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M$1.25 October 26, 2009 01:58 PM

Would you rather live in a hurricane-prone area or in a tornado-prone area?

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Interesting: bunnyphuphu M$0.25

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October 26, 2009 02:28 PM
If I were to choose between the two areas you offered... I would have to say that I would prefer to be in a hurricane region.

I grew up in earthquake central (San Francisco) and spent almost a decade in Colorado (which does have some tornado areas). I've been living for the past year near the Gulf Coast and this has been my first hurricane season.

What I find interesting is that the people here mark certain years by the hurricane name rather than the actual date. "That happened before Ike!"
The people that inhabit these hurricane areas know full well that one could come along wipe everything out, but as long as they have enough warning to get out of the way, they'll take the risks and are willing to come back, rebuild and start over.

I would prefer the hurricane area over the tornado simply because with todays technology, you have more time and warning.
I find that comforting since I grew up in the land of shake, rattle and roll without any warning at all!

Asker's Rating:
• I like your observation about how people talk about years in terms of particular hurricanes. We in Florida still make references to "before" and "after" Andrew. Love the Get Ready sign. Thanks for answering.


Tags: tornado, hurricane, disasters

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October 26, 2009 02:31 PM
I would rather live in a tornado prone area.

While both are quite deadly, I may be able to have an underground shelter in a tornado area, in a hurricane prone area the risk of flooding makes such shelters impractical.

http://tornadosheltersonline.com/media.html

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October 26, 2009 02:36 PM
I actually had to look up the difference between the two, and found a detailed comparison between both here.
Main difference is that a Hurricane is a wide large-scale storm with an 'eye' of several tens of miles wide, which can last a few weeks.
A [Tornado, on the other hand, is a short, violent event with an 'eye' of less than a mile. Tornadoes can actually be the result of hurricanes.

With that in mind, I think I would rather live in a tornado-prone area. The damage done is less, and the time involved with the event (Tornado/Hurricane) is much shorter. Plus, it is easier to weapon oneself against a short Tornado attack, which will pass in less than an hour, in contrast to a Hurricane, which will keep blasting for a day or longer. Check Super Typhoon Philippines and Typhoon Lupil for some recent typhoons/hurricanes.


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October 26, 2009 02:45 PM
I would rather live in a hurricane area. Tornadoes scare to you know what out of me, they are so unpredictable.

Where I live in New Hampshire we have hurricanes sometimes but they are not very strong by the time they reach me and tornadoes are even rarer (we did have one in 2008 http://www.wmur.com/weather/20132880/detail.html ) but they are not common at all.
http://www.wmur.com/2009/0721/20133935_240X180.jpg.

I am used to what a hurricane can do and I like to track them. Hurricane Bill earlier this year was more of a surfing event her than a weather or safety concern. The state of Maine was not so lucky a little girl died after being swept out to sea from the shores of Acadia National Park. Below is a Coast Guard rescue from the waves of Hurricane Bill.

I know where to go during a hurricane and overall the residents here will have a good notice on where the hurricane is and will be going.http://www.wmur.com/hurricanes/index.html

Source(s):
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/hez_tool/history.html
http://www.disastercenter.com/newhamp/tornado.html
http://www.wmur.com/weather/4911756/detail.html
http://www.wmur.com/hurricanes/index.html


Tags: tornadoes, weather, hurricanes

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October 26, 2009 04:31 PM
I think here in NJ the last real hurricane i can think of is from the 80's. Tropical storms aren't as bad...and fun to watch the road turn into a river too.

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October 29, 2009 03:33 PM
That is a great video. Thanks for answering.

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October 26, 2009 03:35 PM
I live in a tornado alley within a tornado alley (so we get lots of tornados!)

As described here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion,_Illinois_tornado_outbreak we even occasionnally get clusters of tornados that hit several parts of the region simultaneously or in rapid succession. The land I live on now had everything on it destroyed in the 1982 tornado.

Southern Illinois is occassionally hit by the remnants of hurricanes. Ike was still a tropical storm when it hit us and we are on the New Madrid fault line, so we on occasion get tiny earthquakes as well. I've got to say, of the three, an earthquake scares me the most, because of huge amount of widespread damage. The last 5.2 earthquake to hit here damage buildings in three states. The very biggest ones, more than 100 years ago, made the Mississippi River run backwards for awhile.

But the real reason I prefer living in tornado alley to a hurricane prone region is the May 8th derecho that hit our region. We had sustained winds of 106 miles per hour, only about a force 3 hurricane. The rain found cracks in buildings where none were obvious and 1000s of trees in our region were destroyed. Some weather forecasters called it an inland hurricane or a meso-cyclone. Pictures can be seen here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/17010/inland_hurricane_damage_from_southern.html?cat=8

It left 50 square miles with no power for a week and many people are still working on repairs to their homes. One family I know still has a tarp roof with winter coming fast. Give me a simple tornado any day!
Source(s):
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/17010/inland_hurricane_damage_fr...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion,_Illinois_tornado_outbreak
pesonal experience


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October 26, 2009 04:10 PM
I live in a tornado prone area. Being so far inland, I've only experienced the decreased sustained winds of a hurricane.

Tornadoes come like a thief in the night, sometimes literally. While you sleep they can take lives and property in only a few minutes, without warning.

While hurricanes are devastating, you have warning of its coming and time to evacuate.

I would much rather live in a hurricane-prone area. Hurricanes often spawn tornadoes but since I had warning of the hurricane, I wouldn't be there to experience the tornadoes.


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October 26, 2009 04:51 PM
I grew up in S. Florida and experienced many hurricanes, so I have actual experience with them. From what I know about tornadoes, from the news and general reading, I would prefer to go through a hurricane -- no question. Tornadoes pass quickly, it's true, and if you have adequate shelter, you're probably safe. But many towns have been badly hit, with no warning at all, and the damage and death toll is horrendous. On average, hurricanes aren't nearly as deadly as tornadoes, given these two factors: that you're not living near enough to the ocean for floodng and storm surges to be a danger, and that the structure you're sheltering in is built to hurricane-resistance standards.
Source(s):
Personal experience, reading


Tags: tornadoes, storm, hurricanes, surge

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October 26, 2009 04:53 PM
Neither. :)

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October 27, 2009 02:46 PM
Hurricane without a doubt, because they're predictable. Even mild tornadoes can be devastating because it;s not predictable. A small tornado happened to my school while we have never had tornadoes for as long as I live in this area. Luckily no one get hurt.
Source(s):
experience


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October 28, 2009 02:11 AM
I would pick a Hurricane prone area, they are a heck of a lot easier to dodge. Though I do live in a state that gets its share of tornados. And the only time I was IN a hurricane was also the only time I was IN a tornado.

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October 28, 2009 02:27 PM
I would rather live in a hurricane prone area because with hurricanes, you generally know how strong it is, when it is expected to arrive, and you have some idea of how likely it is to affect the area in which you live.

Tornadoes, on the other hand, can come up rather suddenly and be unpredictable in strength and direction.

I lived in hurricane-prone areas for most of my life and have personally experienced a category 4 hurricane. Recently, I moved to a tornado-prone area, and I have to say I was a lot more comfortable about storms when I lived in the hurricane-prone area! I've yet to experience a tornado, and I hope I never do.

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