Tornadoes top terrifying list of scariest natural disasters

Tornadoes are officially the scariest natural disaster, according to new research.

A survey of 2,500 Americans split evenly by U.S. region 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%).

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% 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% of all Americans polled would feel prepared if this type of weather event were to hit their area.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Master Lock, the survey asked respondents what it takes to be a “disaster veteran,”but someone who is unshakably prepared for the worst or has been through enough to be prepared for anything (46%).

Though only 14% of total respondents consider themselves to be a “disaster veteran,” (with 19% of that total based in the Southeast specifically), a majority have experienced a natural disaster firsthand, in their own community or while traveling. And for those who have lived through a natural disaster, the average person has faced four different events in their lifetime.

When asked about their experiences, some respondents believe that natural disasters are just a given based on where they live. One shared, “I live in Florida, so hurricanes are a big part of my life. We are always prepared in the season with a stock of extra food and emergency needs. We always fill up on gas in case we need to evacuate and board windows up.”

Still, others were faced with the unexpected, with one respondent outlining, “I lived in Seaside Heights, NJ during Super Storm Sandy, I did not evacuate when they said to, and I was sorry.”

Though they may have firsthand experience, these respondents were least prepared for the aftermath of a natural disaster.

The top three aspects of a natural disaster that respondents weren’t prepared for included losing power for an extended period of time (47%), seeing the destruction (39%) and the amount of time it takes to get back to “normal” (36%), even outranking the need to quickly grab important items (25%) and the financial implications of rebuilding (19%).

Regardless of their personal experience, half of respondents (51%) noticed that severe weather is becoming more common and 37% believe that severe weather is increasing in strength.

In fact, four in five (80%) are more aware of natural disasters and severe weather when compared to a decade ago. However, three in five (61%) agree that it’s harder to be prepared for natural disasters today than ever before.

“According to the results, 31% of those who’ve lived through a natural disaster have lost important items, documents, or both, during severe weather. No matter how prepared you think you are, you must take proactive steps to help ensure you are ready, which includes reviewing and updating a preparedness plan and having items on-hand such as fireproof safes. It can make all the difference,” said JP Benjamins, Sr. Director of Category Management at Master Lock.”

Upon first learning that severe weather is heading their way, 21% of respondents collect their family and pets and evacuate the area. Others (14%) head to a “safe” area or start preparing their home and fewer (11%) grab their important items on the way out.

The good news is that about half of respondents (46%) were able to correctly identify the difference between a severe weather “watch” and a “warning.” 

On a typical day, Americans check their weather app an average of three times, but when severe weather is possible, that number jumps to about five times per day.

Unfortunately, 30% of Americans polled don’t have any preparedness plans in place in the event of a natural disaster. Only 28% have planned for a tornado and fewer are ready for a heatwave (22%), hurricane (21%) or flash flood (19%).

“Results found that only 17% of respondents keep their important documents and valuable items in a water or fireproof safe, underscoring a lack of preparedness when it comes to natural disasters,” said Benjamins. “As the weather landscape continues to evolve, purchasing a fireproof or waterproof safe that is certified by Underwriters Laboratories (or UL-classified) offers an extra line of defense to help protect those items in this unpredictable weather environment.”

WHAT ARE THE SCARIEST NATURAL DISASTERS?

• Tornado - 46%
• Tsunami - 43%
• Earthquake - 35%
• Hurricane - 33%
• Wildfire - 30%
• Flash flood - 26%
• Heat/wave or drought - 6%
• Blizzard - 4%
• Mudslide - 4%

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.