The Hartford

If you live in the central United States, you are most at risk for tornadoes and in rare occasions, earthquakes. Heavy winter storms are also common throughout the United States and could lead to flooding, especially if you live near creeks or rivers.

Understanding what you're most at risk for and creating disaster plans in advance can help you prepare to save lives and minimize loss and damages to your property.

Tornadoes
Tornadoes are violent columns of air that appear as rotating, funnel-shaped clouds extending from the sky to the ground. Tornadoes are extremely dangerous and can have wind speeds up to 300 miles per hour, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Damage paths from tornadoes can be one mile wide and 50 miles long.

Tornadoes usually occur at the end of a severe thunderstorm and can also be caused by hurricanes.  They can appear suddenly with very little warning and achieve an average ground speed of 30 miles per hour.  Tornadoes can appear anywhere in the United States, but are most common in the central part known as the Great Plains. Peak season in the South is during the months of March through May, and in the North, from the late spring to early summer.  According to {Name Source of statistic here], tornadoes are most likely to happen between 3pm and 9pm.

Earthquakes
An earthquake is a sudden shaking or movement of the ground due to shifts in the earth's tectonic plates (outermost crust). Earthquakes are not common occurrences. However, they can be very disruptive because they occur suddenly and tend to affect large areas. Earthquakes can be a one time event of a few seconds shaking or a series of events of varying duration. They can cause extensive damage to property and loss of life. Earthquakes can cause tsunamis if the hypocenter (starting point) of the earthquake is in the ocean.

Earthquakes are measured in magnitudes with a magnitude of 1 being the lowest and a magnitude of 9.5 being the highest recorded magnitude for an earthquake. Earthquakes with magnitude 3 and below are minor and are often imperceptible.

Flooding
Flooding is one of the most common natural disasters in the United States and can affect the entire country not just one region.  A flood can occur due to severe storms and hurricanes. The risk of flooding is higher near bodies of water, downstream from a dam or in low-lying areas. 

Floods can happen slowly, or in some cases very suddenly, as in the case of flash floods. Flash floods happen when the ground can't absorb the amount of water that has fallen on it. They are especially dangerous because they happen without warning and often carry a lot of debris. Many people underestimate the power of a flood and try to cross streams or flooded areas in their vehicles only to get swept away by the water.  It only takes one foot of water to float most vehicles, and only two feet of rushing water to sweep away most SUVs.

Hurricanes
Hurricanes are tropical cyclones severe tropical storms with rotating winds of at least 73 mph. The name hurricane is a regionally-specific name for a tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones that originate in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific Oceans are called hurricanes. If storms originate in the western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons.

Hurricanes most commonly occur off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts and are usually accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning. Peak hurricane season is between August and October. In addition to the high winds and severe storm conditions, hurricanes can also spawn tornadoes and create high waves, massive flooding and storm surges all potentially able to cause catastrophic damage.

Hurricanes are classified in five categories based on wind speed and damage potential.  Category 1 and 2 hurricanes are considered minor, but can still cause major damage to property and people. Category 3 through 5 are major hurricanes, causing extensive to catastrophic levels of damage.