Monday, April 6, 2015

15 Most Dangerous Places on Earth

15 - Sana’a – Yemen
  • One of the most politically unstable places in the world, both Britain and America advising citizens to vacate the country due to terrorism fears
  • Their capital city of Sana’a, 7,500 feet about sea level, is surprisingly interesting to visit, even if it’s also known as one of the most dangerous places to live, ever
  • A lot of the buildings are tetris-style geometric blocks stacked on top of each other, especially the Old City district full of beautifully designed buildings that harken back to the days when you weren’t murdered constantly
14 - Cape Town – South Africa
  • This place isn’t so bad, except due to poverty and social turmoil the crime rate is atrociously high from desperate people
  • Like Yemen, this place attracts tourists for its beauty – but you are actually allowed to visit Cape Town, they just advise you don’t travel alone and that you avoid the more notoriously dangerous districts
13 - Grand Canyon – Arizona
  • You might not think it’s a dangerous place because of what a tourist hotspot it is, but don’t be fooled – all it takes is one wrong step and death is certain
  • At least, most of the time it is – a 21-year-old was driving across the edge when he accidentally plummeted off the cliff, but luckily he was saved by a tree that slowed his fall near the bottom
  • For others, the falls are intentional – the Grand Canyon is known to be the nation’s second-highest location for suicide
12 - Danakil Desert – Ethiopia
  • ll foreign offices will advise you never to visit this desert, mainly due to a border conflict with Eritrea and the risk of getting kidnapped
  • The desert itself is also known for extreme temperature and strange landscapes, with the Danakil Depression known as a giant deep basin filled with volcanoes
  • This area was described by the National Geographic as among the cruellest places on Earth
11 - Naples – Italy
  • Over 650,000 people live in this deathtrap, surrounded by volcanoes on all sides – with a single eruption forcing the evacuation of more than a million people from the surrounding area
  • Not even 2000 years ago, one of the nearby volcanoes exploded, destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, with 50 subsequent volcano eruptions since
  • The nearby Mediterranean Sea hosts a resort island known as Ischia – an eruption there would affect Naples and might even be worse than the explosion 2000 years ago
10 - Maceio – Brazil
  • Known to some as “murder central”, this capital of the Alagoas state sees 135 murders for each 100,000 citizens per year
  • It even tops Rio de Janeiro which is itself known for the slums and back alleyways
  • While most would assume the Amazon rainforest to be the most dangerous part of Brazil, the populated areas aren’t exactly friendly either

9 - Baghdad – Iraq

  • This one should be fairly obvious if you’re keeping up with the news – frequent bombing, gunfire and unspeakable violence
  • Most travel agents will warn you about travelling here, but if you absolutely must for a good reason, you should be aware that terrorism isn’t easy to predict
  • In 2012, Baghdad was listed as one of the least hospitable places in the world to live, with Mercer ranking it as the worst of 221 major cities when it comes to quality-of-life

8 - Huntington Ravine Headwall – New Hampshire

  • This place was formed by glaciers over thousands of years, nowadays extremely susceptible to avalanches and icefalls
  • If you decide to go hiking up the winding trail, just bear in mind the cold weather dangers and how easy it is to lose your footing
  • One hiker actually slipped 200 feet into a boulder field suffering head injuries, but was saved by local Mountain Club members

7 - Southern Tunisia

  • A desert land that isn’t restricted, but heavily advised against due to the threat of terrorism – you may still want to visit though, because of how iconic it is
  • Parts of Tunisia, particularly the Chott el Jerid salt flats were actually used in the Star Wars films, primarily shots for Luke Skywalker’s home of Tatooine
  • Thankfully these flats and the canyon from the sand raider attack fall just outside the exclusion zone

6 - Guatemala

  • This among a number of other countries in Central America get hit by a series of natural disasters, including hurricanes, mudslides and earthquakes
  • In 1976, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake killed more than 23,000 people in Guatemala alone
  • And again in 2005, the remnants of Hurricane Stan caused over 900 mudslides in the area, swallowing entire villagers and everyone who lived there off the face of the Earth
5 - Mogadishu – Somalia
  • This city has had endless problems with militants, particularly the al Shabaab who, at one point, controlled most of the city
  • For a number of years the United States wouldn’t even consider entering into relations with that whole country, but it’s only recently that advisers were sent to the city of Mogadishu to assist locals in rebelling against the militants
  • Travel to these regions is still risky
4 – Istanbul – Turkey
  • A disaster waiting to happen 12 million residents in Istanbul living atop the North Anatolian Fault, also known as earthquake central
  • In 1999 a 7.6 magnitude earthquake decimated the city of Izmit, with the estimated death toll exceeding 40,000
  • In a 2010 study, Nature Geosciences discovered that tensions along the fault are building, with a magnitude 7 or greater quake in the next 25 years exceeding a 30 to 60 percent chance

3 - Chihuahua – Mexico

  • This city is one of the most notorious for drug-related crimes, especially when it comes to cocaine smuggling into the United States
  • Drug cartels have the area under the thumb, with firefights common in the streets and violence everywhere
  • The crime got so bad that law enforcement actually had to enact Operation Chihuahua to conduct anti-drug operations, which, if reports are to be believed, have seen a positive and noticeable reduction in crime

2 - Java and Sumatra – Indonesia

  • Natural disasters are incredibly common here, including floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides volcanoes and tsunamis
  • One particular tsunami in 2004 killed over 227,000 people following a magnitude 9.1 earthquake caused an enormous wave to hit the shore
  • For the last 100 years, there have been droughts, volcano eruptions and earthquakes galore – a risky place to decide to live in

1 – San Pedro Sula – Honduras

  • Known everywhere as simply “murder capital of the world”, this is one of the most violent cities on Earth
  • The homicide rate exceeds 170 per 100,000 people, with arms trafficking and illegal firearms everywhere
  • Some blame the deportation of Los Angeles gangs from the 1990s, including Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang, as the major cause of this violence
Source: http://www.dangerdolan.tv/15-most-dangerous-places-on-earth/

Day 17

Feom 40 days to a Joy filled life by Tommy Newberry - We do all sorts of silly things that fuel our negative emotions. As a result, we end...