Three counties in New York entered the list of the most dangerous in the United States

Three counties in New York State are included in the list of the 10 most dangerous in the United States in terms of natural disaster risk, writes ABC.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) calculated Risk of 18 types of natural disasters in each U.S.including earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. The pandemic was not counted in this ranking.

Top New York counties include the Bronx, New York County (Manhattan) and Kings County (Brooklyn) - second, third, and fourth on the list, respectively.

According to FEMA's Mike Grimm, the rating may sound “counterintuitive,” but the degree of risk lies not only in how often a disaster occurs, but also in how serious the consequences can be.

“The districts in the top five are those where such events are rare, but can have potentially serious consequences, because there are many vulnerabilities in these areas. So a small tornado can do a lot of damage, ”said Susan Cutter, director of the Institute for Hazard and Vulnerability Research at the University of South Carolina.

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For example, two counties in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Hudson County, New Jersey, are among the five most dangerous counties for tornadoes. At the same time, Oklahoma County (Oklahoma State), where more than 1950 tornadoes have occurred since 120, including one that killed 36 people in 1999, ranks 120th in the ranking.

The fact is that in New York, people are much less aware of the risks of tornadoes and less prepared for them, so the consequences of such a phenomenon in this state can be potentially catastrophic.

Overall, according to FEMA officials, Oklahoma has twice the risk of a tornado than New York, but the potential for damage is much higher in New York because there are 20 times more people and the cost of property at risk is higher.

In addition, an additional threat in New York is created by the fact that most people do not realize this threat, because such disasters in the state do not occur often.

“The fact that you have never seen this in your life does not mean that it will not happen,” - said Grimm.

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Such denials are especially harmful in the case of floods, which are very costly natural disasters, he said. Only 4% of the population has federal flood insurance, while about one third of US residents may need it.

The 10 most dangerous counties in the United States according to FEMA:

1. Los Angeles County
2. Bronx (New York)
3. New York County (Manhattan, New York)
4. Kings County (Brooklyn, New York)
5. Miami (Florida)
6. Philadelphia (PA)
7. Dallas (Texas)
8. St. Louis (MO)
9. Riverside (California)
10. San Bernardino (California)