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Would you rather deal with an earthquake or tornado?
Posted by 2sweetnsaxy • 2/27/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Earthquake, natural disasters, tornados
Crkian just did a post about an earthquake he experienced and it made me think... Would you rather deal with an earthquake or a tornado?
I'd rather deal with the earthquake. I mean, so the earth shakes for a few minutes and then it's all over. On the most part, there's not really much damage if any if they're the smaller quakes.
But a tornado they just rip through towns and tear up anything in their path and they do it like clock work every year. Earthquakes only happen once in a while.
What say you? Or is there some other dose of mother nature you'd rather deal with?
User Comments
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I've been in a earthquakes but not tornadoes so I don't have much to compare them with. The few really bad storms I've experienced have frightened me, wind can be so destructive and when you add driving rain, I think I'd probably prefer an earthquake.-
I haven't been in a tornado either but just looking at them on t.v. is frightening.
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Earthquake, hands down. I grew up in California and became so used to them I almost miss them now.
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How can you miss an earthquake? :-D I am kind of used to them though. They don't frighten me like they used to.
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I think much better tornado. At least, I could fly away with it.
Particularly, in here, no tornadoes as what happened in US.
but yes, earthquakes are pretty often - destroying several buildings and triggering a small tsunami.
So dunno which one I'd rather deal with.
Better not deal with both of them.-
Actually, earthquakes don't happen that often. I can't think of the last time we had one here that was of any significance. Maybe it depends on where they happen and the structure of the buildings. Hmmm... didn't think about that. I guess I should say I trust the buildings here in L.A. and the standards they have to live up to to handle earthquakes.
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Earthquake - just go where nothing can fall on you. I'll take a scale 6 earthquake before I take an F1 tornado.-
Yeah, me too.
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Me too!
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Earthquake! Tornado you may hear the warning sirens, but you're still toast with a direct hit.
dreesyach, flying's nice, but landing isn't :D... getting struck by a tornado is like being hit by a moving train crossed with a blender, where the "blades" are bits of houses and construction debris. If you don't get slammed into something in high speed, you're liable to be shredded and pulverized by the stuff flying through the air. Eeee. I've seen photos of pieces of straw picked up by a tornado and driven into solid concrete walls like they were butter.
Earthquake, you can move to a doorway and stand a good chance of surviving even a huge one.
However, it would depend somewhat on location. As I said in another thread, having been through a 7.2 earthquake that did nothing worse than derail a train (one broken hip, other minor injuries) and throw mobile homes around near the epicenter -- by contrast in Turkey there was a 7.2 a month later that killed 5000+ people -- I would be much less relaxed about quakes if I lived somewhere not built for them.-
You're right. I think the damage caused by earthquakes entirely depends on where you live.
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earthquake, I slept through one of the biggest ones in recent years... they don't phase me-
I don't know if it's age or experience that has made me much calmer about them. Either way, I'm okay with them. I just don't want to be in downtown L.A. if the really big one hits. All I can think of is all that glass in the streets and not being able to get out just because of glass.
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This reminds me of the gruesome game we used to play as kid—would you rather be killed with a gun or a knife, or would you rather eat a snake or a frog. Odd kids, we were. Anyway, I'd prefer an earthquake because it doesn't last as long as a tornado, and tornadoes have minds of their own, very difficult to predict.-
lol scout ... I was just thinking that when I read the title in the discussion list! Okay I'll play ... earthquake. -
So, Monkey, would you rather eat a snake or a frog?
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did I mention I never liked this game?
Snake. -
I've never played that game but I'm still with you on your choice this time. :-)
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I'd like to deal with a woman who moved like an earthquake and tornado. Does that count?-
ROFL! Whatever floats your boat man! :-D
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Depends on where you're at.
If you're in a coal mine I'd pick tornado. If your in flying in a small airplane I'd pick earthquake.-
Let's say you're just at home.
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I'd pick tornado then.
Living on Maui with the occasional hurricane coming through our houses can handle tornados I would think.
