When I started thinking about this survey and its subsequent quiz, I wondered if there was enough material. Rest assured (or really not) there are plenty of potential mega-colossal disasters out there to think about.

By mega-colossal disasters, I mean the really big one. The earthquake that shakes the world, or the disease that wipes us out.

I’m a bit of a skeptic about the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it stuff, but it’s still very interesting to me. I’m not a “survivalist” in that I don’t run around in camouflage with an M16.

But I’m a very practical realist. We live on a living planet and part of that reality is dealing with the burps and hiccups of a living planet. Things move and grow and change. That’s how we came about.

Share Your Ideas on the Next Big One

So, wanna take part in creating the next survival quiz? You can help tell others what’s gonna happen and how to survive in the big disasters by joining in on this survey.

Over the coming days, I’ll post my ideas and you can comment. After that, I’ll write the quiz and you can test your ability to survive (while have a bit of fun learning how).

Here’s a few examples you might choose from of the mega forces that humanity must face. Will it be…

Super Colossal or Mega Colossal Volcano

(Explosivity Index 7-8):

• Toba, Krakatau, and Mount Tambora, Indonesia

The most deadly volcanoes in the modern world are in Indonesia. A somewhat new theory and very interesting read about the last time Toba almost wiped us out is at Wikipedia: Toba Catastrophe Theory.

• Yellowstone, USA

The super-duper of all super volcanoes. You can read about it at Extreme Science. Let’s hope this one stays asleep.

• Iceland, Oregon, Italy, Mexico, Caribbean, Philippines, Colombia, etc.

All full of mega volcanoes. Here’s the 10 largest (they omitted Hawaii).

• Canary Islands

An eruption or collapse of the volcano here might be the source of a mega colossal tsunami pointed right at the U.S. east coast, Brazil, and Europe. Florida would be no more. London, DC, NYC, and all coastal regions would be in ruins.

Epic Earthquake

(Magnitude Scale 7.7-10.0):

• San Andreas Fault

The classic that Californians think about. Wikipedia has a great page here. Will California separate from the mainland?

• Chile, Portugal, China, Alaska, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Pakistan, Turkey, etc.

These areas have been known to get the biggest ones, but many big cities are on major faults and it wouldn’t take an epic quake to be devastating.

I remember as a kid, the 1964 Alaskan quake cracked our living room wall in the Chicago area, a distance of more than 3,100 miles (5000 km).

And don’t discount the fires, climate change, diseases, and other disasters that accompany volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Extreme Cyclone, Hurricane, Typhoon, or Storm

(Category 5):

A devastating tropical cyclone struck Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal in 1970. It was the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, and one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times. Up to 500,000 people (some estimates are up to a million) lost their lives in the storm, primarily as a result of the storm surge.

Extreme Disease:

The plague, influenza, smallpox, malaria, and a host of other diseases have killed hundreds of millions, even billions. Pandemic is a serious threat.

Extreme War:

• Nuclear Bombs, Radiation Poisoning, and the Next Big War

Let’s face it. We’re our own worst enemy. We hate and kill other humans at an increasingly alarming rate. Problem is, we’ve now got weapons that will destroy us all if we use ‘em.

Extreme Aliens:

• Aliens from Space, Future Travelers, and More

This one’s a little more fun to think about, but according to Stephen Hawking, we need to be careful about blasting our whereabouts into space. Decades of radio signals are possibly telling hostile aliens where we are.

And finally for today, here’s someone’s list of the 10 Biggest Natural Disasters. I’m not sure I would list these same ten, but it’s a great list to check out.

And the Survey Question You Can Help Me with Is…

Okay, you can take an idea from this first blush list or come up with your own. There’s plenty more possibilities. Share your idea of a mega or colossal disaster in a comment and help me come up with a great new survival quiz.

Thanks!