Innisfree Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 More pictures keep coming out about horrible conditions in Florida, including inland, where people probably felt safer but still have significant flooding. Folks here have talked about how hard it is to evacuate, as roads become clogged. Obviously there are other factors, especially financial, influencing evacuation choices. I’m wondering how much people here, who are probably much better educated and somewhat more prosperous on average than the population at large, are considering flooding, fire, and other risks when they evaluate where they will live: both the individual house and the region. We have made this a crucial factor in our own choice: we’ve eliminated all areas that either have a history of flooding or predicted future flooding based on recent trends. I also refused to consider an area which gets the brunt of hurricane impacts in our region, and is subject to evacuation difficulties, though dh would have been willing to consider it. Fire isn’t a big hazard in our region, but I still looked at estimates for greater or lesser risk. At this point it’s relatively easy for us to consider these factors, since we’re approaching retirement. If employment tied us to a certain region, we’d still be able to choose to a smaller degree within the area. I hear one of my kids eliminating possible future employment regions based on climate factors, though. The last time we had to make this choice was decades ago, and although we wouldn’t have bought in a known flood plain, other risks weren’t on our radar at all. I found the https://riskfactor.com/ links on Realtor dot com useful. Are there others people are using? How much is this something you’re thinking about? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 My personal view is that if you need flood insurance, you shouldn't live there. I've only bought houses where I lived and I already knew the area, so I never needed to access risk factors. I used to know someone who bought a McMansion. At the House Warming, they pointed out a field and as if it was an advantage that houses would never be built there because it was a floodplain. I pointed out that it looked the same elevation as their house. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We didn’t really consider those things 17+ years ago when we moved to this area, but they were in my mind when deciding to *stay in this area. We could and do have forest fires, but not California-style. We could theoretically flood, but not seaside style. We could be near a pipeline accident, but “near” means almost a mile away to me. We can have tornadoes, but they’re generally small and weak. Earthquakes are almost nothing. Severe drought isn’t a huge concern, extreme heat is pretty rare, and our homes are built for cold. Ice storms are probably our biggest problem. We take precautions to minimize and manage each of those risks. In return, we give up super quick access to emergency services. So it’s not a perfect system! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Some of it I agree, people should have known ahead of time that the area of choice might not have been the best. Some others (including myself) were already well established before the climate changed the area. I now live in a fire risk area. It wasn't before. It used to be so wet that there really wasn't a fire season. That has changed. We prep as best we can, but we cannot afford to move. Others live in these areas because the cost is low due to the risk of floods etc. and it is what they can afford. I do think that living on sandbars or right on the beach, especially in a hurricane area, is not a good idea. And I think that when it is decimated (like in Ian) there should be more thought put into where rebuilding happens and where it should be given back to nature as an unlivable location. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Since I'm married to a civil engineer, I constantly hear "Why would they think THAT was a good place to build a house? What can they be thinking?" We're staying put on the farm, but my kids think about this stuff since they've listened to their dad harp on this. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 6 minutes ago, bluemongoose said: Some of it I agree, people should have known ahead of time that the area of choice might not have been the best. I hope it didn’t sound like I felt people should have known better in the past. As you say, risks have changed significantly, and once people are established moving can be hard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) Yes. We bought the house in 2005 after studying flood maps (determining that this neighborhood has never flooded) and bought flood insurance anyway. We had rented in the area for a few years and knew that many areas were subject to flooding. I'm pretty unwilling to live much farther east (hurricanes), and also unwilling to live farther south. Too hot. We are far from earthquake- and wildfire-prone regions. I think neighborhoods with multiple houses rendered uninhabitable should not be rebuilt. Edited October 5, 2022 by 73349 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 minute ago, 73349 said: I'm pretty unwilling to live much farther east (hurricanes), and also unwilling to live farther south. Too hot. Yes, when we move it will be away from hurricanes and increasingly extreme heat. We’ll still be within the range of hurricanes a few days after they land, but well above flood zones. If that changes, there will have been truly dire alterations in historic patterns. I hope it doesn’t come to that. 13 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said: there isn't enough water Yep, another important consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) We absolutely consider that. The first street risk maps are a helpful resource: