Seamus McCombs understands the risks associated with camping in the great outdoors.

Flash flooding, dangerous lightning and tornadoes can strike with little warning.

"If you go camping, there's always that chance that something might happen," he said. "You just have to be prepared."

Seamus, 15, is a Boy Scout with Troop 555 in Hanover County. He and his brothers, Will and Scott, have camped for several years. They leave July 13 for their next Scout outing at Camp T. Brady Saunders in Goochland County.

The dangers are on the minds of more families this week after a tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday. Four Scouts were killed, and more than 40 other people were injured during a weeklong leadership training camp.

"I personally have tremendous faith there is just as much chance they'd get hurt in a car accident," said Seamus' mother, Carolyn. "The good things they get from the Scouts -- the leadership skills, the survival skills, how to get along in less-than-ideal situations -- far outweigh the one-in-a-million chance that something bad might happen."

"It's a sad event," said John McCulla, scoutmaster for Troop 715 in Henrico County (Three Chopt Presbyterian Church) and the father of an Eagle Scout, James.

"It's alarming. If anything can come out of it, it's to be prepared for anything that might happen," McCulla said.

Scout leaders and volunteers receive training in all aspects of safety, including emergency preparedness and first aid, said Brad Nesheim, Scout executive for the Heart of Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which is made up of about 20,000 boys from nine districts throughout central Virginia.

"You can't anticipate [natural disasters], but you know they will happen from time to time," he said. "You could stay home, but life is not about staying home. Life is about risks and being prepared for them."

In 2005, Scouts fell ill in the extreme heat at the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, and four Scout leaders were electrocuted in a tent accident.

"It's scary what can happen," Seamus said. "But part of Scouting is to prepare you for these natural disasters. You are in good hands."

During the 2005 Jamboree, McCulla and his group of boys faced a thunderstorm with heavy winds. He quickly gathered his group, took a head count and moved everyone into their tents away from trees and structures that could collapse.

"The immensity of nature is huge when it deals a blow," he said. "You certainly develop great respect for lightly."

The Jamboree is held about every four years and has been at Fort A.P. Hill since 1981. The next is scheduled for 2010, when the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Contact Janet Caggiano at (804) 649-6157 or jcaggiano@timesdispatch.com.