Here are some tidbits of data and the sources we extracted them from. A few are disappointing (shows the apathy in this country) … others are informational to help people recognize disasters happen … PERIOD. It’s not a matter of if but rather when.

Tell us what YOU think. Email us your questions, links and rants!


Did you know... 

… the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff joined all the other group of experts and named cyber risks one of the nation’s top 4 priority security issues?! A Congressional Research Service study estimated the annual economic impact of cyber attacks on businesses at more than $226 billion.
 
Source: TMCnet.com http://voip-phone-systems.tmcnet.com/topics/voip-phone-systems/articles/43806-cyber-attacks-now-the-big-4.htm 


… 95% of homeowners and 85% of the commercial buildings do not have earthquake insurance in the San Francisco area?!
 
Source: Disaster News Network http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=3654
 
 
… from 1975-1995 there were only four states that did not have any earthquakes?! They were: Florida, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
 
Source: USGS Earthquake Facts http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/facts.php 
 
 
… fire kills more Americans every year than all natural disasters combined?!
 
Source: US Fire Administration http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/quickstats/index.shtm 

 
… more than 90% of declared disasters include flooding?! Everyone lives in a flood zone - it's just a question of whether you live in a low, moderate or high risk area.
 
Source: National Flood Insurance Program http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/flood_facts.jsp 

 
… varying quantities of hazardous materials are manufactured, used, or stored at an estimated 4.5 million facilities in the U.S.?!
 
Source: FEMA Hazardous Materials facts http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hazmat/index.shtm 


… a recent 2008 poll shows 67% of Atlantic and Gulf Coast residents do not have any kind of a hurricane survival kit and 54% said they do not believe they are vulnerable to a hurricane or any related tornadoes or flooding.

Source: Disaster News Network http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=3705 
 

… 80% of radioactive fallout from a nuclear device would occur within 24 hours?! Taking shelter during a nuclear attack is absolutely necessary and sheltering in a basement or a facility below ground reduces exposure by 90%. Less than 4 inches (10 cm) of soil or earth can reduce the penetration of dangerous gamma rays by half.

Sources: Federal Citizen Information Center http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/family/disaster-guide/nuclear.htm and US DH&HS REMM http://www.remm.nlm.gov/nuclearexplosion.htm 


… most electronic devices within 1,000 miles of a high altitude nuke could be damaged by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP)?! 
 
Source: Federal Citizen Information Center http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/family/disaster-guide/nuclear.htm 

 
… tornadoes have occurred in all 50 states and are more common in Florida than in Oklahoma?!
 
Source: USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/2006-04-03-tornado-basics_x.htm
 

… tsunamis (soo-nam’-ees) can travel up streams and rivers that lead to the ocean?!

Source: NOAA’s National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/om/brochures/tsunami6.htm 
 
 
… there are about 1 million young volcanoes on the ocean’s floor which pump out roughly 3/4 of the lava reaching the earth’s surface?
 
Source: Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program http://www.volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?faq=03 
 
 
… a new study shows hundreds of volcanic explosions are shaking the Arctic Ocean floor at depths previously thought impossible sending carbon dioxide, helium, and liquid lava up into the frigid waters?! The amount of CO2 needed to fuel a deep-sea eruption is about 100 times the amount normally found dissolved in molten rock.
 
Source: National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080626-arctic-volcano.html and Science News http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33630/title/Under_Ice


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