Living in the Danger Zone

Today's edition of USA Today features a two-page spread entitled, "Is There Anywhere Safe to Live?". It evaluates each state for its vulnerability to seventeen kinds of potential natural disaster and given a score of 1 (vulnerable in just one category) to 8 (vulnerable in eight categories). I assumed that the most dangerous places to live would be out west somewhere (earthquakes), or maybe in the Plains states (tornadoes), or down South (hurricanes). Right? Wrong. Much to my surprise, Michigan received a disaster rating of 7, making it one of the most dangerous states in the nation (at least by their reckoning)! The reason? Michigan is vulnerable to blizzards, lake-effect snowstorms, heat waves, ice storms, lightning, river valley flooding, and thunderstorms. There are six other states in our category, and only one in the "8" category: Texas. Bring your disaster supplies to that clinical, Mark! Incidentally, the safest state in the union is Nevada. Viva Las Vegas!