https://firststreet.org/ (Toggle between risk to see heat versus fire versus flooding.) Personally, we decided more than a decade ago we wouldn’t live anywhere where our water came from the Colorado River basin. We also won’t live along the Gulf coast, or in Florida. The warming waters of the Gulf means that more water vapor is taken up into hurricanes and the potential for flooding and really strong storms is just too high. In a given city, not only do we not live near rivers or streams, we also choose properties on hills or on grades where water will move past us without hitting our property. We still carry flood insurance in case of mud. ETA: the risk of mud is from liquefaction in case of earthquake. We have earthquake insurance as well. Edited October 5, 2022 by prairiewindmomma 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartstrings Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Water access played some part in where we live. Places further west weren’t an option. Tornadoes are possible but not super likely and completely unpredictable. Can flood insurance be bought after you’ve lived in a home for awhile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 While we did consider flood and wildfire risks, the companies which would employ my husband are all at relatively low risks area so that makes it easier for us. We do still get the smog/haze whenever there is a large wildfire and the wind direction is towards us. Our priority when picking where to live is highly dependent on medical access and employment access. Medical access being of higher priority since my husband don’t mind a longer work commute if it means we are nearer to good medical facilities. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Our home is in a pretty safe area from natural disasters. I mean, it could happen, but overall there isn't much going on. Mostly tornadoes--though they tend to go either north or south of our town. However, I grew up where there was a large man-made lake. When my parents built, they made sure that no part of the house was in the easement. When the flood level was high, the water came within a couple of feet of one corner of the basement, but we never flooded even the worst years. There was definitely yard cleanup to take care of, but the house was fine. I grew up hearing my mom asking questions like @fairfarmhand's husband though: Why did they think it was okay to build in the easement?? It was not too hard to find out the elevations, and that just seemed foolish. It's different if things change after you buy or build a place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 5 minutes ago, Heartstrings said: Can flood insurance be bought after you’ve lived in a home for awhile? Flood insurance can be bought at any time. I know friends who didn’t buy flood insurance every year since California is typically in drought. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 12 minutes ago, Heartstrings said: Water access played some part in where we live. Places further west weren’t an option. Tornadoes are possible but not super likely and completely unpredictable. Can flood insurance be bought after you’ve lived in a home for awhile? Yes, there’s just a 90 (?30?) day wait period until coverage takes effect. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We thought about it and then disregarded it because I wanted to live in the same place as my parents, my sister, and my cousin. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 4 minutes ago, Lecka said: We thought about it and then disregarded it because I wanted to live in the same place as my parents, my sister, and my cousin. One could probably argue that even thinking about it and then disregarding it could lead people to take better measures to prepare themselves for local risks. If you’re going to be in a risky area, do what you can to minimize dangers. I don’t know if that’s how it actually works out psychologically for most people, or if there’s a tendency to shrug shoulders and be fatalistic. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Flood smart is the government website for buying flood insurance. The administrator of your policy is based on what region of the US you live in. https://www.floodsmart.gov/why-buy-flood-insurance 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idalou Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) No worries here for fires, floods, hurricanes or tornadoes. Choices will become more limiting in the years to come. People need to get their heads out of the sand and politicians need to grow brains and balls and accept that no matter what your political views are about climate crisis, changes need to be made. We need more innovation like this. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-ian-florida-solar-power-babcock-ranch/ Edited October 5, 2022 by Idalou 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 5 minutes ago, Idalou said: No worries here for fires, floods, hurricanes or tornadoes. Choices will become more limiting in the years to come. We need more innovation like this. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-ian-florida-solar-power-babcock-ranch/ That is fantastic, and exactly what we need more of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) We never considered moving to another region as our jobs, family, and community are here. We love where we live! We cannot afford to retire, so will not be making that sort of relocation choice. We did carefully choose to avoid homes in the flood plain, even the 500+ year one. Good thing, because in 2010 there was just such a flood here. We were high and dry, and able to help friends and neighbors. Tornadoes are the primary weather risk here, and other than standard emergency prep, there is really nothing we can do about them. No part of town is more at risk than another. Edited October 5, 2022 by ScoutTN 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) We deliberately chose to be away from the coast because of erosion and in an elevated position away from the village stream. We are next to a cultivated field, rather than brush, so fire is less likely. Edited October 5, 2022 by Laura Corin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Except for along some rivers and creeks, the only real threat is tornadoes. The bad thing about that is not many homes have a storm shelter. It’s not required when building and not many homes have a basement either. People who are most worried about it have them put in, but it’s $$$, so not everyone can. