That's approximately the entire mid-western United States.

Of the the world's 62 strongest officially rated tornados occurring between 1950 and 2013, 59 occurred in the US. Here are the numbers, but note, some tornados crossed state lines. See [1] and [2].

Louisiana 1

South Dakota 1

North Dakota 2

Missouri 2

Michigan 2

Illinois 2

Indiana 3

Minnesota 3

Ohio 3

Tennesse 3

Kentucky 3

Wisconsin 3

Mississippi 4

Iowa 6

Texas 6

Alabama 7

Oklahoma 7

Kansas 8

It looks like there are a number of tornados that don't have "accurate" official ratings so additional states could be on the list, e.g. Arkansas, Nebraska, Massachusetts.

F3, F4, and F5 are all serious tornados, but F5 tornados are especially scary with maximum wind speeds over 260 mph and reaching 318 mph.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_F5_and_EF5_tornadoes

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley#/media/File:Torn...

"Tornado Alley" is named for its high relative risk, but in absolute terms it's still low. The sum total of area devastated by tornados in a year is probably lower than one of this year's smaller fires.

And I'm still stacking the deck a bit against the tornados by counting total area. Total inhabited human area would be even more lopsided against the fires.

Tornados are comparatively small, short lived, not precipitated by localised human actions (e.g., fuel accumulation, ignition sources, though yes, climate change may have impacts), and don't spread once initiated, as fire does.

Yes, tornados can be deadly, yes, they're violent and sudden. But with alerts and shelter (a strong room or cellar ideally), eminantly survivable. Unlike erathquakes or hurricanes, damage isn't even especially widespread. A few hundred metres, at worst a kilometer outside the track, life goes own, modulo power outages and hail damage.

Floods, hurricanes, rising seawater, and wildfire are far more addressable risks. Arguably drought, heat, and disease as well.

Or severe flood zones with federal flood insurance that ensures the same cycle every few years.

In those stick buildings Americans call houses.