What do you fear most in the city where you live?

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

I now live in coastal southern California. I fear quakes the most. Unpredictable. Can be extremely destructive. I've lived through three: Sylmar, 1971 (shook me out of bed); Loma Prieta, 1989; Northridge, 1994 (shook me out of bed again). All were very violent and extremely scary, even though less than magnitude 7.

In your city, what scares you most? Tornados,

I really don’t think about earthquakes until one happens. Even when there is one, usually I just calmly make sure we are not near anything that can fall on us. The last one I felt was several months ago and we were in bed. As usual it was small and didn’t even get up. My wife on the other hand freaks out, but she didn’t get up, she just squeezed my hand so tight like she was trying to crush the bones in my hand. Usually she takes off running and screaming, she from the mid-west so I give her pass.

On the other hand I live through the 3 big ones as well, slept through the 1971 Slymar quake. I was 7 and never knew what an earthquake was until that day. Because I didn’t feel anything in a weird way I felt like I missed out on something.

The Whittier earthquake in 1987 I didn’t feel that one either, I was driving to work on the freeway when it happened. It was when I walked in to my office complex in Fullerton down in Orange County people were running around in a sort of a panic mode. There was very little damage other than some tiles had fallen from the ceiling. Yet no damage or anything out of place at my apartment, but a lot of historical Uptown Whittier was badly damaged.

The Northridge quake was on a whole different level, now that one was the first time I felt something that hard and made me realize a big one is no joke. I think what was worse for me was I was awakened what sounded like an explosion, and then this very hard rocking. I remember not even being able to walk. I immediately yelled at the top of my voice for my mom to get up. Now that scared the crap out of me. It took at least a year for me to be anxious about another one happening. At the time I was actually living in Fresno and was just down in LA for the weekend. I think that was a good thing, because it’s understandable after experiencing something that hard would have you wanting to move away. Believe it or not not one of these did my family have any damage. The kitchen cabinets came open but everything stayed in place.

Even with all that said, my fear in this city are those crazy youngsters racing down the streets and on the freeways. It’s really bad in the San Fernando Valley, and the other is idiots driving the wrong way on the freeways.

[jd3189]

When I’m back in South FL, hurricanes are apparently the worst things to fear, but there hasn’t been a major one within the last 20 years. There is also run ins with alligators and crocodiles, but in all the years I have been living in Florida, I have never seen one of those. So the most apparent dangers are crimes committed by the local Florida man and some venomous animals like water moccasins and black widows.

In Cali, I have experienced some small earthquakes over the past 3 years and the ash from nearby wildfires have affected the air quality of the IE. But the real dangers are shitty drivers and the traffic they cause on the 10.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by niwell

Housing prices and being hit by a car on the street that I live on due to complete lack of traffic enforcement.

Man, you're telling me. Getting nervous to even walk around on streets these days given the lack of traffic enforcement, let alone cycling physically on the roads.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by 10023

And before that record was set, there was another record set at some earlier time.

People who are concerned about mankind’s impact on the planet seriously undermine their cause when they make such simplistic claims and frankly ridiculous statements.

Before the talk about climate change, in the sixties and seventies, there was a lot more talk of pollution. If you consider the partial deindustrialisation of the western world, and the vast strides of industrialisation in China, India and South East Asia, the pollution oriented debates have taken a back seat. You can negate the effects of human enterprise on the ecosystem of which we are the most disruptive part, but you would have to stick your head in the sand for the last hundred years to do so. You only need to look at the asphalt and concrete that has covered our roadways where there was none in 1900 to realize how different our planet is now. It is more like living on another planet, with folks who travel across the world in 20 hours, where most used to ramble around their towns and cities not more than fifty clicks in a lifetime. The population is exploding, and yet, with a ll the so-called needs like car ownership and all the rest of that bullshit still on the horizon, some of us still think it is still smooth sailing, no ripples, no ruffles, no pain.

[craigs]

Since moving into a house on 4/10ths of an acre of steep, wooded hillside, my worries revolve around the trees--I worry they'll catch fire from lightning or a fast-moving wildfire, and I also worry the crazy strong Santa Ana winds (like last week) will knock trees down onto the house.

This being Southern California, earthquakes are always a vague threat, but they are further down the list because, unlike a big firestorm, I've lived through earthquakes before.

[JManc]

I'm worried about waking up with the building falling in me and then surrounded by a wildfire.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by JManc

I'm worried about waking up with the building falling in me and then surrounded by a wildfire.

In Fremont? Are you going to be living in the hills?

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

I really don’t think about earthquakes until one happens. Even when there is one, usually I just calmly make sure we are not near anything that can fall on us. The last one I felt was several months ago and we were in bed. As usual it was small and didn’t even get up. My wife on the other hand freaks out, but she didn’t get up, she just squeezed my hand so tight like she was trying to crush the bones in my hand. Usually she takes off running and screaming, she from the mid-west so I give her pass.

On the other hand I live through the 3 big ones as well, slept through the 1971 Slymar quake. I was 7 and never knew what an earthquake was until that day. Because I didn’t feel anything in a weird way I felt like I missed out on something.