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Weather/natural disaster wise we live in a pretty great place. But we just moved here for a job. If and when we move away that is definitely a factor we will be considering. When we lived in the Midwest we didn't look at any houses that required flood insurance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We thought a lot about flooding before buying our current house. It is in a historic flood plain, however, it is protected by a levee and hasn't flooded, where our house sits, for the last few major floods. We are not required to have flood insurance, but we carry it anyway just to be on the safe side. It is possible we could come to regret our decision, but we did a lot of research before making our decision. The biggest natural disaster threats in our area are earthquakes (which we are supposedly over due for a major one), volcanoes (lived through one), and floods. We also have had a lot of wildfires in the last few years, sadly. And we get a good wind storm every once in a while, and have even had a few tornadoes, but nothing like other parts of the country. Overall, we are fairly comfortable with our choice of area to live in as far as natural disaster threats here. We mitigate as much as we can, but there is only so much we can do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I would definitely consider it. And there's nothing new about hurricanes. I remember some pretty big ones on the news when I was a schoolgirl. Of course, I live where tornadoes can (though rarely) devastate a home in seconds. I am not sure if there's any place that is totally free of disaster risk, whether violent weather, flood, fire, earthquake, or something else. But I do think most of the folks hit hard in the hurricane knew it was a possibility. I know some who have moved to Florida quite recently, so I feel they accepted this risk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, 73349 said: I think neighborhoods with multiple houses rendered uninhabitable should not be rebuilt. There were parts of Christchurch that were not rebuilt after the earthquakes. The government financed a buyout, and refused to allow people to rebuild in the area. Here is a photo of what the red zone now looks like. They removed all the houses but not the streets and have allowed nature to take over. A lot of the red zone is in the middle of the city and next to the river. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/77041509/five-years-on-the-red-zone-is-green Edited October 5, 2022 by lewelma 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 hour ago, Lecka said: We thought about it and then disregarded it because I wanted to live in the same place as my parents, my sister, and my cousin. This, but my parents always drilled into me the importance of living “where the bugs and weather won’t kill you”, lol. My brother and I now live on the same street as my parents. As an adult I made the specific choice to live away from certain parts of the country based on weather, water access particularly, and politics. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said: The best and worst cities for climate change in 2022 Nothing surprising on the list. Some of these cities are more affordable than others. I notice they didn't factor in probable future water shortages. That's surprising. Edited to add: We'd like to live elsewhere, but DH won't consider places without a viable source of drinking water other than reservoirs that could be drying up. Edited October 5, 2022 by GailV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We took some of all of this into consideration when we bought our retirement house. It is at an elevation that is high enough to be in a no flood zone, it has water sources on the mountain, it is ten degrees cooler than in the valley, it has a lay out big enough to house our adult kids and their spouses/partners and our grands, there are three evacuation possibilities, and the area is currently not known for fire risk, however the house is about a mile from a fire watch tower and a huge water tower for that purpose. It has enough room to grow a lot of food and a long growing season plus a bunch of fruit trees and bushes. But, nothing is of course full proof by any stretch. The best laid plans of mice and men...And as things get hotter, it may still get too hot. The back up plan is that our property here in Michigan combined with his mom's which is a gorgeous log home on three acres has enough resale value for us to sell when she is gone, sadly probably not more than a year away, and buy a home with land in the U.P. We are planning on doing that so there is an escape from the heat as that area is one that is considered to be good for weathering the increasing temps and climate issues. The downside of the U.P. home is short growing season so Mark wants to build a geothermal green house so we can keep veggies going in the winter, and have some where with a lot of light and warmth for backyard chickens. And again, best laid plans...... I fear for many. Most people are locked into employment, elder care responsibilities, lack of funds for relocation, needing specific healthcare, you name it, and can't move even if they want to. I weep. So much of this could have been averted if the bobble heads In charge and oligarchs had been willing to listen back in the 70's. We could have been on an upgraded power grid, solar and geothermal energy, all kinds of green solutions. For the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we could have helped a lot of other countries make strides as well. We could have mitigated even if the likes of China and Russia were NOT going to get on board. But, god forbid the ever exponentially increasing profit engine take a back seat to public health and safety, the survival of the planet. