[onewhippedpuppy]

On the plus side, a tornado is more of a local occurance, while a hurricane or earthquake can do serious damage to an entire region. I've lived in KS all of my 26 years, and have yet to see one on the ground. I've seen more wall and funnel clounds than I can count, but never one actually on the ground doing damage. The other plus is that thanks to modern weather technology, warning times are consistently increasing. The people that die are typically the ones that disregard the warnings, or that simply don't make an effort to check the weather.

I have seen the aftermath, and it is chilling. I went through Hoisington, KS a week after much of the town was leveled by a large tornado. Pictures, they're nothing compared to seeing it in person. It's simply unbelievable. Even the little things, such as the town having to remove the first 2' of topsoil from the football field to sufficiently remove debris. Even today, I believe 4 years later, it just doesn't look right. Cleared lots everywhere, no trees, it's just strange.