Odds of Dying

Seems like everytime there is a disaster like the recent tsunami concerns about dying in the same manner take hold of the general populace. How can we prevent it? That should never happen. Maybe we should be putting our money in other areas where we could really prevent senseless deaths that take place everyday.

the following link is to an article on the odds of dying and the table is from that article. I'm surprised there is no listing for things like the flu, diabetes, AIDS, etc... though i do like the fact they've include Fireworks.

I've also heard that your odds of dying double every year after you reach 30 until you reach 65 or 70, then they actually decrease a little each year ... until you die of course.

Odds of Dying

The more specific figures are based on 2001, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Other odds, indicated with an asterisk (*) are based on long-term data. All figures below are for U.S. residents.

Cause of Death	Lifetime Odds
Heart Disease	1-in-5
Cancer	1-in-7
Stroke	1-in-23
Accidental Injury	1-in-36
Motor Vehicle Accident*	1-in-100
Intentional Self-harm (suicide)	1-in-121
Falling Down	1-in-246
Assault by Firearm	1-in-325
Fire or Smoke	1-in-1,116
Natural Forces (heat, cold,storms, quakes, etc.)	1-in-3,357
Electrocution*	1-in-5,000
Drowning	1-in-8,942
Air Travel Accident*	1-in-20,000
Flood* (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-30,000
Legal Execution	1-in-58,618
Tornado* (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-60,000
Lightning Strike (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-83,930
Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting*	1-in-100,000
Earthquake (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-131,890
Dog Attack	1-in-147,717
Asteroid Impact*	1-in-200,000**
Tsunami*	1-in-500,000
Fireworks Discharge	1-in-615,488

** Perhaps 1-in-500,000