard in a similar fashion. I believe the fatality count for that was like 5 or 6 hundred. I know a friend's grandmother was found dead on the beach a few days afterwards. At least now, they might be over-hyped at times, but at least we get time to prepare.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Back in 1938 (before my day) New England was hit hard in a similar fashion. I believe the fatality count for that was like 5 or 6 hundred. I know a friend's grandmother was found dead on the beach a few days afterwards. At least now, they might be over-hyped at times, but at least we get time to prepare.

True. And, even if it ends up the storm turns and you don't get hit, at least you had a chance. So many people get so irritated when that happens but I try really hard not to. At least we get a chance, ya know?

 

[RandomPrincess]

Earthquakes! When we had one here in the DC area last year I was terrified! I also remember 3 also smaller earthquakes while growing up in CA. I have always reacted the same way. You just don't know when they are coming it's super scary to me to have the earth move like that. At least with a hurricane I can leave the area and flee to safety.

 

[miles1]

I've experienced just about all of the threats mentioned above in the last five years. At the time, I didn't even realize I was in the earthquake, I thought one of our drivers clipped the building with a triaxle dump truck (not unusual). We usually get a small tornado through the area about once each summer, but I've never had a direct hit and they're certainly not the size of the ones in the Midwest. Sandy was a horrible experience, but we did have warning and only lost our power for about four days.

The one that really scared me was the October Nor'easter of 2 years ago. We had about 10 inches of ice and snow with all the leaves still on the trees. We wound up with a tree through the roof and a second one landed inches from my car. No power for seven days, and we were among the lucky ones. I remember walking outside the house at the height of the storm and hearing huge, 100+ year old trees cracking and falling all around me. I ran back inside in a big hurry and gathered the family in the basement.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Back in 1938 (before my day)

Was that before your day?

 

[Goofyernmost]

I might have the misguided thought that we know when a hurricane is coming and we have time to seek shelter. Earthquakes happen, sometimes without warning and by the time you realize what is going on the damage is done. No place to run, no time to hide. Property damage is probably equal, but, who cares about property. I would rather live to rebuild.