Why do people live in areas where earthquakes are known to occur?

Question

........or where hazards of any kind are likely to happen.

Answer 1

Well, hazards are going to occur anywhere but in california they build houses and other structures so that the building can stand up to whatever disaster would likely occur.

Answer 2

1. jobs

2. cant afford to move to other areas without jobs

3. business opportunity for construction, auto's body shop, access buses, healthcare, adult care centers, second mortgage market with government's money, and/or resale of broken inventories on ebay; etc.

4. undermind of casualties

Answer 3

Earthquakes occur all over the world, but most of them are only detected by seismographs.  I don't believe there is any place in the world completely free of natural disasters.  

I do agree, though, that I wouldn't live in an area prone to strong earthquakes, and I wouldn't live next to a volcano, and probably not in a hurricane-prone area.  Of course this is being written by a person who lives in tornado alley, :-)

Answer 4

Earthquakes = Volcanoes,

therefore there is alot of firtile soil,

alot of tourist attractions and therefore money making opportunities (e.g. hot springs, the actual volcanoe(to climb etc.))

and alot more

Answer 5

Well, since 'hazards of any kind' can happen just about everywhere,  you run real low on places left to live.

Icestorms, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, lightning and thunder storms, volcanoes, and yes, even the odd earthquake now and then.  You pays your money, you takes your chance.

Answer 6

take the USA for example. you think earthquake and you think california. you think hurricane and you think florida. what do florida and california have in common? OCEAN SUN! yay

Answer 7

because a natural disaster can happen anywhere.

Answer 8

1) That's where the jobs are.

2) They don't happen that often and when they do, most of the time very little happens beyond the media going nuts.

3) Why would someone want to live in places with freezing rain, crappy winters, tornadoes, high humidity and hot summers,or maybe New Jersey accents?