Also we had an earthquake hit the state of Hawaii a few months ago that completely shut down one island's electricity for a day and a half, shut down a hotel, and cause some pretty bad damage through out. We don't get earthquakes too often so when one that big hits, it causes alot of damage. -
Okay, I can see that then. An earthquake on an island and the possibility of it affecting the ocean.... that could be pretty scary.
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I've tried storm chasing to limited success. For anybody thinking they would like to be up close and personal with an F5 is sheer madness I say.-
I've never been near a tornado but I agree with you on the F5 and sheer madness comment.
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My husband's family went through two tornadoes, ten years apart. The last one totally destroyed their farm house and barn and spread all of their belongings across two counties. The only thing still standing was their kitchen table with a birthday cake still on top. I hope never I never see one that up close and personal. Earthquakes would be scary, too, but if I had to pick I'd pick the earthquake to deal with.-
See, that's what I mean. At least with most earthquakes your house is still standing. Sure, maybe the fireplace fell in, but the rest of the house is usually still in tact.
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Being as we've only had one very minor earthquake, but quite a few nasty tornadoes here in Virginia...I'd choose the earthquake.-
There ya go! :-)
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Definitely earthquakes, as much as I hate them. They only happen every few years unlike tornados where there is acutally a "season" for them. Although, I would like to experience a tornado at least once.-
Unlike you, I don't think I ever want to experience a tornado. I've been in Southern Cal my whole life, never been near one but used to have nightmares about them. Go figure. I'll pass.
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Been in both and I have to say I'd prefer a tornado mainly because I can run away from it (or hide) which is impossible to do in an earthquake. I could live without either one, though.-
True, you can run from a tornado... but your home can't. I don't like the idea of the tornado picking up everything you own and you coming back to nothing. :-(
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Living in CA, I've only experienced earthquakes. I'd take those, I think. I'm used to them and know what to do if one hits. LOL, I'd like to keep my experience with natural disasters to a minimum!-
I'd prefer not to have to deal with any natural disaster too. :-)
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Tornado.
Earthquakes, the destructive ones, tend to affect a fairly wide area.
Tornadoes, although almost incredibly destructive where they strike, affect a path less than a mile across (by and large), with unaffected areas nearby: and (in our part of the country, anyway) ready to help people caught under the twister.
And, riding out a tornado is doable. At least, here in Minnesota. Quite a few buildings here have basements. My family has a small room, with stone walls on three sides, and a fairly strong wood frame wall on the other, in a southwest corner, designated as a storm shelter. And we do drills during the summer.
Some places, south of us, have soil that doesn't encourage digging - but even there it's possible to build above-ground hardened shelters.
And, at least around here, campgrounds have to have storm-proof shelters.
Uff da. I've written at length.-
Actually, given a choice, I'd take a blizzard over either.
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In my many years of life, I've only experience two major earthquakes here in the L.A. , maybe it was three. I specifically remember one in jr. high and one not that long ago when one of our freeways collapsed. That's only two compared to tornados each and every year causing major destruction even if it is a small path. But I do realize we're all different. That's a good thing. :-)
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I was in a hurricane. I bet a lot of people in here who dismiss G_d would have a different view when they are in the middle of one. -
"There are no atheists in a foxhole?"
I think I know what you mean. -
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That may be an Americanism.
One online source ( www1.cs.columbia.edu/~yingbo/quotes/ ) identifies it as an 'old soldiers' adage.' Whatever use the phrase may have seen recently, it does say something about stress and human responses. -
I love the space pictures of the eye of the hurricane.
Crazy!! -
:-D I think I'll agree with you on that one!
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I think a tornado would be more fun to ride.-
I don't want to ride either but... every see the ground roll? It does!
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Tornado. -
Tornado.
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I love tornados so much I had to say it twice.
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LOL! That was funny. :-D
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have you been though a earthquake or a tornado? I have been though both plus a few hurricanes and one tsunami. Out of all of them I prefer a good hurricane and a good party going though it. In a few seconds your crushed in a earthquake and dead.. A tornado you have time to run to a basement unless you live in a trailer then your screwed and pray for the best.. have you ever lived though any of these than you would know its a petty heartless question-
sorry I wasn't not writing professionally at the time so the article is very crude.. here is my hurricane experience random-thoughts-from-here.blogspot.com/2005/11/hurricane-wilmathe-big-storm...
