Rochester, Pennsylvania is located in Western Pennsylvania. Based on the Nathan Map, the natural disasters most likely to have an impact on Rochester are zone 3 hailstorms, zone 1 extratropical storms (winter storms), and zone 2 tornadoes. Due to the geographical location in Western Pennsylvania, each of the hazards is low risk. I feel the map is well suited for this task based on the representation of Pennsylvania. Living there my whole life I have never encountered more than one hailstorm per year. Winter is normal and only once every so many years will Rochester gets nailed with a bad winter storm. Northwestern Pennsylvania tends to get a generous amount of snowfall due to the lake effect. But generally winters are manageable. Tornadoes in Western Pennsylvania have happened, but they are very rare, I believe a zone 1 rating would have been more realistic.

I selected a forest/wildfire that occurred in New Mexico. Rochester can experience a wildfire, but the vulnerability is extremely low due to generally wetter conditions than those that fuel wildfires. The scale of this wildfire was small; about 125 acres[1] of trees and tall dry grass were damaged. Rochester is 445 acres[2], so the fire would have consumed 28% of the town. The location where the fire took place was about a mile and a half south of a town named Ruidoso, NM. The location of the fire would impact Rochester much more negatively because there is very little wooded area. Homes would be destroyed and lives potentially lost. The fire affected nobody in Ruidoso and no buildings were either. The severity would ultimately depend on the location in which you lived in Rochester, in the borough, houses are extremely close to one another so there is a greater chance of more homes and families being affected by the fire. If you are in the township however there is more land between houses so the number of people that would be affected is much less.

To prevent or decrease the vulnerability of Rochester to natural disasters, proper preparation should be taken by the community. Residents should stay informed by watching the local news stations or going online to check the weather forecast. Preparation must be taken more than just a few days in advanced, bottled water and canned goods should be stocked up. The town officials can be contacted and plan town information sessions on what people can do to prepare for a natural disaster. Overall, the vulnerability of Rochester to natural disasters is about as low as it possibly can be.

[1] https://nmfireinfo.com/2016/03/29/moon-mountain-fire-fire-update-2-32816-828-pm/

[2] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Rochester%2C+Pa