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 2 hours ago, 73349 said: Yes. We bought the house in 2005 after studying flood maps (determining that this neighborhood has never flooded) and bought flood insurance anyway. We had rented in the area for a few years and knew that many areas were subject to flooding. I'm pretty unwilling to live much farther east (hurricanes), and also unwilling to live farther south. Too hot. We are far from earthquake- and wildfire-prone regions. I think neighborhoods with multiple houses rendered uninhabitable should not be rebuilt. I worry more about tornadoes than hurricanes, because at least you get some advance warning with hurricanes. That said, I wouldn't move to a state like Florida and I wouldn't have an oceanfront house as anything more than a vacation home, because hurricane damage is horrible. I don't want to be anywhere that has a strong potential for flooding! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) We live in the #2 city, and frankly we have a better water situation than San Francisco. Just need to survive the inevitable earthquake…. Edited October 6, 2022 by Lawyer&Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 In the long ago times when we lived in the Houston (flooding happens, hurricanes, lots of rain over a short time, etc), we used to try to drive by possible areas when it was heavily raining (for a while). One of the houses we bought was in a flood plain but had been raised before being built, so flood insurance was not required. Our house didn't flood, but we could not get out of our neighborhood for a while. You do what you can to minimize risk, but rarely can you eliminate all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 There are significant drawbacks to where we live, but the Risk Factor link has us as pretty low except for heat (due to the humidity). In the event of an emergency, though, I have to be mindful that we are technically on an island. There are two roads I can use to evacuate, and both are congested during a normal busy summer day. I think our house is situated well: inland, on a hill, independent water source but not next to a body of water of any sort, protected by a small forest that gets plenty of rain but not too much...there are houses that have been here for hundreds of years without issue so I feel a little alright in the event that we would leave. And we would leave at the first sign of an emergency like Hurrican Ian. Dh and ds1 would stay. They would go to their secure locations and lock down there. Nobody would stay at the house because of the likelihood of the main road being impassable. Youngest ds and I would try to beat the rush over the bridge and just drive as far as possible. We've lived nearly everywhere and every single place has considerations that we've had to take into account: fire, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes...it's mostly a lottery guess as to how the weather will change over time and trying to be in front of that. We can only do our best to prep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom23Boys Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I live in South Louisiana. We get hurricanes and in 2016, had a 1000 year flood. It was caused by massive amounts of rainfall being dumped in a 24 hour period, after weeks of solid rain, so the ground was saturated and rivers were already high. The community directly north of me (by about 10 mins) had over 30 inches of rain in 24 hours. Not many places could handle that. Over 90% of my parish flooded. We were displaced for months. We actually just had 2 schools get back into permanent campuses, 6 YEARS after the flood. We are still being affected here. My current home is a mobile home that is raised ~5 feet. I had to go up 3.5 feet because of the base flood elevation. I didn’t move out of the area because my ex is here still and I could only move 75 miles away without permission from the court. We were still married during the flood. I went so high when I moved after the divorce because I don’t want to go through that again. My neighbors here only got 18 inches of water. My grandma’s house had it in the attic and my mom got 5ft. We got 28 inches. If I flood again, I’m leaving the area. My youngest is almost 16, so I just have 2 more years of court deciding where I live. My ex and I didn’t leave at the time because his job was here and our family is here. I’m extra glad we didn’t since we divorced. I’m now on family land. It’s how I can afford to still homeschool as a single mom. My family goes back generations here. It’s home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We absolutely considered flooding when we built our house. We didn't live in a "flood zone" before but had constant problems with water in the basement. So that was something we made sure to avoid. I always wonder why people stay in areas that can be flooded or flattened in seconds but I know it's hard to uproot your life and I also know that a lot of people don't have the financial means to relocate. I feel fortunate to have grown up in the northeast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Those would have been great. But, honestly, even responsible zoning over the county and state level for