If you want to be prepared for an emergency, it certainly helps to know what type of emergency you are preparing for! While you might end up doing many of the same things regardless of the type of emergency, there are situations requiring unique survival actions or supplies. You need different strategies to deal with an earthquake than a flood, for example.

The recent east coast earthquake was not something that most easterners were expecting. I was shocked to hear a geologist on television describe the area of Virginia where the epicenter of the earthquake occurred as a known earthquake “hot spot.” After the earthquake occurred, people began dragging out known earthquakes in the area from history, the most recent of which was in 1935 (76 years ago!). So, as you look at your relative risk information, unless your risk is zero, don’t count out an event as impossible!

It made me wonder. How do you know what hazards are likely to affect your area? It turns out it is pretty easy to find out.

Quick overview – For a quick answer, take a look at these natural disaster maps complied by Global datavault showing risk of earthquake, flood, tornado, lightening–even volcano and tsunami!

For more detailed information, you would need to research each threat individually. Below are some sources:

Earthquake – You can look up your state’s Seismic Hazard Map at The U.S. Geological Survey website. Note, that it might be a good idea to first look at the seismic hazard map for a state like California with a lot of seismic activity before you worry about your state’s risk of earthquake.

Fire – All of us should be practicing fire prevention and evacuation in our own homes as the risk of a house fire due to accident is probably the most likely emergency situation. The Hartford has a free, quick Home Fire Risk Assessment you can take to determine how likely you are to experience a house fire.  What is your risk of wildfire? For a general risk based on weather, see this map from the U.S. Wildland Fire Assessment System.

Flood – Do you live in a flood-prone area? You can look up the flood map for your street, city and state on FEMA’s website for free and even print out a map for your files.

Nuclear Threat – Nukepills.com, a supplier of emergency radiation products, has a free interactive map where you can input your zip code to find out how many nuclear power plants operate within 200 miles of your location. I was disappointed to learn I am within 200 miles of at least 8 nuclear power plants.

Terrorism – With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks coming this weekend, many people have terrorism in mind when they think about emergency preparedness. While it is important to keep in mind that globally the U.S. is relatively low-risk for terrorism events, as can be seen on this terrorism risk map from Aon Corporation, we also know our risk is not zero. Aon identifies the “cities of concern” for terrorism as New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Combining the information from these maps with my experience in the area to date, I come up with the following risk likelihood for my area.

More Likely
House Fire
Hurricane
Tornado
Terrorism
Nuclear Disaster

Less Likely
Earthquake
Wildfire

Very Unlikely
Flood

Take a moment to figure out what you might need to prepare for. Are you surprised by the results? Please share your findings in the comments.