This is one of those top ten lists people living around here should not be surprised about! Living in the southeast means you have to deal with a wide variety of weather conditions. Yes, we have sunny and calm days. But, we also have to deal with a lot of severe weather. From tornadoes, strong winds, snow, icestorms, hurricanes, droughts, severe hot and cold, and more! Alabama has some of the most diverse weather on planet Earth! And people living here have to be ready for any type of weather! So, this top ten list listing the top ten cities with the most dangerous natural disasters comes as no surprise!
The website 24/7 Wall St reviewed housing data resource RealtyTrac’s 2015 Natural Disaster Housing Risk Report, which considered the potential for serious damage from wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding. 24/7 Wall St. replicated the methodology and aggregated RealtyTrac county-level data on a metropolitan level. For each type of natural disaster, the likelihood of risk is assigned either as very low, low, moderate, high, or very high.
Number one on the list was Fayetteville, North Carolina. But after number one, a string of metros in Alabama and Georgia made the top 10 list!
Number two was Rome, Georgia!
> Natural disaster index: 160
> No. of natural disaster types at risk for: 2
> Hurricane risk: High risk
> Pct. area at risk of wildfires: 20.4%
Rome’s population is at relatively high risk of hurricanes, but the biggest natural disaster threats in the state are wildfires and tornadoes. More than one-fifth of the region is at the highest level of risk of wildfires. Like much of Georgia, the region has been hit by several severe tornado events. In 2012, one tornado that touched down in downtown Rome, left a three mile trail of destruction. While the tornado was only a category EF1, it still damaged dozens of homes.
Number three is Birmingham, Alabama.
> Natural disaster index: 135
> No. of natural disaster types at risk for: 2
> Hurricane risk: Very high risk
> Pct. area at risk of wildfires: 8.4%
Birmingham, located in the central part of Alabama, is tied with nearby Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville for the third worst risk of severe weather among U.S. metropolitan areas. Residents and homes in the area are at high risk of both wildfires and hurricanes, although neither type of natural disaster is at the highest threat level. Tornadoes represent the biggest risk to Birmingham area residents, with the metro area ranking fifth worst in the country for damage from tornadoes between 2001 and 2013. The region has been hit by several major tornado outbreaks. One was the 1977 Smithfield tornado, a category F5 tornado that touched down in a Jefferson County suburb and killed 22 people.
Number four is Anniston – Oxford Alabama.
> Natural disaster index: 135
> No. of natural disaster types at risk for: 1
> Hurricane risk: High risk
> Pct. area at risk of wildfires: 14.1%
The Anniston, Alabama metropolitan area is at moderate risk of flooding, and high risk of wildfires. Like many of the cities with the most dangerous weather, the biggest risks to the area are hurricanes and tornadoes. On Palm Sunday, 1994, a massive outbreak of tornadoes swept across parts of the southeastern US, killing 42 people and injuring more than 300, including one person in the metropolitan area.
Number eight is Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
8. Tuscaloosa, AL
>Natural disaster index: 130
>No. of natural disaster types at risk for: 2
>Hurricane risk: Very high risk
>Pct. area at risk of wildfires: 1.2%
Like much of the Gulf Coast, Tuscaloosa is at very high risk of hurricane damage as well as moderate risk of flooding. The city is also `at risk of being hit by serious tornadoes, which together make it one of the cities at the highest risk of serious natural disasters. According to the NOAA, only two metropolitan areas, Huntsville and Decatur, which are both in Alabama, have seen greater destruction from tornadoes than Tuscaloosa. In April 2011, 64 separate tornadoes hit the state. The worst of these, an EF-4 class, was the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado. The 1.5 miles wide tornado killed 65 people and injured approximately 1,500.
So, the lesson here, have a way to get weather alerts, always! You must always be weather aware while living in Alabama, Georgia, and the southeast! Read the entire top ten list at: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/09/16/cities-with-the-most-dangerous-natural-disasters/
Categories: Local Scenes Stuff, Weather Talk Stuff
