Arctic Science Journeys
Radio Script
1997

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Danger Zone
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STORY: California has earthquakes, riots, and landslides. Oklahoma and Texas have tornadoes. But Alaska has tsunamis, and that makes the state among the most dangerous, according to Mark Monmonier, a geographer at Syracuse University in New York.

MONMONIER: "The principle reason is that you have a very hazardous coastline which is part of the Pacific ring of fire. There's seismic activity there in close proximity to the coast, and in fact you've had some fairly disastrous earthquakes accompanied by seismic sea waves. This is rated in fact by the U.S. Geological Survey on their coastal hazards map as the most serious coastal hazard in the United States."

Monmonier recently published a book that charts all manner of hazards--from earthquakes to crime rates--and ranked the top ten most dangerous places in the United States. Alaska ranked number three, behind Seattle, Washington, and California.

MONMONIER: "But you're not going to beat California. California was most certainly number one. California is fairly large and it's large enough to include earthquakes and active volcanoes. Northern California has had some tsunamis, it has large concentration of population, large growing southern cities, problems with crime, freeway snipers, wildfires, landslides--you name it--California has had almost any kind of hazard, except for tornadoes."

Mark Monmonier is an avid map maker who has for years collected information about hazards around the country. His sources are federal and state government documents and emergency preparedness plans, newspaper clippings of natural and industrial disasters, and telephone interviews. His hazard maps depict zones where such things as tidal waves, earthquakes, floods and crime are likely to occur. He says such maps are intended to help land use planners and government agencies, but he says anyone thinking about relocating would find them useful. So if Mark Monmonier were to move to Alaska, what dangers would he look out for?

MONMONIER: "I wouldn't mind living in your state. I mean, I could walk out my door and get mugged. There aren't any completely safe places. But in Alaska, I would be concerned about, let's say, areas where there was significant shaking in the event of an earthquake. I would be concerned about coastal areas where there would be the risk of significant run-up as a result of a tsunami. I'd be concerned about flood plains. These would be the principle hazards that I would look into. But I'm certain that by looking at available maps I could probably assure myself that I could find a neighborhood that would be relatively safe."

Interestingly, Monmonier says neighborhoods surrounding nuclear power plants are perhaps the safest places to be.

OUTRO: For Arctic Science Journeys, this is Debra Damron reporting from Fairbanks, Alaska.