Safest places to live

I grew up in tornado country. One of my vivid childhood memories is my dad driving us a couple of miles from home to a vantage point where we watched a tornado go through downtown Dallas (1957) and praying for my mother who had not yet returned home from working downtown. 6 year olds remember stuff like that.

Tornadoes are unpredictable, hit very fast, can do tremendous damage, but are confined to relatively small areas and are over quickly.

A few years ago, I moved to Florida just in time to experience the new upswing in hurricane activity. 4 hurricanes in 1 year rapidly introduced me to plywood over windows, stores of food and bottled water, and long hours sitting inside while wind and rain build, peak, and then subside. Since I live in Orlando, the tremendously destructive winds are not nearly as severe as on the coast, so mostly, hurricanes are boring.

Two weeks ago, Floridians were reminded of our second wind danger. I learned that I’m back in tornado country.

I’ve never lived in earthquake country. I really don’t care too. But a friend in California told me that he’d much rather live in earthquake country than hurricane country. His analysis: you don’t have to prepare, it happens quickly, there is really nothing you can do, you survive or you don’t. That’s actually a healthy perspective, particularly if you are prepared for death and have confidence in your destination for eternity.

So I found this map interesting. Looking for a safe place to live? There are not a lot of choices!

Looks like Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan are best. Or way out in West Texas. But then there are other issues like cold, snow, heat, and no rain. Oh well, guess I’ll stay in Florida.