Before I even start this post let me say that my deepest sympathies go out to the people of Japan in the following post I don’t want to take anything away from their problems as they are monumental and impossible for most people to comprehend. Pray for them.
Another tragedy in another part of the world, in a lot of ways it is just another day for us. We watch the news of utter devastation and death by the thousands as we take a brief moment of our lives to feel sorry for the victims and then carry on with our routines. The earthquake in Japan is so far away it is hard to see how this affects us in any way. We watched as New Orleans drowned and pointed out that living below sea level is a bad idea. There are fires, mudslides, and earthquakes in California and we laugh at them for living in such dangerous places.
In a lot of ways we aren’t wrong. It’s a really bad idea to live at or below sea level sooner or later the water is going to get you. If anyone around here built a house on top of a steep hill surrounded by dry brush and grass, we might feel bad for them personally, but honestly what did they think was going to happen? Fire likes to burn uphill and mud likes to go downhill.
The sad part about a lot of the people in Japan that were killed wasn’t that they chose to build homes in a bad place, but that they were born in a country prone to earthquakes and therefore tsunamis. It’s pretty hard to choose where you’re born or at least that is what I have been led to believe.
We see people in the U.S choosing to live in areas that are extremely dangerous. Some dangers can be mitigated. You can build buildings that are earthquake proof. Houses that can withstand hurricanes are not impossible to build, other disasters just aren’t survivable. Tsunamis and Lahars are not survivable without enough warning. Even then the property devastation is almost total.
We have been lucky in the Americas our world is very young we have not learned all the dangers that await us. I can name three disasters that we missed because of our young age.
1. The New Madrid Fault: In 1812 the New Madrid Fault in the Mississippi Valley had an 8.0 seismic event. At the time there were very few people living in the area. The same quake today would most likely destroy Memphis and cause a disaster never seen in the interior of the United States.
In my estimation this is the most dangerous fault in the US. This fault will effect almost every person in the US and Canada. The reason this fault is so problematic is its location. Many of our major interstates, highways, railways, gas, electrical, and oil pipelines transverse this area. If these major transportation arteries are severed the entire US will have shortages of food, fuel and power that will take months to fix. We have never had a disaster take out the heart of our country before, so the effects are unknown.
2. Seattle, Washington Area: A lahar 600 years ago resulted in a mud slide that reached Tacoma. Scientists theorize that a lahar today would go farther and spread wider because of deforestation wiping out hundreds of square miles of populated area.
3. Seattle, Washington / Portland, Oregon area: The cascadia subduction zone last erupted in 1700 AD: That earthquake off the coast of Oregon and Washington not only rocked the coast but sent tsunamis inland for miles. Records in Japan indicate that the tsunami reached them and destroyed lives and property even on the other side of the Pacific. I have personally seen the dead trees for miles inland along the highways to the coast from that earthquake. The large population in this area will lead to a death toll we have not seen in this country.
America’s cities are untested by nature. Many old world cities like London, Paris, Moscow, and Berlin are in areas that are fairly immune to the ravages of disasters. Those cities that were built in dangerous areas can be found in places like the bottom of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. It is very likely that Atlantis was one of these cities that fell to geographical forces.
For those of us that live in the less dangerous areas we grow complacent. We shouldn’t do so; a house fire is as devastating to your family as any California wildfire. An exploding railcar will knock your house flat just like any hurricane will. Every single place has its hazards.
What I want my readers to take away from this article is, be prepared! Make sure your home has enough bottled water for at least three days to a week. You should have a way to cook food if the power goes out, and a way to keep warm. If you like to camp a lot of these supplies are interchangeable. You don’t need to feel like you are some crazy survivalist. Just tell yourself you are getting ready to go camping. (You might find yourself camping in your front yard as you try and re-roof or rebuild your home.) Store some emergency supplies somewhere else. It could be your house that is destroyed. A couple of Rubbermaid totes full of clothing and food will go a long ways in an emergency and doesn’t cost much.
Imagine what those Japanese families would give to have some of the same stuff stored just a few miles inland, instead of having just the clothes on their backs.
The more complicated our world becomes the more fragile it is. I would hate to have anyone I know suffer because they didn’t take the time to make the most minimal investments in emergency supplies.
Be safe.
Cranky Farmer
Cascadia Subduction Zone
Mt Rainer Lahar
New Madrid Fault
La Palma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Palma#La_Palma_island
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