Re: Preparing for and Surviving Natural Disasters
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:18 pm
Did anyone catch Anderson Coopers reaction when he was told he was in the middle of Irene and he commented that it was barely doing anything? That surprised, stunned, "How do I spin this?" look on his face was classic.
Geraldo in NYC really screwed the pooch too!
Apparently LIPA and ConEd did not cut the power but had only planned to do so if the storm surge sent sea water into the underground conduits.
It would be nice if local or state governments would put together a simple disaster preparedness book for its citizens and while these are readily available in abundance from various sources, we see what happens when people don't put forth the effort to obtain this knowledge. Making it free and mailing it out as one small manual with supplementals mailed out as new methods, technology, and information come available would be wise. The more the local population is prepared the less strain there is on emergency services which can then direct more of their limited resources where needed most. Some Public Service Announcements would also help to remind people to work together rather than fighting each other and going into panic mode.
I received word back in my home town that FEMA actually had their warehouse opened up and at least 26 trucks parked all day on the side of the road outside of town ready to respond. Everyone kept complaining about the over-reaction which just helped stoke the panic many succumbed too. There has been the influx of "city folk" into the area who still buy whole coffee beans and gallons of milk (which works great when the power goes out! ) where as most of us have already spent the spring canning fresh fruits from the local orchards and veggies from our gardens and farmers markets and buying extra shelf stable foods with each grocery trip.
Being ready years ahead of time may make some people think you are "odd" but it will always be better than trying to get ready minutes after disaster has or could strike.
Geraldo in NYC really screwed the pooch too!
Apparently LIPA and ConEd did not cut the power but had only planned to do so if the storm surge sent sea water into the underground conduits.
It would be nice if local or state governments would put together a simple disaster preparedness book for its citizens and while these are readily available in abundance from various sources, we see what happens when people don't put forth the effort to obtain this knowledge. Making it free and mailing it out as one small manual with supplementals mailed out as new methods, technology, and information come available would be wise. The more the local population is prepared the less strain there is on emergency services which can then direct more of their limited resources where needed most. Some Public Service Announcements would also help to remind people to work together rather than fighting each other and going into panic mode.
I received word back in my home town that FEMA actually had their warehouse opened up and at least 26 trucks parked all day on the side of the road outside of town ready to respond. Everyone kept complaining about the over-reaction which just helped stoke the panic many succumbed too. There has been the influx of "city folk" into the area who still buy whole coffee beans and gallons of milk (which works great when the power goes out!
) where as most of us have already spent the spring canning fresh fruits from the local orchards and veggies from our gardens and farmers markets and buying extra shelf stable foods with each grocery trip. Being ready years ahead of time may make some people think you are "odd" but it will always be better than trying to get ready minutes after disaster has or could strike.
I'm sure there aint gonna be military control points set up 
