Ready? Or NOT!

 

"Hello? Can you hear me? Is help coming, or am I all alone?

This coming year will mark the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. A storm which not only brought the City of New Orleans to it's knees, but also changed some of the landscape within the city. It was a storm which redefined how much (or how little), the United States Government, the State of Louisiana Government or the City of New Orleans Government can actually do in the event of a major disaster. What have we learned since then? Precious little, I am afraid.

In late October of 2012, which is just over two years ago, a Hurricane (or super storm) named Sandy came roaring up the East Coast. It hit the shores of New Jersey with a vengeance. The damage to New Jersey and somewhat to New York City was extensive and expensive. One would have thought after the debacle of Hurricane Katrina, we were wired tight to cope with a disaster of this magnitude. We were not. Unrepaired damage to infrastructure still remains from this powerful storm.

There was just an article in the paper today where the government admits they are at least 5 to 10 years away from being totally prepared to cope with disasters like Katrina or Sandy. I am skeptical of those findings. We might never be totally ready to deal with city sized catastrophes. And then I wonder what is meant by any measure of "ready"? During Katrina, bodies started to stack up for a multitude of reasons. And we knew in advance this storm was coming. We had time to prepare. One woman who was rescued days after the storm, almost died of thirst. In her own house, in the middle of a major United States city. Almost died of thirst!

I read an article not too long ago about the tenuous water situation in Los Angles. Not only is water in short supply, but it is now felt that a serious earthquake could rupture the main water pipes. Then what? If the transportation system comes to a standstill, and the water supply is disrupted due to the failure of water pipes, people in a major United States city almost dying of thirst can happen all over again . How long does it take with not having water going from inconvenience to life threatening? Less than a week for most.

Here is my take on where we are right now, going into 2015. There have been some improvements made in FEMA, and some lessons learned. However for the most part, they are ill-equipped to handle a city or region sized disaster. Think of what could happen of all which has not yet happened. A dirty bomb. A small suitcase sized nuke. A Category 8 or higher earthquake (The great San Francisco quake was 7.8, and destroyed the city). A failure of the electrical grid (either natural or otherwise) in a major region of the country. This list could go on and on.

My belief is each and every family in this country needs to assume in the event of a disaster two things: 1) help will come, but 2) help may take a painfully long time. Depending on the disaster, help could take days, weeks, or maybe even months. Think ahead. Do you have enough water for every person in the household to live on for at least a week? If not, you should do so. A better margin would be to have enough food and water for a month. It is not that expensive, yet in a shortage, both food and water will be more valuable than gold. 

The time to plan is now. Going into the New Year, make this a must item. Just like car insurance, house insurance, health insurance and life insurance are there to protect us, we also need some kind of food (and water) insurance. And that kind of insurance you can provide yourself. In an emergency, it will be the best insurance.