Help! (Sorry, not coming soon...)

 

 

"Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help"

 

Help

The Beatles

One of the most important lessons we learned from Hurricane Katrina is some disasters are so big, so vast and so long lasting, all the power of the federal, state and local governments is not enough to help. What do I mean? Six years after the hurricane, which cost over $80B in damages to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, much repair is still needed. For example, the Huffington Post reports on the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans as follows:

"Six years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, the New Orleans neighborhood that was hardest hit still looks like a ghost town. Redevelopment has been slow in coming, and the neighborhood has just 5,500 residents – one-third its pre-Katrina population. But politicians, investors and celebrities continue to promise a better future. 
While residents welcome the news, they remain skeptical. Promises have been dashed too many times."

Katrina was a disaster for many different reasons. First and foremost, people died. Some died quickly, and some died slowly. Many that died slowly did so because help did not come in time. Many in New Orleans had been lulled into complacency as politicians told them for years the city was safe from a storm's direct hit. Very few were prepared with survival kits. The levy system, albeit old, was more than adequate, and that was fine. In reality, New Orleans was playing Russian Roulette with Mother Nature. For example, if Hurricane Camile hit New Orleans rather than a hundred miles to the east, this disaster would have happened in 1969.

Fast forward to 2012 with the very recent carnage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Right now, the death toll is at 75 and the damage is estimated to go as high as $50B. Both are expected to rise. President Obama and Governor Christy were on site yesterday talking to victims, making promises they could not possibly keep. It was watching Katrina all over again. 

New York City, similar to New Orleans, has also been playing Russian Roulette with Mother Nature. Lower Manhattan is just a few feet above sea level. Tunnels and subway entrances sit exposed to flooding if a wave or surge of 12 feet or higher would occur. What are the chances? Never happened before. Almost happened during Hurricane Irene on 2011, but that was a once in a lifetime close call - that is until 2012.

Think about this - any hurricane we have had in the past seventy years or so has been a slow motion disaster. In other words, we have seen them coming. Many that live in a hurricane zone have been through this before - they know the drill. Even with that, many are still unprepared with food, water, and emergency supplies. Think of what would happened if (God forbid) we had a disaster we did not see coming? A nuke, a small asteroid, a cyber attack, a solar flare? How much would the government be able to help?

Here is the bottom line. Help will come from local, state and federal government as much as they are capable of giving. However, for a large scale disaster such as Hurricane Sandy, survival may depend on only you. Right now, there is no potable water in the disaster zone,  and people cannot last longer than a week without it. Plus, it is November and it can get very cold if your house is damaged and has no heat.

Help is something we all ask for when in need. Help is something we like to offer to others when they are in need. However, help is also something we owe to ourselves and our families. As I have said more than once, "chance favors the prepared". Be prepared, stay prepared. You are your own FEMA.