what are 5 expert predictions of areas vulnerable to natural disasters?

Answer 1

Good question. I am surprised people are reluctant to answer.

One point that needs to be made is that areas like Indonesia that suffered a monumental earthquake and tsunami a while back, are always vulnerable. There is a tendency for people to forget from generation to generation. That tsunami was not unusual on a centennial scale.

Nor was the devastation of New Orleans. Have a look up of the devastation of Galveston in 1900 - it's just a lick down the coast from New Orleans.

Yet everyone started raving about the New Orleans disaster being something unusual. Trouble is we live in a much more populated world now. What would have killed 10,000 a few hundred years ago will now kill 250,000. It doesn't mean the disasters are any worse.

If you count the rate of hurricane hits on the Gulf coast and the East coast of USA over few hundred years, you could almost guarantee that in that time New orleans would cop it some time. And half the place is below sea-level.

A great percentage of people on the East coast live on what are just sand spits. People like living like that, but a tsunami or hurricane will get them in the centennial time scale.

1960 saw a Chilean Earthquake mag 9, just like the Indonesian one, so they are not that rare. Lisbon in 1700? (I think) was totally destroyed by Earthquake and Tsunami of similar power. That tsunami happening now would have destoyed a bunch of beachsiders on the East coast of USA.

So, there we have it:

Low lying regions of Atlantic Coasts, Pacific Coasts, Indian Ocean coasts. Then Indonesia is a constant disaster zone - remember Karakatoa and Tambora - both events would have killed hundreds of thousands if they happened now.

The fifth one is the good old San Andreas. There are other dangerous faults - by Japan, and by my own New Zealand, but San Andreas sits right under a great urban part of USA.

Can you imagine Los Angeles with a 8 pointer right under it - too awful to think about.

Answer 2

1.the southeastern US-hurricanes
2.Asia-tsunamis
3.Hawaii-volcanoes
4.American midwest-tornadoes
5.Japan-giant sea monsters