Searching for a Natural Hazard Free Zone
Searching for a Natural Hazard Free Zone The environment of the earth is very delicate. While the strenuous acts of human life impose harmful conditions to the earth’s environment, there are natural hazards that can impose harmful conditions for human life. At any moment there are natural hazards that can occur on the earth. While some hazards are more predictable than others, all have the potential to have disastrous outcomes. Like the catastrophic tsunami of the Indian Ocean in December of 2004 or the more recent, Hurricane Sandy in New York. There is no comparison between nature and ma- made systems to stop the cycle of earth’s climate, there is nothing we can do to prevent or reduce natural hazards*. Hazards are a part of the natural make-up of every region's climate of the world, which imposes the question where is the safest place to live. Specifically, is there a safe place from natural hazards in the United States? Recent disasters reject certain areas of the United States automatically from being the safest place to live. One is New Orleans, Louisiana for its infamous history of hurricanes. On August 29, 2005 the world witness the damage a category 5 hurricane could do to a major city in the United States. Hurricane Katrina tore through the city with a vengeance leaving thousands destitute and stranded for days. Areas such as California have high risk of earthquakes at any given moment. For years the western coast of the United States has had its fair share of experiences with earthquakes. But, what region or pocket of this country is safer than any other. Deciding the safest place to live in the United States can be a matter of opinion based upon what a person may feel they can control or handle. But, facts show there is a place in the United States which is safest to live when natural hazards are the defining factor. The western southern border of the United States is at high risk because of the Gulf of Mexico's large quantity of