Safest Cities from natural disasters (New York, Buffalo: earthquake, fence, most dangerous)

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

^How is that relevant to what is going on in Syracuse?

I'm trying to do independent research to really figure out if Syracuse is the safest Metropolitan Area in the US.

To do that I need to eliminate all the other metropolitan areas.

Does anyone know other US metropolitan areas that are down river of a large dam that would do serious damage to a large population if it broke?

So far the metropolitan areas with large dams that could be a disaster for the city are...

Nashville
Atlanta
Charlotte
Columbia SC
Tulsa Oklahoma

[Thundarr457]

The entire state of NY is a natural disaster. It started in Albany and spread quickly.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

I'm trying to do independent research to really figure out if Syracuse is the safest Metropolitan Area in the US.

To do that I need to eliminate all the other metropolitan areas.

Does anyone know other US metropolitan areas that are down river of a large dam that would do serious damage to a large population if it broke?

So far the metropolitan areas with large dams that could be a disaster for the city are...

Nashville
Atlanta
Charlotte
Columbia SC
Tulsa Oklahoma

I would ask this in the General US forum, as you would be more likely to get a wider range of information on the topic from people across the country.

A lot of these lists can vary due to the the difference in criteria that is laid out for the list. It may also depend on the time period, as that list where Syracuse is #1, it came out in 2013. So, there is a number of variables that has to be considered with any list.

[bellafinzi]

Metropolitan areas over 500,000 with the main reasons they aren't the safest place to live in the US

If all the ice melts on the earth it would raise the sea level about 230 feet. So any metropolitan areas below 250 feet in elevation aren't safe IMO.

Any city can flood but only cities that have a history of flooding or high risk of flooding are listed as unsafe.

Tornadoes can happen anywhere so places with the highest risk are listed as unsafe.

A high possibility of water shortages within the next 20 years can be a reason to be listed as unsafe in my list.

Any metropolitan areas with large tall dams that if broke would cause serious flooding can be a reason to be listed as unsafe


1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA 19,768,458 20,140,470 −1.85% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA

Elevation
Tsunami


2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 12,997,353 13,200,998 −1.54% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA

Earthquake
Elevation
Tsunami

3 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA 9,509,934 9,618,502 −1.13% Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA

River Flooding problem

4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA 7,759,615 7,637,387 +1.60% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA

Water shortages


5 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA 7,206,841 7,122,240 +1.19% Houston-The Woodlands, TX CSA

Hurricanes
Tsunami
Elevation

6 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA 6,356,434 6,385,162 −0.45% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA

Other than crime rates it is a Safe metropolitan area

7 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA 6,228,601 6,245,051 −0.26% Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA

Elevation

8 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA 6,144,050 6,089,815 +0.89% Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA

Large Tall Dam
Water shortages


9 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA 6,091,747 6,138,333 −0.76% Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL CSA

Hurricanes
Tsunami
Elevation

10 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA 4,946,145 4,845,832 +2.07% Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA

Water shortages


11 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA 4,899,932 4,941,632 −0.84% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA

Elevation
Tsunami

12 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 4,653,105 4,599,839 +1.16% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA

Earthquake
Water shortages

13 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA 4,623,264 4,749,008 −2.65% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA

Earthquake
Water shortages
Tsunami

14 Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI MSA 4,365,205 4,392,041 −0.61% Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA

Flooding from poor water infrastructure


15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA 4,011,553 4,018,762 −0.18% Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA

Earthquake
Water shortages

16 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA 3,690,512 3,690,261 +0.01% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI CSA

Flooding from Rivers


17 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA 3,286,069 3,298,634 −0.38%

Tsunami
Elevation

18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA 3,219,514 3,175,275 +1.39%

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

19 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA 2,972,566 2,963,821 +0.30% Denver-Aurora, CO CSA

Hail storms
Water shortages

20 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA 2,838,327 2,844,510 −0.22% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA

Elevation

[bellafinzi]

St. Louis, MO-IL MSA 2,809,299 2,820,253 −0.39% St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL CSA

Earthquake
Flooding from Rivers

22 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA 2,701,046 2,660,329 +1.53% Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA

large tall Dam

23 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA 2,691,925 2,673,376 +0.69% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA

Hurricanes
Water shortages
Elevation

24 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA 2,601,788 2,558,143 +1.71% San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX CSA

Water shortages


25 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA 2,511,612 2,512,859 −0.05% Portland-Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA CSA

Earthquake


26 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA MSA 2,411,428 2,397,382 +0.59% Sacramento-Roseville, CA CSA

Water shortages
Flooding from Rivers

27 Pittsburgh, PA MSA 2,353,538 2,370,930 −0.73% Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV CSA

Flooding from Rivers

28 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX MSA 2,352,426 2,283,371 +3.02%

Large Tall dams
Water shortages

29 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA 2,292,476 2,265,461 +1.19% Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ CSA

Water shortages
Large Tall dam

30 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN MSA 2,259,935 2,256,884 +0.14% Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN CSA

Flooding from Rivers

31 Kansas City, MO-KS MSA 2,199,490 2,192,035 +0.34% Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS CSA

Tornadoes?
Water shortages?
One of the water metropolitan areas

32 Columbus, OH MSA 2,151,017 2,138,926 +0.57% Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH CSA

Water shortages

33 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN MSA 2,126,804 2,111,040 +0.75% Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN CSA

Water shortages

34 Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA 2,075,662 2,088,251 −0.60% Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA

Tsunami off of lake Erie?

