Natural Disasters (If You’re Too Happy, These Are Things You Can Worry About)

You can live on Maui and be oblivious to all the bad things in the world: the situation in the Middle East, Ferguson, and the latest outbreak of Ebola. You can even overcome your fear of sharks, though my mother was terribly affected by the Jaws movies and called me every time there was a shark incident on the news.

                                        

Does anything bad happen on Maui? Like really bad. Like a major disaster, an act of God? In California, there is the danger of earthquakes and forest fires. In Texas, there are tornados. In Florida, there are hurricanes.

Here’s a list of natural disasters that could happen on Maui, and hopefully won’t:

·        Hurricanes – Our hurricane season is from April to November. Hurricanes are always a real danger, though last year’s hurricane warnings turned out to be fluff. We’ve lucked out for decades but when a hurricane hits, the losses are devastating.

·        Tsunamis – If Japan, South America or the West Coast has an earthquake, we could get a tsunami.

·        Earthquakes – We actually had one on Maui a few years ago, and the Big Island had one recently. It was about a 4 on the Richter scale.

·        Wildfires – Not too common because half the island seems perpetually wet, but possible in isolated areas. Mostly from dumb teenagers doing dumb teenage stuff.

·        Flash floods – This is a real danger during rainy season. One year, several homes were washed away. Cars sometimes try to cross a rapidly moving stream and people drown.

·        Lava flow – Not likely on Maui, though it’s a real threat on the Big Island.

·        Windstorms – We had some intense winds in February which cause trees to fall on houses and other kinds of damage.

·        The Little Red Fire Ant – This imported species snuck into Hawaii from some plants in Florida and has been creating a lot of havoc. Major outbreaks have occurred on the Big Island, with devastating agricultural losses. It has been spotted on Maui. Its bites are so hurtful that it can cause blindness in dogs and cats, and can make going outside painful for humans.

In case you are feeling too happy, you can reread this list at your leisure and think of doomsday scenarios.

Related posts: 

Preparing for the Zombie Hurricane Apocalypse

Beware of Flying Costco Garage Shelters!

Here's a shortcut to the archives for the A to Z Challenge and other blog posts.

The theme of this year’s A to Z Challenge is Living on Maui: A Beginner’s Survival Guide. While I can’t include everything in only 26 short blog posts, this is my foolish attempt.