When it comes to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcanoes and tsunamis, L.A. County leads the way, and not in a good way.
Assessing the risk factors for 18 types of natural disasters in more than 3000 counties in America, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has determined that Los Angeles County has the highest ranking in the National Risk Index.
FEMA calculates risk not just on the frequency of a particular disaster but the potential damage it could inflict upon an area. For example, New York City has 20 times the amount of people and property value exposed to a tornado, but is half as likely to endure one as Oklahoma.
After Los Angeles, FEMA rounds off the top 10 riskiest places with the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, St. Louis, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.