35 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN MSA 2,012,476 1,989,519 +1.15% Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN CSA

Large Tall dam


36 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 1,952,185 2,000,468 −2.41% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA

Water shortages
Earthquake

37 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA 1,803,328 1,799,674 +0.20% Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC CSA

Tsunami
Elevation

38 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA 1,675,774 1,676,579 −0.05% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA

Elevation
Tsunami

39 Jacksonville, FL MSA 1,637,666 1,605,848 +1.98% Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA CSA

Elevation
Tsunami
Hurricanes

40 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA 1,566,487 1,574,731 −0.52% Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA

Tsunami from lake Michigan?

[bellafinzi]

Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA 1,448,411 1,413,982 +2.43% Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA

Hurricanes

42 Oklahoma City, OK MSA 1,441,647 1,425,695 +1.12% Oklahoma City-Shawnee, OK CSA

Tornadoes

43 Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA 1,336,103 1,337,779 −0.13% Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA

Flooding from Rivers

44 Richmond, VA MSA 1,324,062 1,314,434 +0.73%

Elevation

45 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN MSA 1,284,566 1,285,439 −0.07% Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN CSA

Flooding from Rivers

46 Salt Lake City, UT MSA 1,263,061 1,257,936 +0.41% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA

Earthquake
Water shortages

47 New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA 1,261,726 1,271,845 −0.80% New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS CSA

Elevation
Tsunami
Hurricanes

48 Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT MSA 1,211,906 1,213,531 −0.13% Hartford-East Hartford, CT CSA

Elevation

49 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY MSA 1,162,336 1,166,902 −0.39% Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Cattaraugus, NY CSA

Tsunami from lake Erie?
Overall a safe metropolitan area

50 Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA 1,114,262 1,115,289 −0.09% Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL CSA

Water shortages?

51 Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI MSA 1,091,620 1,087,592 +0.37% Grand Rapids-Kentwood-Muskegon, MI CSA

Safe metropolitan area

52 Rochester, NY MSA 1,084,973 1,090,135 −0.47% Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA

Tsunami from lake Ontario?I
But overall a safe metropolitan area

53 Tucson, AZ MSA 1,052,030 1,043,433 +0.82% Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA

Water shortages

54 Tulsa, OK MSA 1,023,988 1,015,331 +0.85% Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK CSA

Tornadoes
Large Tall dam

55 Fresno, CA MSA 1,013,581 1,008,654 +0.49% Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA CSA

Water shortages

56 Urban Honolulu, HI MSA 1,000,890 1,016,508 −1.54%

Tsunami
Elevation

57 Worcester, MA-CT MSA 978,447 978,529 −0.01% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA

Water shortages?

58 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA 971,637 967,604 +0.42% Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA CSA

Water shortages?
River Flooding?

59 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA 959,768 957,419 +0.25% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA

Tsunami
Elevation

60 Greenville-Anderson, SC MSA 940,774 928,195 +1.36% Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA

Large Tall dam in one area
But overall a safe metropolitan area

[bellafinzi]

Albuquerque, NM MSA 918,259 916,528 +0.19% Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM CSA

Water shortages

62 Bakersfield, CA MSA 917,673 909,235 +0.93%

Water shortages

63 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA 899,286 899,262 0.00% Albany-Schenectady, NY CSA

Elevation

64 Knoxville, TN MSA 893,412 879,773 +1.55% Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN CSA

Large Tall dam
Earthquake

65 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA 880,356 870,781 +1.10% McAllen-Edinburg, TX CSA

Flooding from Rivers
Water shortages?
Tsunami
Elevation

66 Baton Rouge, LA MSA 871,905 870,569 +0.15%

Flooding from Rivers
Elevation

67 El Paso, TX MSA 871,234 868,859 +0.27% El Paso-Las Cruces, TX-NM CSA

Flooding from Rivers

68 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA 865,310 861,889 +0.40%

A Safe metropolitan area

69 New Haven-Milford, CT MSA 863,700 864,835 −0.13% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA

Elevation
Tsunami

70 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL MSA 859,760 833,716 +3.12% North Port-Sarasota, FL CSA

Elevation
Tsunami
Hurricanes

71 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA 839,784 843,843 −0.48% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA

Earthquake
Water shortages

72 Columbia, SC MSA 838,250 829,470 +1.06% Columbia-Orangeburg-Newberry, SC CSA

Large Tall dam
Water shortages?

