North Carolina Has One of the Most Dangerous Parks in America
We’re inching closer and closer to spring. In North Carolina, that means it will soon be a prime time to visit some of our great parks. Well, it’s not a list that we really want to be on. But, North Carolina has one of the most dangerous parks in America. Let’s get into the statistics and why this particular park is reportedly so dangerous.
Two separate studies actually point to this park being dangerous, one via Popular Mechanics and the other from Wildlandtrekking.com. Popular Mechanics notes that while national parks are beautiful and can be a wonderful spot to visit, “they also pose significant dangers that visitors must be aware of to ensure their safety. From treacherous terrain and unpredictable weather to wild animals and hazardous plants, the dangers of parks can be potentially life-threatening if you’re not careful.” So, be careful, and then you can enjoy the wonders.
Before we get into North Carolina, let’s look at the safest parks. According to a separate study from Kurl.com, Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona were No. 1 and No. 2 on the list, respectively. They were ranked as safe because of their “low numbers of missing persons and fatalities, minimal trail closures, and adequate ranger presence,” according to the study. The least safe parks were the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska. That’s because of a larger “number of search and rescue missions, higher incidents of trail closures, and fatal incident rates.” Yikes.
So, which North Carolina park is one of the most dangerous in America? The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Popular Mechanics has it at No. 6 on their list of the most dangerous parks, and Wildlandtrekking.com has them at No. 3. Why is it dangerous? The terrain and vehicle crashes, according to Wildlandtrekking.com. They add that Park Service data shows “the Smokies saw 92 deaths over roughly 15 years.” But, don’t cancel your travel plans. Just be very careful and prepared. For more information the studies via Popular Mechanics and Wildlandtrekking.com.
North Carolina, South Carolina: This Map Shows Our Earthquake Danger
More on Loss Ratios across the US
While you might think of a handful of cities who are in danger of earthquakes, and those are on the West Coast, there is earthquake activity all around. “Although most economic loss is concentrated along the West Coast, the distribution of relative earthquake risk, as measured by the AELR, is much broader and reinforces the fact that earthquakes are a national problem,” FEMA says. “Relatively high earthquake loss ratios are throughout the western and central United States (states within the NMSZ) and in the Charleston, South Carolina, area.”
California – Interstate roadsign illustration with the map of California
The Big 55
You’ve heard of the Big Four, right? In metal music. Anyway, the Big 55 are the cities that experience the most earthquake activity. “Fifty-five metropolitan areas, led by the Los Angeles (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim) and San Francisco (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) Bay areas, account for 85% of the total AEL,” FEMA says.
United States, geographic regions, colored political map. Five regions, according to their geographic position on the continent. Common but unofficial way of referring to regions of the United States.
Extra earthquake threat for Charleston, South Carolina
The FEMA report states, “Within the central and eastern United States, the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) and the Charleston, South Carolina, area pose substantial earthquake threat.” As for safer areas, “The NMSZ covers parts of eight states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. Together, they amount to approximately 15% of the total national exposure.”
Physical map of Planet Earth, focused on USA, North America. Satellite view, sun shining on the horizon. 3D illustration (Blender software), elements of this image furnished by NASA (https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/147000/147190/eo_base_2020_clean_3600x1800.png)
