Preparedness takes action! Learn more about hazards which can affect your community and ways you can take action to prepare and participate: Earthquakes can occur suddenly and be deadly. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects. Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the United States and can happen anywhere. Hurricanes have the power to cause widespread devastation, and can affect both coastal and inland areas. Tornadoes are one of nature's most violent storms, and can cause death, injury, and destruction within seconds. Wildfires can occur anywhere and can destroy homes, businesses, infrastructure, natural resources, and agriculture. Winter storms can occur anywhere and bring freezing rain, ice, snow, high winds or a combination of all these conditions. They can cause power outages that last for days or weeks; making it hard to keep warm and making travel very dangerous. Recent national tragedies remind us that the ri