73 Dayton, OH MSA 813,516 814,049 −0.07% Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH CSA

Water shortages?


74 Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA 813,052 799,636 +1.68%

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

75 Boise, ID MSA 795,268 764,718 +3.99% Boise City-Mountain Home-Ontario, ID-OR CSA

Large Tall dam

76 Stockton, CA MSA 789,410 779,233 +1.31% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA

Water shortages
Flooding?

77 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL MSA 787,976 760,822 +3.57% Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL CSA

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

78 Greensboro-High Point, NC MSA 778,848 776,566 +0.29% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA

Water shortages?

79 Colorado Springs, CO MSA 762,793 755,105 +1.02%

Water shortages?

80 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL MSA 753,520 725,046 +3.93% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA

Elevation
Flooding
Hurricanes

81 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA 750,936 748,031 +0.39% Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA

Water shortages?

82 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA 719,146 709,466 +1.36% Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA CSA

Flooding from Rivers

83 Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA 706,696 694,863 +1.70% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA

Earthquake

84 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY MSA 701,637 697,221 +0.63% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA

Elevation

85 Akron, OH MSA 700,015 702,219 −0.31% Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA

A safe metropolitan area

86 Provo-Orem, UT MSA 697,141 671,185 +3.87% Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden, UT CSA

Earthquake

87 Springfield, MA MSA 695,305 699,162 −0.55%

Flooding from Rivers?

88 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL MSA 685,344 668,921 +2.46% Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL CSA

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

89 Madison, WI MSA 683,183 680,796 +0.35% Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI CSA

Water shortages?
But overall a safe metropolitan area

90 Winston-Salem, NC MSA 681,438 675,966 +0.81% Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC CSA

Water shortages?

91 Syracuse, NY MSA 658,281 662,057 −0.57% Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA

A safe metropolitan area

[bellafinzi]

Durham-Chapel Hill, NC MSA 654,012 649,903 +0.63% Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSADid

Hurricanes?
Water shortages?

93 Wichita, KS MSA 647,919 647,610 +0.05% Wichita-Winfield, KS CSA

Tornadoes

94 Toledo, OH MSA 644,217 646,604 −0.37% Toledo-Findlay-Tiffin, OH CSA

Tsunami from lake Erie?
Flooding?
But overall a safe metropolitan area

95 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL MSA 616,628 606,612 +1.65%

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

96 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA 615,933 611,000 +0.81%

Flooding from Rivers?
Elevation

97 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA MSA 596,305 591,712 +0.78% Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA CSA

Flooding from Rivers
But overall a safe metropolitan area

98 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA MSA 593,466 585,784 +1.31% Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID CSA

Water shortages?

99 Jackson, MS MSA 587,202 591,978 −0.81% Jackson-Vicksburg-Brookhaven, MS CSA

Water shortages?
Water issues?

100 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA 567,750 567,559 +0.03%

Flooding?
But overall a safe metropolitan area

101 Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA 567,641 562,647 +0.89% Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA CSA

Flooding from Rivers
Water shortages

102 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA 560,709 546,725 +2.56%

Safe metropolitan area?

103 Portland-South Portland, ME MSA 556,893 551,740 +0.93% Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, ME CSA

Elevation
Tsunami

104 Lancaster, PA MSA 553,652 552,984 +0.12%

Safe metropolitan area?

105 Modesto, CA MSA 552,999 552,878 +0.02% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA

Water shortages

106 Lansing-East Lansing, MI MSA 540,281 541,297 −0.19%

Safe metropolitan area?

107 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA MSA 538,069 541,243 −0.59% Youngstown-Warren, OH-PA CSA

Safe metropolitan area?

108 Fayetteville, NC MSA 524,588 520,378 +0.81% Fayetteville-Lumberton-Laurinburg, NC CSA

Hurricanes

109 Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA 517,846 516,811 +0.20% Lexington-Fayette–Richmond–Frankfort, KY CSA

Flooding?

110 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL MSA 516,388 509,905 +1.27% Pensacola-Ferry Pass, FL-AL CSA

Tsunami
Elevation
Hurricanes

111 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC MSA 509,794 487,722 +4.53% Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC-NC CSA

Elevation
Tsunami
Hurricanes

112 Port St. Lucie, FL MSA 503,521 487,657 +3.25% Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL CSA

Elevation
Tsunami
Hurricanes

113 Huntsville, AL MSA 502,728 491,723 +2.24% Huntsville-Decatur, AL CSA

Safe metropolitan area?

[bellafinzi]

I didn't include wildfires but metropolitan areas most prone to wildfires are basically all metropolitan areas in the Western US states and Texas.

[bellafinzi]

In my opinion, if the United States leadership really believed in climate change and securing our national security it would make logical sense to stop major government money or major future investment in places that are historically prone to the most destructive natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. And start investing in climate change safe havens.

Not only would it save lives, but save money by not having to rebuild after natural disasters.