All of that puts this tragedy in perspective
Why would any sane person live near an active fault zone knowing it might kill their family at any day?
I don't know.
I am content to live where I do because of the relative lack of regulations and goofy laws (compared to what happened to where I grew up in MD). Every place has its quirks, but these, here, I find acceptable.
It has the added benefits of low seismicity (max recorded:4.4 near Huff, ND, in 1968, absolutely
not related to fraccing), no recent (as in 600 million + years) volcanic activity, although there have been some significant ash layering events (from elsewhere), no Hurricanes. Yes, the occasional tornado, wildfires (on the prairie, known to cover miles in a couple of hours and burn off everything in the way, but attenuated by agriculture), and Winter (with a capital 'W'). Some areas are prone to flooding (Red River Valley), where I live is not (other side of the state). The worst largest natural event was the Laurentide Glaciation and subsequent melt off, which changed the former northward course of the Missouri River, and turned it South to eventually join the Mississippi. That happened thousands of years ago, although some places are subject to flooding if all the holes line up in the swiss cheese. Thankfully, here, in summer (if the Canadians aren't sending their smoke here), you can see the sky well enough to anticipate severe weather events in summer, when we have up to 16 hours of daylight. Wall cloud formation, severe thunderheads, squall lines and supercells are visible for miles and there is time to get to shelter. You just have to pay attention; it becomes habit.
Thankfully, work led me here, the people (including, perhaps especially, Mrs. Joe) kept me here.
It isn't for everyone, but nowhere is.
Winter can kill: I have known four people who froze to death in the last 40 years, and because of that, this environment demands that you pay attention to the details, because it is the little things that can get you killed. Knowing that, in the worst conditions I have driven in (normally 'road closed' conditions elsewhere), the objective is to get there, and if that means it takes twice as long as normal, so be it. Speed kills and all that, but you are prepared to spend a couple of days in your vehicle if things go badly, and know better than to try to walk somewhere for help if you get stuck. You always drive on the top half of the tank (1/2 tank is time to fill up) and never leave town without topping off first. Nowadays, you keep the phone charged and carry an auxiliary power bank, because being able to be pinged might make the difference between rescue and recovery if you are off the main road. Forty below gear, a heat source and high calorie low residual food round out the kit.
We may not have the obvious stunning vistas seen elsewhere (the result of recent/ongoing tectonic or volcanic activity), but I can visit those.
The roads here were built where it was easiest to do so--the flattest and smoothest topography that would get one there. Even the roads through the badlands here were built for utility, not scenery. Get off the main roads and the topography can be very impressive even if not ten thousand feet high.
I have come to appreciate the difficulty inherent in crossing it with wheeled vehicles (even wagons drawn by oxen and mules) and fully understand why the natives south of the ice extent eschewed the wheel. It simply was not as versatile in that terrain as horses and travois, or even being on foot, letting the dogs carry packs. Further north and east, where the ice sheets had been, the high wheeled Red River carts had their place; in the badlands (south of the glacial extent) they did not. Imagine the gullies and canyons cut by the melt water from a two mile thick ice sheet, some backed up until the Missouri found a new outlet south of the Ice. A complex and fascinating landscape.
Every place I have ever been, even the most seemingly desolate landscapes I have been, I have seen natural beauty--it's there if you look for it and focus on what you see, not what you do not, (with the general exception of urban areas where there seems to be little below the 4th floor; it has all been paved over).
Add in the tendency for iron objects to survive (vehicles from the 30s and 40s, while being gleaned from the tree rows, survive, and much older iron can be found) and cars last longer here. Another plus, IMHO, because I am a fan of older vehicles. About the time that
@sneakypete passed, I was ready to ship him a radiator for his old International, the '39 I had would have fit. Unfortunately he left here before I could (The truck has since been sold along with three others (different marques and years) I cannot realistically expect to have the time and resources to restore. I retain a few other projects). But these survive here.
Every place has its balance sheet of plusses and minuses, and it depends on the priorities of the individual what is an attractive place to live. For some, ignoring the threat of an eruption or an earthquake is easy because climate and scenery and other things they seek are readily at hand. Again, priorities. As for me, I have what I need at a spiritual level, and feel closer to The Almighty as a result. That works for me. To each their own.
