I suppose it comes down to a question of exactly which hurricane and which earthquake. Both vary considerably in intensity. It also makes a difference as to just where you happen to be with respect to the phenomenon - hurricanes have eyes and earthquakes have epicenters. In both cases, there is quite a difference between centrally located and somewhere on the margin.<br><br>One factor that makes a quake easier to plan for is that you don't need to plan for evacuation before the event - something that can be enormously complicated since everyone else will be using the same roads as you. My feelings about this are complicated by talking with my brother, who is the Public Health Director for Galveston County. There is only one way off of Galveston Island and it could get very crowded (He does not live on the island, incidentally.)<br><br>Much of the preparation for earthquakes consists of building or retrofitting adequate structures. At least in the United States, the loss of life in major quakes is relatively small. I believe that over the years, hurricanes have killed more people than earthquakes have (in the USA). So you don't have to go out and nail up plywood over windows, etc. at the last minute. You can prepare more or less at leisure and when earthquake season rolls around, you are ready! <br><br>Neither is exactly fun. Attempting to cheer my wife up, I mentioned that she should list all the things that she did not appreciate about our house, so that when we rebuilt after the big one, we could do things right. Somehow, that remark didn't seem to sit well with her, although it does make sense to me. I plan to put in a lot of sweat equity if (when) the Big One strikes fair Ventura.<br><br>In California, hurricanes and funnel clouds are virtually unknown, while some parts of the country - Texas, lower Mississippi valley - are exposed to all three hazards.<br><br>The predicted tracks are just that - predictions. Things have gotten real interesting when the hurricane didn't watch the Weather Channel and veered from the predicted path. And you can now get maps that predict the relative amount of damage from earthquakes of a given magnitude - its just the time factor that can't yet be controlled.<br><br>I guess in the end, I would prefer to be shaken, not stirred...