Single, Successful, but Struggling in Seattle: What if disaster strikes?

When I was a kid, I had a fear of tornadoes. I used to have nightmares about them...very graphic nightmares actually. I was also a walking contradiction when it came to this fear though. Instead of shying away from the storms, most of the time I would sit out on the porch with my dad, just watching the dark clouds, rain, and even hail roll right on in.

In Indiana, the thunderstorms can get pretty crazy at times, and with the varying weather and temperatures, tornadoes are inevitable at some point or another. I had two tornado encounters growing up. The first was very non-threatening. It was in the summer, and I was very young. There were a decent amount of family members over at my house, for what I can't remember, but all of the adults were hanging around outside making small talk, while I was playing in my sandbox or doing who knows what else.

My brother was still living at home during this period of time, and he was in his early/mid twenties I believe. He had just bought a black Firebird and was taking off in it for the evening to meet up with friends. Well, he had only been gone for about five minutes when low-and-behold, he pulls back in the driveway. My parents asked if he forgot something, and he looks at everyone all wide-eyed and says, "Are you people blind? LOOK OVER THERE," as he points to the northwest. It might have been a little cloudy, but no one had any major suspicions for weather out of the ordinary. Well, if you haven't guessed by now, what was off to the northwest was a funnel cloud getting ready to touch down. And touch down it did, about 10 miles away. No one was hurt, but I do believe a house or two was inconveniently relocated, if you know what I mean.

I look back on my second encounter and laugh to myself. I was still young, and had went with my mother up to Bloomington to go to the dentist for a check up. After the dentist, we would go shopping at the mall and get something to eat...just a little ritual of ours. Well, we made it to the mall, and then we got fricking stuck there. We were walking through the mall, when an announcement came over the loudspeaker notifying us that there were three funnel clouds spotted near the area...not one....FUCKING THREE. Where do we get escorted to? None other than the lingerie department of L.S. Ayres. This corner of the building is actually kinda built into the ground, so I suppose it was the safest they had to offer, if you don't take into account all of the damn mirrors scattered all over the walls of the store. We had to sit by the elevator and lingerie dept. for what seemed like an hour. I was young and scared, so I cried just a tad. I didn't quite understand that I didn't have much to worry about since they were 30 miles away, but I was scared for my dad and my brother and sister (and my dog too!). It all chalked up to nothing in the end, but I'll never forget it.

It really doesn't matter where you live, it seems there is some sort of natural disaster that can take place. In Indiana there were tornadoes and floods. In Arizona it was mostly forest fires and floods. And now, I'm in Washington, where it's the other end of the spectrum....earthquakes, tsunamis, and even volcanoes.

I've never experienced an earthquake, so I have no idea what to expect. Everyone here has told me that most of the ones they've felt are small, that they usually just shake the blinds and are very short-lived. I don't know how far a tsunami could travel into Puget Sound or if I would be affected (something I should probably check out sometime). And as far as volcanoes go, there is only one nearby to worry about...Mt. Rainier. I live far enough away that the only effect I would probably experience from it would be a bunch of ash, but it's still scary to think what could happen to others if it erupted. It would be so sad for the towns nearby, but at least they appear to have plans in place. Seen online lately was a plan for a lahar drill for the town of Orting. I can't say it's a bad idea, considering all of the earthquakes that have been popping up in the news lately.

I found this site online, that spells out a bit of what would happen if Mt. Rainier erupted: What Would Happen If Mt. Rainier Erupted? I just hope the surrounding towns are prepared. Hopefully we never live to see it. In the mean time, I'm brushing up on my volcano knowledge by watching this old National Geographic series on the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. I've also heard there's a documentary on Mt. Rainier...if I can find it, I'm definitely going to check it out.