I feel that I live in one of the best places on earth.  God's Country as my grandpa calls it.  We are in a great area for outdoor enthusiasts.  Hiking, biking, snow skiing, fishing, hunting and water sports all within an hours drive and in some cases in our very own backyard.  It's not just the abundant wildlife and breathtaking lakes and mountains that make this part of the county desirable.  We have also been relatively free from major natural disasters.  Sure some winters we are hit with a lot of snow, but hurricanes and tsunamis are certainly out of the question.  Not likely we will have to deal with a tornado or sizable earthquake either.  We have had some flooding, mostly minor, but I can only say minor because I have never been affected.  Wild fires are one danger that is overdue around here.  Our forests are ripe for another big one.  Our risk of drought and dust storms is pretty tiny too.  All in all, we are have good reason to feel safe from natures calamities.

Not all areas are so lucky.  Click HERE to check out FEMAs list of declared disasters and emergency situations in the U.S. for 2011.  Nature wasn't especially kind on the U.S. this year.  The tornadoes that hit middle America and destructive hurricane Irene on the east coast ended up with a price tag of over $10 billion dollars.  Billion with a B.  And worse, it cost dozens of lives.  It's hard to be completely prepared for disasters of that scale, but having some precautionary plans in place may make a critical difference.