Top 10 U.S. Natural Disaster Threats

Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster to strike the U.S. in history, as measured by financial damage estimates. As a result, many Americans realized that crisis preparedness makes a lot of sense.

So is it possible that more tough lessons are around the corner? LiveScience.com has a fascinating countdown of the top 10 U.S. natural disaster threats posted on their site.

A quick rundown with links to their applicable explanations ...

10. Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquake (think BIG earthquake, huge tsunami)

9. New York City Hurricane (only a few hours to evacuate the city?)

8. Asteroid impact (ouch)

7. Los Angeles Tsunami (Katrina, but with no time to evacuate)

6. Supervolcano (Yellowstone caldera)

5. Midwest Earthquake (New Madrid devastation)

4. Heat Waves (danger is extreme but underrated)

3. East Coast Tsunami (remember "Deep Impact?")

2. Gulf Coast Tsunami (maybe mountaintop property is undervalued?)

1. Total Destruction of Earth (a whole 'nother top 10 list of how to destroy the planet!)

So if this list doesn't keep you up at night, perhaps it's at least a brain-goosing menu for your next screenplay disaster (as opposed to disaster screenplay ... wink-wink).

Personally, I'm waiting for the manmade disaster list (anybody have one?). Either way ...

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