the last 40 years would have made sense. As an example, there was no reason to fill in traditional wetlands, pave over all of it, and then build on it (Houston, I'm looking at you.). Putting in denser housing and preserving greenspace for flood management and for agricultural (food) development would have eased a lot of things. Denser housing would have also allowed for more feasible public transport. Likewise, even little things like putting in underground electrical wiring, requiring repairs to sewer and water lines in terms of maintenance, and upgrading water treatment plants would have helped. One of the things that drove me absolutely crazy when we lived in a place that flooded every dang time it rained was how easily people became resigned to it. "It just was what it was. It's where family was. It's just what happens." It was a complete resignation of responsibility and accountability. They finally started one of these projects before we left: https://spcculturepark.com They bought up some land, turned it into a park which also mitigates flooding from a creek in downtown San Antonio. The first link talks about what a wonderful event place it is. This second link is its functional purpose, stopping flooding where I-35 and I-10 meet in downtown San Antonio: https://www.pape-dawson.com/services/water-resources/hydrology-hydraulics/stormwater-design-management/san-pedro-creek-culture-park-san-antonio/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I don't understand the idea of Heat Risk. I don't think you can compare hot and humid summers with say a wildfire or mudslide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We are technically in a landslide and earthquake area. Those two things do not happen often, so it's outweighed by nearby family and friends, and employment. I've always lived in HCOL areas which have some risk of natural disasters, earthquake, typhoon, tsunami, landslide, flooding, wildfire(?). So perhaps my point of view is a bit skewed in terms of risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) I suppose I do have to add in heat risk. We definitely have heat risk. I am so glad it is finally fall. Edited October 5, 2022 by Jaybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) 36 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said: I don't understand the idea of Heat Risk. I don't think you can compare hot and humid summers with say a wildfire or mudslide. Number of people who died in wildfires in Oregon in 2021: 1 (Ruiz Carapaia, may he rest in peace) Number of people who died in Oregon in 2021 during the 117-120F weather event: at least 69 https://www.opb.org/article/2022/06/27/portland-remembers-people-died-heat-dome-one-year-ago/ ETA: a link on cumulative heat injuries: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health It's estimated that about 5 million people die a year from extreme weather temperatures: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/extreme-temperatures-kill-5-million-people-a-year-with-heat-related-deaths-rising-study-finds Edited October 5, 2022 by prairiewindmomma 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 8 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said: Heat risk is actually a big deal. The death rates goes up when there is a heat wave. It will be impossible to work outside in certain parts of the country and think of all of the work that is done outdoors. It will impact crops. This. The heat risk is long periods of double digit heat and dryness, possibly in the 120's. Air conditioning gives out, people die, water sources dry up, crops can't be irrigated because even if there is water, it evaporates unless !massive amounts of acreage are converted over to water conserving systems. Ecosystems die and with them food sources. More zoonotic diseases emerge as wild animals flood human habitat and water sources in an attempt to survive and viruses.evolve for human hosts as their animal.hosts.die off. The heat is the cause of all the disaster. Flooding, wildfire, hurricane frequency and intensity, food and water scarcity...everything ties back to the ever rising temps. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 The above mentioned 2021 heat event killed about a billion sea creatures, a lot of crops, and is still taking out trees that haven't been able to recover. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/12/extreme-heat-baking-sea-animals-alive/620904/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/31/global-heating-climate-crisis-animals-water-crops Keep in mind this is the same neck of the woods that an above linked article lists us "more climate resistant" than other places--Seattle and Portland were traditionally considered "safe" places for climate refugees. All I know is that a lot of California wineries are buying acreage here in recent years because we can still grow grapes and vines take several years to hit full production. https://www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-outdoors/2019/03/big-california-players-are-buying-stakes-in-oregon-wine-countryWe used to only do Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but now we're also growing Syrah. