Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley Among Top 8 Most Dangerous Places to Live in the World
The planet Earth has some exotic and unique places to live such as beaches, forests, desserts and even mountains. However some of these glamorous places contain dangers and some truly should not be habited by humans at all.
If you have great resourcefulness and are willing to have regular bouts with Mother Nature then here are the Top 8 Most Dangerous Places to live in the world.
- 1
The Cold Pole - Verkhoyansk, Russia
Known as “Polyus Cholada” Russian for “Pole of Cold,” is located 3000 miles east of the Moscow. What is considered the oldest city above the Arctic Circle. Verkhoyansk’s 1,500 citizens’ brave endless winters on the bank of the Yana River, which is frozen for nine months out of the year.
From September to March the city averages five hours of sunlight and in the months of December and January there is nearly no sunlight.
- 2
Mount Merapi – Indonesia
This mountain, located between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Mount Merapi, known as Gunung Merapi to local citizens which translates to Fire Mountain.
This active volcano has erupted about 60 times in the past 500 years. The last time Mount Merapi erupted was in 2010 with a death toll of 324 villagers. The eruption in 2006 was recorded as the biggest eruption in the volcano’s history.
In spite of this 200,000 people reside within four miles of the volcano for its fertile soil.
- 3
Gonaves, Haiti
One of the five largest cities of Haiti the city is very susceptible for hurricane and flooding. The city is located along the Gulf of Gonve and rests on a flood plan prone to washing out when inland rivers swell.
To make it even more deadly the Haitians rely on wood to make charcoal, their primary source of fuel which has led to a massive deforestation of the hillsides that surround the city. When rain comes the hills around Gonaves melt away and mudslides begin burying the city.
- 4
Lake Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo/Rwanda
On the surface it is one of Africa’s Great Lakes and is full of fresh water. However, below the surface of this lake there is 2.3 trillion cubic feet of methane gas, along with 60 cubic miles of carbon dioxide trapped under water and earth. If released from the depths of this lake these gases could kill the two million Africans that live in the Lake Kivu basin.
The concern of this lake stems from events that occurred in the 1980s at two other African Lakes with similar chemical compositions. Over 1,700 people have died from these deadly lakes and the United Nations fear a similar event will occur in Lake Kivu and is a cause of “serious concern.” The UN’s Environmental Program has even gone as far as to call these bodies of water “Africa’s Killer Lakes.”
Efforts have been made to extract the methane gas from the lake but it is done on a small scale.
- 5
The Ephemeral Isles, The Maldives
The endangered nation of The Maldives is threatened with rising sea levels. The nation consists of 1,192 coastal islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean. Its highest point of elevation is only six feet. When Muhammed Nasheed took office as president in 2008 he began to work on a relocation fund when the islands are engulfed by the rising sea levels.
Nasheed has looked at locations in India, Sri Lanka and Australia as possible relocation sites. He intends to purchase land from the government of these countries from the money they receive from the tourist industry.
- 6
The Cayman Islands
This British territory is located in the Caribbean, is considered the “Hurricane Capital of the World.” The largest island, Grand Cayman, is hit or brushed by a hurricane every 2.16 years.
In 2004 Hurricane Ivan brought a foot of rain to Grand Cayman, with a 10-foot storm surge that submerged a quarter of the island. Seventy percent of the island’s buildings were destroyed and 40,000 inhabitants were left without power or clean water.
- 7
Tornado Alley
This location is actually in our own backyard. One million people reside along the corridor that runs between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the states most heavily populated cities.
Now why is the section of land considered the Tornado Corridor?
Each spring, cool dry air from the Rocky Mountains comes down across the lower plans and warm, wet air of the Gulf Coast comes north. These two fronts meet creating the possibility of tornadoes.
The past few weeks are a reminder how dangerous Tornado Alley can be. With El Reno, Moore and the surrounding towns being hit and with more of these storms being formed in other locations it’s important that we remain cautious and have a plan when one is formed.
Over 350 people were injured during the Moore tornado with 24 killed. Thousands of people were affected by the tornado with many homes and businesses destroyed.
El Reno’s tornado, although it had less casualties, had a record breaking width of 2.6 miles.
- 8
China’s Creeping Sandbox – Minquan County, China
It won’t be long until northwest Gansu Province becomes a big desert. The Tengger desert from the southeast and the Badain Jaran in the northwest is swallowing the province. Since 1950, more than 100 square miles have been taken over by desert.
As of 2004 the deserts were approaching at 10 meters per year with more than 130 days of wind and dust each year.
This is unlikely to slow down and the Ginise government has started relocating uprooted farmers as arable land has decreased from 360 square miles to less than sixty.