Short List

Disaster zone

Eight percent of all U.S. homes — about 10.8 million housing units — are located in very high-risk areas for natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, according to a study by RealtyTrac.

“The potential risk of a natural disaster may not be the first item on most homebuyer checklists for a dream home, but prudent buyers will certainly take this into consideration along with myriad other factors that could affect home value,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

There were 51 counties with a population of 100,000 or more that ranked “Very High Risk” for natural disasters. This included counties in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.