Tornadoes top list of scariest natural disasters for Americans

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

WITH THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON IN FULL SWING, NEW RESEARCH REVEALS WHICH NATURAL DISASTERS SCARE AMERICANS THE MOST.

TURNS OUT TORNADOES ARE OFFICIALLY THE SCARIEST NATURAL DISASTER, ACCORDING TO THE DATA FROM MASTER LOCK. 

THE SURVEY OF 2,500 AMERICANS FOUND THAT REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY LIVE, THE THREAT OF A TORNADO (46%) IS MORE TERRIFYING THAN A TSUNAMI (43%), EARTHQUAKE (35%) OR HURRICANE (33%).

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH, THE SURVEY FOUND THAT NORTHEASTERNERS REPORT HIGH CONFIDENCE WHEN IT COMES TO BEING PREPARED FOR A HEATWAVE OR DROUGHT (68%) AND EVEN A BLIZZARD (63%). 

BUT DESPITE THEIR RELATIVELY NEW FREQUENCY IN THE NORTHEAST, ONLY 42 PERCENT SHARE THE SAME SENTIMENT WHEN IT COMES TO EARTHQUAKES. EVEN FEWER (38%) REPORTED FEELING PREPARED FOR A TORNADO.

ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF MIDWESTERNERS (62%) DON’T BAT AN EYE WHEN FACED WITH A TORNADO WARNING, BUT THAT CONFIDENCE WANES WHEN THINKING ABOUT A WILDFIRE (33%) OR MUDSLIDE (27%).

AND DESPITE THE RECENT INCREASE OF FLASH FLOODING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ONLY 43 PERCENT OF ALL AMERICANS POLLED WOULD FEEL PREPARED IF THIS TYPE OF WEATHER EVENT WERE TO HIT THEIR AREA.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A SEASONED TORNADO WRANGLER OR ARE YOU HIGHTAILING IT AWAY?

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,500 U.S. adults, split evenly by region (500 Northeast, 500 Southeast, 500 West, 500 Midwest and 500 Southwest); the survey was commissioned by Master Lock and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 17 and July 21, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.