Natural Disasters

There's one thing that I still cant get my mind around - the regular occurrence of natural disasters here in Central America. They seem to have it all: earthquakes, volcanos, hurricanes...
I've learned about how the formation of the Central American isthmus was prompted by tectonic plate movements, volcanic activity and accompanying large-scale lava emissions. According to my current nerdy science book, Anthony G. Coates' (Ed) Central America: a Natural and Cultural History, ''the formation of the Central American Isthmus was the pivotal event in the past 10 million years of earth history." I think my mind was blown while trying to comprehend the long-term effects of the closure of the isthmus - the separation of two oceans and connection of two land masses, thus dictating the course of american evolution. The two oceans evolved completely differently - paving the way for the reefs and mangroves of the enclosed Caribbean, whereas the Pacific coast demonstrates a completely different life cycle dependent on plankton and cold ocean currents that lift nutrients from the ocean floor. Evolution was also irreversibly altered when North and South America were connected, causing the ''Great American Interchange'' where terrestrial organisms migrated in both directions across the newly formed land bridge. Ultimately, North American flora and fauna caused the extinction of many of their South American counterparts.
But despite all of the scientific explanations of the evolutionary and geological upheaval that went on here, and that still goes on to this day, somehow, I still cant fathom the natural disasters. Recently we experienced our very first ''torrmenton'' of the hurricane season. Tropical Storm Alma, began somewhere near Nicaragua and advanced North West over the course of a few days, covering practically every Central American country. Tropical storms aren't quite as aggressive as hurricanes but they are known to cause dangerous flash-floods and mudslides. Luckily, El Salvador wasn't straight in the line of storm-fire, meaning, plenty of rain for a few days but not much more than that. Soon it weakened to the level of ''Tropical Depression.'' Nevertheless, it made me contemplate the day to day mindset - it feels as though at any moment a volcano could errupt or an earthquake could occur... with destructive consequences. My (false?) sense of control over my life has been roughed up a bit with the knowledge that a disaster could be around the next corner.