Nothing is so commonplace on the nightly news as scenes of natural disaster. Homes are swept away in muddy floodwaters, whole towns are leveled by tornados, hurricanes lash our coasts and occasionally, earthquakes crumple large buildings in our major cities. With the growth in our population and the desire of so many of our citizens to live outside traditional areas, such disasters are sure to multiply. Sadly, almost all of these things are entirely predictable.
For a multitude of reasons, millions of people chose to live in areas so hazardous and unstable, experts refer to them as idiot zones. Many who live in these areas are unaware of the danger. Others simply ignore the threat. The result has been a loss of life, increased insurance premiums, a huge cost in tax dollars and untold human suffering.
While all this is true, it must also be admitted that there is no perfectly safe place to live. Nature is dynamic, powerful and ever changing. You can be struck by lightening almost anywhere. An unexpected ice storm can topple a tree on your home. Drought and a careless camper can combine to initiate a rampaging wildfire that leaves your home in cinders. This type of risk is largely a factor of chance. Yet many people deliberately chose to live where the risks are entirely predictable and to a large extent avoidable.
A prime example of this behavior is the popularity of building along a stream. Any stream can flood and given time, it’s almost a mathematical certainty it will. Homes built on the flood plains along stream banks or rivers are always subject to severe damage or destruction. Yet these sites are often the most desirable and expensive areas to live. They provide a certain status and the recreational opportunities are overwhelmingly attractive. Much data has been collected over the years on almost every significant stream and river in the United States, predicting the frequency and severity of flooding in these areas. It is almost universally ignored. People willingly pay the higher insurance premiums and gamble with the loss of their property to enjoy a lifestyle that seems right for them. Flood plain dwellers are not alone in this regard.
Everyone enjoys the gorgeous vistas of great valleys or views of the restless sea that cliff top homes provide. Unfortunately, cliffs and ridges are inherently unstable structures. They are always crashing down under the influence of natural weathering and gravity. If you live in an earthquake zone its even more hazardous. And if that isn’t scary enough, living on ridgelines significantly increase the likelihood of wind damage and lightening strikes.
The bottoms of slopes are equally risky. In 2001, a Utah man was rudely awakened when a massive boulder bounded down the steep slope behind his home and crashed through his house, removing his living room and part of his bedroom. Fortunately he was uninjured but the incident makes the point. The bases of steep slopes are subject to rockslides, mudslides, snow avalanches and flooding. Events guaranteed to ruin the day of homeowners and the bottom lines of insurance companies.
Sometimes nature can be sneaky. Homes built on a limestone formation known as Karst in the eastern United States have been known to disappear into sinkholes almost overnight. A few surprised and justifiably horrified farmers have suffered the same fate while driving their tractors. They fall into underground caverns formed by slightly acid rainwater dissolving the limestone bedrock beneath the structure. They can be relatively shallow or hundreds of feet deep. When this happens, not only is the home gone, but the lot it was built on has severely depreciated in value. It simply no longer exists. The most frustrating aspect is the difficulty in detecting a sinkhole before it actually appears and by then, it’s too late.
The real gamblers in the hazard sweepstakes live in the hurricane zones. In the United States this consists of the Gulf coast and the Atlantic seaboard north to Virginia. Over the years, thousands of lives and trillions of dollars have been lost to these monsters of nature. Katrina taught us that even the most modern of cities cannot withstand the ferocity of these storms. Never the less, people continue to build and periodically rebuild along the coast despite the ever increasing insurance costs. Their persistence is perhaps most kindly described as the triumph of determination over demonstrated experience.
Hard as it is to fathom, some people insist on living near the base of volcanoes. Most volcanoes in the lower forty eight states are located along the west coast and do not erupt frequently. They remain dormant for long periods, creating a false sense of security in the local population. The eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in May of 1980, demonstrated how false that security can be in reality. The blast obliterated the top half of the mountain, destroyed vast amounts of timber and ended the lives of scientists and campers in the area. Saint Helens is not the most dangerous volcano in the nation because it is so isolated. That honor should probably be given to Mt. Rainier near Seattle. The entire region is not only subject to a potential eruption but earthquakes and the occasional tsunamis are real possibilities. None of those potential dangers have deterred continued population growth in the region.
The area from Oklahoma through the Midwest experiences so many tornados it’s called Tornado Alley. With the advent of global warming and the periodic appearance of El Niño the area is sure to continue to earn its stormy reputation. Fortunately, science has become much better at predicting twisters, making survival much more likely. This fact does not however, does not preserve your property should you live in the path of one of these funnels.
Given all these potential threats, it is clear that it is almost impossible to avoid living on or near one of these idiot zones. We all must work and we all have our personal preferences of lifestyle. The vital thing is to recognize the hazards present in the locality you choose and take them into account. You may live in an idiot zone but you don’t have to be an idiot. Build or buy an appropriately designed home well away from the most obvious dangers. Adequately insure your home and possessions to prevent catastrophic financial loss. Map out an evacuation route in anticipation of any potential natural disaster. Then, enjoy your life. Some risk, after all, is part of the human condition.
