Stop worrying! No earthquakes, and other reasons to love Britain.

I remember a day when I made my students very happy. We were talking about an earthquake in Pakistan, which was in the news. Everyone looked sad. I said "Of course we're very lucky in this country not to have earthquakes." They all looked at me in amazement. They asked me to repeat myself. "It's true!" I said. "We don't get earthquakes here. Didn't you realise?"

They came from countries like China, Iran and Bangladesh, where earthquakes are a constant danger, and they thought earthquakes were possible everywhere. Suddenly they looked so happy!

Would you like to know some other things which you don't have to worry about if you've moved to Britain? Here is a list of 5 reasons why you can feel safe in The UK.

1. Spiders and snakes.

In The UK we have no native spiders which can kill a human. Some of our spiders bite, but none of them are fatal. We have just 3 types of snakes. Only one of them can hurt you, it's called an adder. I grew up in the countryside, but I never ever saw an adder. Adder bites are extremely rare and seldom fatal. The last time someone died from a snake bite in The UK was in 1975.

2. Hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes.

We do get them, but not badly like in some other countries. Take hurricanes for example. Hurricanes are tropical storms, and they sometimes reach the UK. But when they arrive they have already travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, and have lost most of their power. Their winds can still cause damage and even death, for example in 1987 a storm killed 18 people. We still remember it, and we call it The Great Storm, because for us 18 is a lot.

3. Volcanoes.

There are no active volcanoes in Britain, our nearest volcanoes are in Iceland, 847 miles away. None of us will die in a volcanic eruption while living here, but if worrying about volcanoes makes you happy, consider this. A volcanic eruption on the other side of the world could affect us. In 1815 Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, and sent ash up into the sky. It reached our sky, and people called it 'the year without a summer.' (If you think that every year in Britain is a year without a summer, think again.)

4. Earthquakes.

When I said we don't get earthquakes I was wrong. We just don't get any strong ones. The last time someone died in an earthquake here was in 1887 in Colchester, when a chimney fell on his head. Experts believe that the strongest possible earthquake in the UK would measure 6.5

5. Malaria.

Do you know which is the deadliest animal in the world? It's the mosquito. Mosquitos spread malaria, and last year malaria killed 438,000 people. But none of them caught this illness in The UK, thanks to the British weather! It's too cold here for those mosquitos.

Happy now?

We Brits like to worry, and our newspapers are full of scary stories. But in comparison with many countries we are lucky. I am 45 years old and I have only been to 5 funerals in my life. I hope it will be a long time before I go to another.

Does this surprise you? I would love to read your comments. Where do you live, how safe do you feel, and which dangers worry you most?

Glossary

An earthquake - when the floor moves and shakes.

amazement - surprise

fatal - causing death

an adder - a type of snake

Hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes - dangerous weather events

a volcanic eruption - When hot lava explodes out of a volcano

ash - grey powder. After a fire you see ash in the fireplace.

a chimney - a chimney sits on top of a roof. Smoke escapes through it.

deadliest - most dangerous/ causing most death.

mosquito - a small fly. It drinks blood.

To spread - to pass the disease from person to person.