Dangerous Places to Live In Based on FEMA Disaster Rankings

Natural disasters, in the form of hurricanes, storms, and tornadoes, are more common in certain parts of the U.S., compared to others. These extreme weather conditions can make living in these places quite tricky. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has come up with a National Risk Index that calculates how risky different U.S. counties are to live in. 

The Index considers factors like how much property and people can be affected because of a natural disaster, how often disasters strike the area, and how socially vulnerable the people who reside in the area are, and more. Here are 4 of the most dangerous places to reside in based on FEMA’s disaster rankings. 

LA County: As per the latest calculations of the National Risk Index, which considered more than 3,000 counties in the country, Los Angeles (LA) County is the most unsafe place to live in due to frequent occurrences of earthquakes, wildfires, and ice storms. 

Bronx County: Bronx County, New York, which witnesses extreme winter weather conditions like tornadoes, coastal flooding, and earthquakes, is the second-most unsafe place to reside in, according to the Index.

New York County (Manhattan): New York County ranks third on the list since it witnesses similar weather conditions as the Bronx region. Although Oklahoma County witnesses almost double the number of tornadoes that New York City experiences, it is still less affected in comparison to the latter because the population density is not as high. 

Miami-Dade County: Miami-Dade County, which is located in southeast Florida, is the fourth area on the index, due to the area witnessing extreme weather conditions like hurricanes and lightning. In Southwest Florida, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier are classified as “relatively high risk” because they have the same type of weather conditions. 

Loudoun County, located in Virginia, ranks the lowest on the Index. Keep in mind that although the Index provides a good estimate of how safe or unsafe a place may be to live in, it isn’t a fool-proof way to gauge just how livable a certain area is.