You Might Be Surprised about the Riskiest Places to Live in the US
2021-01-11
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1The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, is responsible for preparing the United States for natural disasters.
2One way the agency works to be prepared is by trying to predict where disasters might happen in the future.
3The information FEMA gathers is calculated and put into a tool called the National Risk Index.
4The index takes a look at natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, forest fires, tornadoes and more.
5It also takes population and building density into consideration.
6Out of over 3,000 counties in the U.S., Los Angeles County in southern California is the riskiest place to live.
7That is home to the city of Los Angeles.
8The counties in the U.S. that are home to other large U.S. cities are risky, too.
9New York County, home to New York City, and Miami-Dade County in Florida have large populations, lots of buildings and homes and are close to water.
10Cities that are close to water are generally considered risky due to flooding.
11Other U.S. cities that have a high risk index are Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri.
12There are some places in the U.S. that are at high risk for natural disasters, but they do not rank as high on this list.
13For example, Oklahoma County, in the state of Oklahoma, has seen over 120 tornadoes since 1950.
14However, FEMA says it is not as risky for tornadoes as some of the counties close to New York City.
15That is because if a tornado were to hit near New York, it would cause more damage and affect more people than when they hit in Oklahoma.
16Susan Cutter is the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.
17She worked on gathering some of the data used in the FEMA study.
18She explained why densely populated counties are at risk.
19"A small tornado can create a large dollar loss," she said.
20Mike Grimm works for FEMA.
21He said one reason densely populated cities rank high on this list is because many of the residents would not be prepared for a disaster if it happened.
22They do not think their cities are at risk.
23"Just because I haven't seen it in my lifetime doesn't mean it won't happen," Grimm said.
24The list has its critics.
25David Ropeik wrote a book called "How Risky Is It, Really?"
26Ropeik said he did not think the FEMA study calculated the risk brought on by climate change well enough.
27He said people do not think things that happen infrequently are risky.
28But when they happen, they can cause a lot of damage.
29He mentioned Superstorm Sandy, which flooded much of New York City in late October 2012.
30Himanshu Grover researches land use and planning at the University of Washington.
31He studies how communities develop and how they manage climate change.
32Grover said the FEMA tool was "a good start," but he did not think it paid enough attention to the frequency of a region's storms and disasters.
33FEMA's Mike Grimm said the tool should help "homeowners and renters and communities to be more resilient."
34I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, is responsible for preparing the United States for natural disasters. 2One way the agency works to be prepared is by trying to predict where disasters might happen in the future. 3The information FEMA gathers is calculated and put into a tool called the National Risk Index. 4The index takes a look at natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, forest fires, tornadoes and more. It also takes population and building density into consideration. 5Out of over 3,000 counties in the U.S., Los Angeles County in southern California is the riskiest place to live. That is home to the city of Los Angeles. 6The counties in the U.S. that are home to other large U.S. cities are risky, too. 7New York County, home to New York City, and Miami-Dade County in Florida have large populations, lots of buildings and homes and are close to water. 8Cities that are close to water are generally considered risky due to flooding. 9Other U.S. cities that have a high risk index are Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri. 10There are some places in the U.S. that are at high risk for natural disasters, but they do not rank as high on this list. 11For example, Oklahoma County, in the state of Oklahoma, has seen over 120 tornadoes since 1950. However, FEMA says it is not as risky for tornadoes as some of the counties close to New York City. That is because if a tornado were to hit near New York, it would cause more damage and affect more people than when they hit in Oklahoma. 12Susan Cutter is the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. She worked on gathering some of the data used in the FEMA study. 13She explained why densely populated counties are at risk. 14"A small tornado can create a large dollar loss," she said. 15Mike Grimm works for FEMA. He said one reason densely populated cities rank high on this list is because many of the residents would not be prepared for a disaster if it happened. They do not think their cities are at risk. 16"Just because I haven't seen it in my lifetime doesn't mean it won't happen," Grimm said. 17The list has its critics. 18David Ropeik wrote a book called "How Risky Is It, Really?" 19Ropeik said he did not think the FEMA study calculated the risk brought on by climate change well enough. He said people do not think things that happen infrequently are risky. But when they happen, they can cause a lot of damage. 20He mentioned Superstorm Sandy, which flooded much of New York City in late October 2012. 21Himanshu Grover researches land use and planning at the University of Washington. He studies how communities develop and how they manage climate change. 22Grover said the FEMA tool was "a good start," but he did not think it paid enough attention to the frequency of a region's storms and disasters. 23FEMA's Mike Grimm said the tool should help "homeowners and renters and communities to be more resilient." 24I'm Jonathan Evans. 25Seth Borenstein wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 26________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28calculate- v. to get a general idea about the value of something 29tornado- n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point 30county- n. an area of a state or country that is larger than a city and has its own government to deal with local matters 31hazard- n. a source of danger 32vulnerability- n. the state of being open to attack, harm or damage 33infrequent- adj. an act that does not happen often 34We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.