Safety first: The best places to live in the U.S.

By Sara Clemence

updated 7:29 p.m. ET Aug. 30, 2005

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, some Americans — particularly Gulf Coast residents — may be wondering whether there are places in the U.S. that are safe from such natural disasters.

The short answer? No. The Midwest may not be vulnerable to hurricanes, but twisters drop in regularly. Major earthquakes don't tend to strike New England, but strong winds can peel the roof off a northeastern house and snowstorms can shut down cities.

"Every location in the country is exposed to one disaster or another," says Wendy Rose, spokeswoman for the Institute for Business & Home Safety, a Tampa, Fla.-based nonprofit insurance industry group that aims to reduce losses from natural catastrophes.

Still, some places are less susceptible than others to natural hazards. To get an idea where they might be, we partnered with Sperling's Best Places, a data collection company based in Portland, Ore. Sperling's has compiled weather and disaster data for 331 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., and we used the information to discern the safest — and least safe — areas in which to live.

At the top of our list was Honolulu, Hawaii, which lives up to its reputation as a paradise. It is not only blessed with year-round beautiful weather and long stretches of beach; Hawaii is also not prone to tornadoes, wind, hail or extreme weather.

"We are fortunate that the way things have happened, we are pretty safe," says Ray Lovell, spokesman for Hawaii State Civil Defense. "Knock on wood."

Between 1972 and 2000, Hawaii had a total of 12 major disasters declared, according to the Federal Emergency Management Administration. That’s relatively low, especially compared to states like Texas, where 51 major disasters were declared in the same period, or California, which had 45.

Hawaii can get hurricanes, but the last major one was in September 1992 and its damage was localized, with little loss of life, Lovell says. The few brush fires this year didn’t burn any or injure any people. Their effect was "just the aggravation of having to close some roads and use some of the National Guard and other military to drop water," he explains.

Unlike many places, Hawaii can fall victim to tsunamis. But the last death from a giant wave happened in the 1970s, he says, when a few campers were drowned on a coastline. And though there is an active volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, it's not a particular threat right now.

"We're really blessed," says Lovell.

Other relatively safe places included Boise, Idaho; Santa Fe, N.M.; and three cities each in Oregon and Washington. But despite the lower incidence of frequent natural disasters in the Pacific Northwest, people who live there know that their area is far from secure.

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