Natural disasters are part of the way the
planet works.
In the ideal world we would all live in places
that aren't affected by natural hazards.
We wouldn't live near coastlines; we wouldn't
live along the San Andreas fault in California;
we wouldn't live underneath the volcanoes
in the Pacific Northwest.
But we live where our homes are.
I mean, those are the places that are important
to us.
And then there are many people that don't
have choices.
The Museum is presenting this exhibit to describe
these events to people so they have a better
understanding of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
hurricanes, and tornadoes.
But more than that - to begin thinking about
the risks associate with them.
As climate warms, we expect there to be more
severe storms, more severe droughts, more
wildfires, and to some extent over the last
decade we've seen just that.
There's no way we're going to avoid the natural
hazards on a dynamic Earth, but there are
certainly ways that we can learn to live with
them to mitigate the risks to society.
