The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: If you had to choose one, would you rather be in a 7.0+ magnitude quake, an F5 tornado, or a Category 5 hurricane?
Talk about it.
22 comments
I would choose the earthquake. Tornadoes are very deadly, if you happen to be in their direct path. The small town in Southern Illinois where I lived my early years suffered 234 deaths in the 1925 Tri-State tornado.
An Earthquake, I am glad we didn’t buy a place in Sand Key Island across from Tampa. We would be homeless. Survived Loma Prieta in 1989 with no damage in our house. Yes there was damage in the Bay Area, but Ian devastated the whole state of Florida and the electrical grid across the state.Tornados are as bad as a bomb going off after it touches down in an area or a city.
Personally, none of them…Really cannot afford any one of choices mentioned by Claycord!,,
Would you prefer a tsunami
d) None of the above. All can cause considerable destruction and/or death, as I’ve seen firsthand.
We’ve had several killer tornadoes here, just since we moved back to Tennessee. California is better prepared than most of the country for earthquakes, yet I remember the damage from Loma Prieta. However, if the New Madrid fault erupts again, there will be unprecedented deaths and destruction.
Where I grew up, some people had underground houses.
Or basement houses. The roofs were at ground level.
People who sheltered in houses usually survived tornadoes.
While all three are devastating and life-threatening, if one is properly prepared, a tornado is probably the one with the best chance of survival.
That would be my choice. If I lived in a tornado-prone area, I’d have an underground house.
Earthquake by miles.
Over in seconds, no designated “season”, and minimal aftereffects
Hurricanes and tornadoes, of any magnitude, are annual events. Their touche down areas are the only other change. So, considering how often a 7.0 earthquakes hits this state, I’ll stick with them.
I can deal with the events of a roller coaster.
I despise wind ….it makes me angry.
The problem with hurricanes is you have a week notice of worrying and then prepping and maybe evacuation. With an earthquake, it happens then you deal with the aftermath. But, any of them that hit you directly is pretty much a disaster.
A seven pointer is a very strong earthquake, but I would rather be in an earthquake than strong winds. Earthquakes catch you by surprise and are over in a matter of seconds, and because of the strict building codes in California, there is minimal damage. The Loma Prieta earthquake was 6.9, and even though a section of the Bay Bridge, and a freeway collapsed, on a whole, the Bay Area withstood it pretty good. The homes that collapsed in the Marina District were built on landfill, so I would expect some damage.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a 7.9. That earthquake lasted less than a minute and some homes and buildings were badly damaged, but there are still hundreds of Victorian homes that survived the earthquake and are still standing today. Most of the damage to the city was caused by the fires from the ruptured gas lines that burned for three days.
…all 3 at the same time… but it has to be a 2.0 EQ, a small whirlwind, and light showers 🙂
You forgot to add wildfires. i would go with wildfire because everytime I tell a bad jokes I get burned!!
We live in tornado country. Too far from the coast for a hurricane and no active faults nearby. Having a brick house makes me feel fairly safe. We did have alerts early one morning. The biggest fear was the potential of windows shattering. We have a couple of interior areas where we can huddle if things really get serious.
I was in Raleigh, NC when a tornado came through there. A cinder block K-Mart in the direct path was totally flattened. I don’t think bricks will save you.
I would choose a bag of Doritos. At least I’d know if my teeth still were in working condition.
I believe living through Loma prieta and others I would prefer Earthquakes over others. No experience other than the news but Hurricanes and tornadoes seem (locally) more damaging. So many different aspects to deal with that take so much effort in response and loss. I would equate Hurricanes with wildfires (like I say only observers experience) although wildfires tend to clean their own path and Hurricanes and Tornadoes leave ( not including the human loss) a huge clean up effort in their wake. The world is a dynamic place and we have to live in it so these things are going to happen. The important thing (I believe) is when things like this happen we don’t lose sight of humanity and how we can help.
and for the people more concerned about spelling and sentence construction “I am sorry that the California homeless population kicked you out from underneath your bridge”
Been thru all 3 of those, prefer hurricanes as got plenty of warning and can just leave. We were never stupid to stay for them when it was easy to drive off for a few days.
Easy choice: earthquake. We live in a wood frame single story house, about the safest and most survivable place you can be. If the house did get destroyed, we have a small camping trailer that we could survive in for several days. We would likely be without water and electricity for several days, but we have enough supplies to survive. We don’t have a portable generator, but are considering getting one while they are still able to be sold in California (until 2028).
Well…. it’s more fun making love during an earthquake but it’s usually over too soon… yeah, let’s go with “usually”.
Tornadoes and hurricanes last longer & may provide time for double header.
I choose Hurricane.
I’ll say Earthquakes Alex. I’ve been through the quakes and will stick with earthquakes instead of Tornados or Hurricanes. Sylmar 1971 – 6.6; Whittier/Narrows 1987 – 5.9; Landers/Big Bear 1992 – 7.3 & 6.5; Northridge 1994 – 6.7…. and though I wasn’t working that evening (or even close to the vicinity), I was watching a Dodgers game on TV (the cameras were shaking and the stadium felt it) when the Ridgecrest/ Searles quake & clusters hit 2019 – 6.1, 5.4 & 7.1…. Enough said. Now wild fires, that’s another beast to contend with…….
Miss Night Owl is chiming in. Earthquake. Been thru three hurricanes, lost one condo rented in NC and a home in NC then moved to Denver/back to CA 2003 after hubby’s early retirement. Stats prove it won’t post here.
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