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 When I moved here 8 years ago, I definitely took those kinds of risk factors into account, on every level — regional, local, and even the specific house I chose. Regional: No hurricanes or major tornadoes, not an area likely to be affected by extended droughts or water shortages (we are actually predicted to get more rain, not less, in the future), and the climate is generally mild. Local: We're not near the coast/river or adjacent to any forested area — on a scale of 1-10 the Risk Factor website lists the risk of flood and fire here as 1. House: Some neighborhoods here are very hilly, and I specifically looked for a property that is not steeply sloped, but where the street and yard slope gently away from the house, because we do get some really heavy rains. We've had a few storms where the street turned into a rushing stream, but the water went downhill and never came even an inch into my driveway. I also wanted a decent-sized, sunny backyard, which is pretty hard to find around here, so I could grow quite a lot of my own produce if I had to. And if there were ever a big event that required evacuation, there are many ways out of here to avoid bottlenecks. Heat is listed as a risk factor here, but the current average is like 7 days per year over 90*, predicted to double to 14 days over 90* within 30 years. I know that heat waves can kill people, but I grew up in NJ without AC and we had way more than 14 days over 90* even back then. And at least it's less humid and usually cools off here at night. The one "mega disaster" type risk here is that the PNW is supposedly overdue for a big earthquake, but I'm willing to live with that possibility since all the other risk factors are pretty low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Oh yeah we do have heat risk last year we reached record highs last year. This year we had more days over 100 than ever before. We also have a pretty terrible ash season though we don't really have fires in the immediate area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 I’ve heard my Dad (who doesn’t think much of climate change) go on for years about people building on beach front and flood plains. I think these areas are less climate change and more commercial greed because they were always going to be problematic. Climate change just exacerbated the impact. Other things I’m less sure about. We live in a fire risk zone and I know that we will deal with that threat again at some point. On the worst days, I just want to move somewhere else. But life is good most of the time. Fire risk can also be managed much better than it currently is by embracing a more traditional style of land management, regular burning etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 23 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said: We live in a fire risk zone and I know that we will deal with that threat again at some point. We also live in a fire zone but I feel like the benefits of the area are worth the risk. Partly because we can drive to safety pretty easily - we're not in a place that gets cut off (like those poor people in boats on NYE 2019/2020). We can afford insurance and if our place did burn to the ground we have family we could stay with while we rebuilt. The worst part for us of 2019 fires, apart from the fear, was the months of smoke before and afterwards, which I'm sure damaged a lot of people's health. We have had 3 locals die or have serious surgery from aneurisms since then and I do wonder about a link. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: All I know is that a lot of California wineries are buying acreage here in recent years because we can still grow grapes and vines take several years to hit full production. https://www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-outdoors/2019/03/big-california-players-are-buying-stakes-in-oregon-wine-countryWe used to only do Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but now we're also growing Syrah. The English vineyards are booming too, with investment from worried French winemakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Louise Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 3 hours ago, bookbard said: We also live in a fire zone but I feel like the benefits of the area are worth the risk. Partly because we can drive to safety pretty easily - we're not in a place that gets cut off (like those poor people in boats on NYE 2019/2020). We can afford insurance and if our place did burn to the ground we have family we could stay with while we rebuilt. The worst part for us of 2019 fires, apart from the fear, was the months of smoke before and afterwards, which I'm sure damaged a lot of people's health. We have had 3 locals die or have serious surgery from aneurisms since then and I do wonder about a link. The only positive re Covid I can see is that we are all much more used to wearing (and buying) decent masks, which I assume will help somewhat with smoke the next fire season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 We live on a river and the houses past us on our street were bought out by FEMA decades ago, but we are way above the river so far outside any flood zone. We have some neighbors that stayed and didn't accept the FEMA buy-out who flood fairly frequently. Those left have crawl spaces where the water goes. We live in a coastal state but enough inland that hurricanes have an impact but not a severe one. Occasional tornados but they don't tend to go far or do much damage. Wildfires aren't really a thing. The risk factor link puts heat as our biggest risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 15 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: Number of people who died in wildfires in Oregon in 2021: 1 (Ruiz Carapaia, may he rest in peace) Number of people who died in Oregon in 2021 during the 117-120F weather event: at least 69 https://www.opb.org/article/2022/06/27/portland-remembers-people-died-heat-dome-one-year-ago/ ETA: a link on cumulative heat injuries: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health It's estimated that about 5 million people die a year from extreme weather temperatures: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/extreme-temperatures-kill-5-million-people-a-year-with-heat-related-deaths-rising-study-finds But heat risk and wildfires aren't the same thing. I didn't see Cold Risk. Extreme Cold is 10X more deadly than Extreme Heat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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