We actually started to starve.. 21 days no power no atm's for over 30 days and most food stores closed for over 30 days.
The only people that had power were very few and thank god they know me and accepted my checks.. Or we would have starved -
Your experience sounds just horrible. After reading it I'd still prefer the earthquake. It's over in a couple of minutes and if it's not a bad one everyone is fine. I guess I'm looking at it from the standpoint that hurricanes and tornados come every year like clockwork and it's going to destroy and harm a number of people. A major earthquake only happens once in a while.
I guess if you really look at it I'd prefer not to be in the path of anything mother nature takes a mind to get a hold of. I just think that if you happen to be in the path of something, if I'm standing out in the open and mother nature strikes an earthquake will leave me standing. The others will pick me up and take me Lord knows where, ya know?
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Anyone who thinks that earthquakes are fun(ny), has not experienced a big one at close range. It's violent. It's terrifying. There's no warning, and then there is no escape. If it's really big and/or you're close to the epicenter, you cannot walk, much less run. Later, aftershocks go on and on and on until you think you will lose your mind.
What do I mean by "big"? I mean one in which everything in your house that can tip over does tip over. Everything smashes to the floor and breaks. Lightbulbs even shatter in their sockets. The house creaks and groans (and some collapse). Water sloshes out of your toilets onto the floor. Bookshelves collapse. Cupboards, cabinets and drawers open and spew their contents everywhere. You have to SHOVEL debris -- a mixture of broken glass and crockery, and the contents of your pantry -- off the kitchen floor, where it all has been mashed together: glass, eggs, vinegar, cooking oil, china fragments and whatever else all mixed together.
Everything in your bathroom cupboards and medicine cabinets flies out and smashes. Containers of everything from mouthwash to antacid to cat shampoo smash and spill and splash all over everything -- not just the floors and the walls, but even the undersides of drawers that have opened. It takes forever to clean up and get rid of the smells of all these substances all mixed together.
TVs and computer monitors crash to the floor and break. And lord help you if you are caught without shoes and have to pick your way through all the slivers of glass that are everywhere -- especially if this happens in the middle of the night when it is dark and you can't see where you are stepping.
Landslides block roads, and pavements and bridges crack and crumble. You're stuck where you are for days, and with no power -- which means no communications, no TV, no internet, no phones -- nothing, save for a battery powered radio you might be lucky enough to have. You wonder if anyone anywhere else in the world even knows you are still alive.
All this happens in a minute or less, but it can be the most violent and terrifying minute you'll ever experience. And, as I am demonstrating by recounting this, it burns into your mind indelibly. For a long time afterward, every truck backfire will send you running for cover, and if someone so much as bumps your chair it gives you a start.
I've been through two earthquakes like this. I really don't ever want to go through another. But, living where I do, I probably will.
I guess every place has its hazards...-
Earthquakes are not funny and certainly, we've heard horror stories on the news of how much devastation can be caused by earthquakes. I haven't been in anything quite like you've explained and don't want to. I have lived in Los Angeles and it's surrounding areas and have been through some major earthquakes but still never experience anything to the degree you're describing.
You're right. Every place does have it's hazards and mother nature is just no joke.
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Never seen a tornado so an earthquake for me, now I know what it feels like-
I've never been in a tornado either but just looking at them on t.v. scares me more than the earthquakes I've faced.
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Tornado, because you can actually see it coming, leaving you some time to get the car and hit the road. You can't run away from an earthquake. -
I don't like both of them... but in my country there are many disaster happen including eartquake, flood, slide soil... -
I think I'd rather go through a tornado. You don't always get warning, but a lot of times you do get a few minutes to run and hide. Earthquake watches seem to be like "well, in the next fifty years there could be a bad one here".
Of course it could be a case of the devil you know. I live in the Midwest; tornadoes are relatively common, earthquakes aren't. We had a 4.0 or something when I was a kid that took everyone by surprise (Californians, please stop snickering and I promise I won't laugh when an inch of snow paralyzes your town!).
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