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ORIGINAL: MasterCaneman

When you think about it, there aren't any places on Earth that are totally safe. If it isn't earthquakes, it's floods. If not floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes. While it's not been a major issue so far, we live in a cosmic shooting gallery, and every so often we get hit by a space rock. One of these days, it's gonna be a major one. We're almost wholly defenseless against nature inherent to our design. Without clothes we'd freeze or fry, we don't have thick skin, claws, or teeth to defend ourselves against dangerous animals, and our teeth and digestive systems are inadequate to process raw foods. We're quite literally aliens on this world when you think of it.

Why people live in those places in an example of 'risk mitigation'. Yes, there's a greater chance of (X) happening, but it doesn't happen often enough to justify moving somewhere else. People have been living on the slopes of Vesuvius for millenia, they know that sooner or later the mountain's gonna blow again. But it doesn't wipe out everything everytime, so they feel the risk is less than the reward. Hell, most places in the continental U.S. are really piss-poor places to live without civil engineering. Much of the Southwest would be uninhabitable without artificial water supplies, electricity, and roads. Why live there? Because the reward outweighs the risk. That's why people move back into Tornado Alley, or the flood plains, or continue to live in Cali.

Earth and Nature are not our friends. They are hell-bent on killing us, and only our big brains,opposable thumbs, and tendency to run in packs stand in the way of success on their part. Sometimes we live in 'dangerous' places by necessity, other times by sheer stubborness, and sometimes we lose. But more often, we win or at least dodge that particular bullet for another day. We're good at this kind of thing, you know...

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ORIGINAL: jlf1961

A friend of mine from high school recently returned from Italy where he had been studying Mt. Vesuvius and told me 3 million people live in the danger zone if the volcano blows again like it did when it buried Herculium and Pompeii.

This reminded me of all the people who have had homes destroyed by lava flows in Hawaii during the current eruption, not to mention all the people who are buying homes on the slopes of volcanoes from California to Washington.

Okay, volcanic soil is some really fertile stuff, great for farming.

And the views are breathtaking....

But what about when the volcano decides to blow its top?

Then there are all the people living in earthquake zones, landslide zones, and other geologically questionable areas.

Why live somewhere that mother nature has made it clear that given half the chance, she is gonna try and kill you?

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ORIGINAL: jlf1961

Why live somewhere that mother nature has made it clear that given half the chance, she is gonna try and kill you?

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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: jlf1961

Why live somewhere that mother nature has made it clear that given half the chance, she is gonna try and kill you?

well,.. there really isn't anywhere (that I would actually want to live full-time) that is 100% safe.. I have looked for that in the past and I will take my chances with places that have a certain level of danger from mother nature.. and if you build a house with those dangers in mind and using certain materials then you can reduce the risk, sometimes by quite a lot.. and having what you need to survive for several weeks, water, a generator or other energy source, food, basic stuff etc then you increase your survival chances too.. but don't you know this? I thought you lived in a bunker (or the equivalent)..

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Why live somewhere that mother nature has made it clear that given half the chance, she is gonna try and kill you?

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

A friend of mine from high school recently returned from Italy where he had been studying Mt. Vesuvius and told me 3 million people live in the danger zone if the volcano blows again like it did when it buried Herculium and Pompeii.

This reminded me of all the people who have had homes destroyed by lava flows in Hawaii during the current eruption, not to mention all the people who are buying homes on the slopes of volcanoes from California to Washington.

Okay, volcanic soil is some really fertile stuff, great for farming.

And the views are breathtaking....

But what about when the volcano decides to blow its top?

Then there are all the people living in earthquake zones, landslide zones, and other geologically questionable areas.

Why live somewhere that mother nature has made it clear that given half the chance, she is gonna try and kill you?