My heart goes out to those in Texas who are ducking for cover during Hurricane Harvey. Friends on Facebook are posting pictures of water, driven by the wind, finding its way inside through electrical outlets, streets filling up with water, and shocked animals taking cover in backyards.

I've never been in a hurricane, but according to my brother's description when he lived in Tampa, I'd never want to endure the experience.  He said was a like having a tornado warning that lasts for days.  They took cover inside their walk in closet to ride the storm out.

As my co-workers and I talked about which we'd rather endure: tornadoes, hurricanes or earthquakes, I'd have to say, I'd pick to live here in South Dakota, with a risk of tornadoes, than any other place in the world.  Here's why:

  • A tornado is short lived, with warnings typically less than an hour
  • A tornado is isolated, often affecting a small group of people or property
  • Because the swath of destruction is smaller than a hurricane or earthquake, there are people close by unaffected, ready to help those who did suffer injury or harm.

According to ABC News, hurricanes leash much more destruction than a tornado:

Hurricanes cause about $3 billion in damage each time they touch ground in the United States and about $5 billion annually.

In a report from Quora.com, earthquakes are deadlier than hurricanes, not necessarily from the quaking itself, but from the tsunamis that are a spawned from an earthquake.

Despite the type of natural disaster, one consideration is also the people who live in the region.  Here in South Dakota, we know and help our neighbors in a calamity.  Larger cities or other parts of the world may have a different outlook on life, where self preservation becomes paramount over caring for a neighbor.

So I say, let me live in a land where the threat of a tornado exists, without the fear of a hurricane or earthquake.  We'll hope with each passing storm there is no loss of life or property.  Should there be a loss, there undoubtedly be people close by to help with the clean up and rebuilding of life.


See Also: 

More From KXRB