And now we have some more countries to add to the list! http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/01/a...0117bangladesh-south-asia-floods0254PMVODtopw We have a huge number of members from these countries - stick together everyone, I hope none of you are too badly affected.
I feel bad for all the people affected by the numerous natural disasters that occur around the world on a regular basis and pray for all of them. However, I will add a special prayer for the folks in Houston so that they receive the wisdom to NOT re-build in these obvious danger zones, unlike the idiots who re-built in the geologic swimming pool called New Orleans and other high-risk areas after the inevitable hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. I am tired of my taxes going to pay for their stupidity and/or greed.
You could say that about a huge swathe of America though, where the tornados come through every year and destroy communities. There comes a point where the risk is acceptable.
Living in Tornado Alley is also a sign that you are not a member of Mensa. However, I am less concerned about that because the potential for overall destruction is much smaller and the cost to the taxpayer is much less. Large scale hurricanes and flooding in sea level communities are the big ticket items.
How are you feeling about New York? http://www.slate.com/articles/busin..._dutch_style_storm_surge_barriers_across.html
It's almost always the low income families that take a hit. You know how it is, the North and West sides are usually for the wealthy. Do you think your average low income family can afford living there? It's a dilemma, so they keep rebuilding in the same treacherous zones.
Same way I feel about Miami, New Orleans, Boston, Houston, etc. Being at sea level, they are stupid places to put millions of people in. When seafaring was the driver of business and civilization, one could make the case that you had to live next to the sea and put up with the risks. That era is long over and we are stuck in with these legacy deathtraps that demonstrate their vulnerabilities at least once or twice per century. And don't get me started on the rocket scientists that live along the San Andreas fault in California.
I live south east of Houston, so this hits close to home. Lulz. Natural disaster risk exists in every state of the union. But the issue with flooding over here has a lot to do with over development. Areas that didn't use to flood in major storms now do because development has constrained drainage / water runoff. It's why we seem to be having 100 year floods every 10 years or so now.
The big one, for the U.S. and possibly the world, of course, is the monstrous caldera sitting underneath Yellowstone National Park. When that super volcano blows (apparently, it is already overdue) the U.S. will be no more and, in fact, it could result in the extinction of humanity, worldwide. Even the preppers will be short-termers because the rest of civilization will be gone and eventually their supplies will run out. What I find amusing is that a lot of preppers seem to have put their shelters in that general area (Idaho, Montana, etc.) due to low population levels, but totally in the immediate kill zone of the caldera.