The Whittier earthquake in 1987 I didn’t feel that one either, I was driving to work on the freeway when it happened. It was when I walked in to my office complex in Fullerton down in Orange County people were running around in a sort of a panic mode. There was very little damage other than some tiles had fallen from the ceiling. Yet no damage or anything out of place at my apartment, but a lot of historical Uptown Whittier was badly damaged.

The Northridge quake was on a whole different level, now that one was the first time I felt something that hard and made me realize a big one is no joke. I think what was worse for me was I was awakened what sounded like an explosion, and then this very hard rocking. I remember not even being able to walk. I immediately yelled at the top of my voice for my mom to get up. Now that scared the crap out of me. It took at least a year for me to be anxious about another one happening. At the time I was actually living in Fresno and was just down in LA for the weekend. I think that was a good thing, because it’s understandable after experiencing something that hard would have you wanting to move away. Believe it or not not one of these did my family have any damage. The kitchen cabinets came open but everything stayed in place.

Even with all that said, my fear in this city are those crazy youngsters racing down the streets and on the freeways. It’s really bad in the San Fernando Valley, and the other is idiots driving the wrong way on the freeways.

For the Sylmar and Northridge quakes, I was living in the central San Fernando Valley, so they packed a wallop, especially Northridge. The Sylmar quake in 1971 destroyed some of the multistory veterans home buildings in the north valley, and also the hi rise Olive View hospital. Most of the fatalities were in the veterans home buildings when some of them collapsed. In the Northridge quake, most of the fatalities were in multistory apartment buildings with underground parking garages, a few of which just pancaked down. The L.A. Times ran a whole series of articles on the hazards of "soft story" buildings with underground parking garages.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by craigs

In Fremont? Are you going to be living in the hills?

Downtown area.

[Peggerino]

climate change making much of the continent, including Winnipeg, uninhabitable

[niwell]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Man, you're telling me. Getting nervous to even walk around on streets these days given the lack of traffic enforcement, let alone cycling physically on the roads.

Oh yeah. I actually live on Parkside - 2 people just died the other day due to an asshole in a BMW. The cops are beyond useless, even at the basic level of enforcement. I’m a bit scared about traffic more than anything when I bring my large dog out every morning.

[aaronevill]

I get a bit nervous in NYC during hurricane season. Sandy was quite the disaster and the damaged coastal areas took years of rebuilding. The tunnels and infrastructure were all heavily compromised. Big events sometimes give me anxiety, but the city is excellent at managing crowds. Working in a large hotel, the terrorist situation is emphasized during the UN sessions...lots of soldiers with menacing guns.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by niwell

Housing prices and being hit by a car on the street that I live on due to complete lack of traffic enforcement.

in st louis red lights are a suggestion, and its common for cars to drive around other cars sitting at a red…

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

I'm worried about waking up with the building falling in me and then surrounded by a wildfire.

You should be worried about that! But also worry that you won't be able to get to work because a local gang will be holding a "roadshow" on your route, that you'll get stabbed on the platform the next time you take BART and that the logistics crisis will mean your favorite artisanal baker runs out of small-batch, heritage, hand-ground flour and so you will be denied sourdough avocado toast at breakfast.

[Segun]

The Deceptecons returning and waging war on the Autobots again.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

You should be worried about that! But also worry that you won't be able to get to work because a local gang will be holding a "roadshow" on your route, that you'll get stabbed on the platform the next time you take BART and that the logistics crisis will mean your favorite artisanal baker runs out of small-batch, heritage, hand-ground flour and so you will be denied sourdough avocado toast at breakfast.

Thankfully, I will only have to deal with BART to get to the Powell St. station on the weekends (for my sourdough fix) and my employer has shuttles to and from the office which damn nice. We drove up to SF just to eat at Boudin near one of the Piers (39?) and then left right after that.


Segun has a point though, the Deceptions returning is scary but hopefully they will duke it out with Optimus Prime in Chicago or LA again.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by JManc

Thankfully, I will only have to deal with BART to get to the Powell St. station on the weekends (for my sourdough fix) and my employer has shuttles to and from the office which damn nice. We drove up to SF just to eat at Boudin near one of the Piers (39?) and then left right after that.


Segun has a point though, the Deceptions returning is scary but hopefully they will duke it out with Optimus Prime in Chicago or LA again.

There's a Boudin in Fremont.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by JManc

Downtown area.

Central Fremont isn't really a danger spot for wildfires. Most of the Easy Bay hills (Diablo Range) are former ranch lands, rolling grasslands and chaparral which is easy to extinguish (compared to dense rugged mountain forests), and then it'd have to burn through thousands of multimillion dollar homes before it would ever reach you.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by homebucket

There's a Boudin in Fremont.

We hit that one too. That had more of a Panera bread vibe. Still pretty good.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Central Fremont isn't really a danger spot for wildfires. Most of the Easy Bay hills (Diablo Range) are former ranch lands, rolling grasslands and chaparral which is easy to extinguish (compared to dense rugged mountain forests), and then it'd have to burn through thousands of multimillion dollar homes before it would ever reach you.

The media has made wildfires something else.
They typically don't affect cities ..
The smoke might suck for a few days a year but I don't fear it.

Like others have said, I fear bad drivers more than anything.
By a long shot