Posted: 9/27/2005 7:17:12 AM EDT
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With Katrina and then Rita, we've read stories about unprepared people and governments caught totally by surprise. I'm just a nobody who has studied for a while what goes on in emergencies, and I was rather dismayed at the incompetance shown and the excuses that people and elected officials let fly. All the talk of how nobody could have predicted what happened was especially disturbing, as anybody with the tiniest spark of imagination could see what would happen if the levies breached. What they really were saying was that they did not have the willingness to see the problem, because they did not have confidence in themselves to respond properly. Turns out they were right. In the spirit of attempting to find problems common to all disasters, I made this thread. 1) There will be looting after a major weather event or natural disaster. The normal societal constraints collapse and the criminal element will have little to worry about from law enforcement, for a time. The criminal element may shoot at people engaged in rescue/relief operations. 2) The average person does not want to plan for a major life altering event, and they will need to be rescued. They are convinced that waiting for society to rescue them is the right thing to do. People will get stranded and helicopters and boats will need to be used to rescue them from where rising water has cut them off. There never seems to be enough helicopters and boats, seeing as how rescue efforts often take multiple days, if not in excess of a week. 3) It CAN happen in the same place two or more times. Florida got 4 hurricanes last year. Louisiana just got hit twice in one month. Rita's remnants appear to be turning into another problem, and the conditions which developed and steered Rita haven't changed much. 4) People are attached to the idea of living in a civilized society, so they refuse to deal with the idea that anything can strain society beyond its limits. They reject the rules of a disaster and the sheeple remain the sheeple. They will have no understanding why the rescuers cannot rescue every unprepared person at once, and they will strike out in anger, appearing ungrateful, when their expectations of what society was supposed to do for them goes unfulfilled. 5) The people who haven't realized that it is unprepared people who strain the infrastructure's resources by going into a mad frenzy to try and get everything they need, will do that time after time. The basic items, such as bread, bottled water and gasoline, will get scooped up quickly, while the items that can be used as a substitute will remain in plentiful supply for quite some time, which will cause #4, ie "Is FEMA just going to let us die out here? Doesn't anybody care?" 6) Both individuals and the government have to have a thorough understanding of what they know and what resources they have available, or there will be a fairly significant failure in the disaster response and ability to hold fast until rescue or the return of normalcy. 7) Problems which seem totally outlandish and impossible to the normal person in normal times will become commonplace, such as people shooting at rescuers, even though there are many inner cities where EMS won't go without police escort as a matter of routine. |
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Good Thread, DF. I'll add my 2c as one who went thru '04s 4 storms and Andrew..."The one formerly known here as The Big One". 1) the average person will, on average, do no better or worse than in normal times. Some will fold up and some will rise to the occasion and perform admirably. 2) True leadership will recognise their own inexperience and defer/delegate. Bad leaders will attempt to micro-manage even more than usual, and probably make things worse. 3) Simple things, especially kindness, will make a world of difference. 4) a sense of humor and patience are two of the most valuable attributes. 5) the thanks you appreciate the most will be from those that went through your emegencies right alongside you. You won't give a damn what the bootlickers say. 6) "evacuation" sucks. The strength of people's efforts at rebuilding are directly related to whether they are working for/with family (and other people they respect) AND their HOMES. Flood waters made it "necessary" but, move people from one pasture to another for long enough and you will create "sheeple". I'd bet that thousands would take a bus ride back with primitive and minimum (but real) support and would work their asses off to rebuild the whole area. I've seen it. All right. I'm off my soapbox for now. Stay safe PS. Texas' hospitality after Katrina set a real good example for the rest of these good 'ol United States. Others, too, but hats off to TX |
8) No one listen to a 'nobody'...  
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I'll add my .02 from some people I've been in contact from Houston: 9. If you're planning on leaving, leave early and leave by a secondary road, if possible. If it's too late, i.e. news reports of traffic jams, stay put, unless you have good information on another route. Merlin |
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You know, people who DID make preparations, buying and storing adequate drinking water, food, etc, for long term were said to be "hoarding" supplies. I heard this term tossed around on the news more than a few times. And we have all been criticized as being alarmist gun nuts for having the means to defend ourselves, families, homes, possessions, and essentials. "Are you expecting a war? terrorists? etc" we have all heard. 9. If you're planning on leaving, leave early and leave by a secondary road, if possible. If it's too late, i.e. news reports of traffic jams, stay put, unless you have good information on another route. +1 !!! I just spoke with my sister that lives near Houston. They sailed right on out by leaving early and back in by taking secondary roads. People leaving just a few hours later took many, many hours to go just a few miles. She said many she talked to said they would not evacuate next time. To those that criticized people of New Orleans or Houston for not evacuating, it is impossible to get everyone out in time. Many, such as people at hardware/lumber stores, gas stations, food markets, medical, and others are not allowed by their employers to leave early. When a hurricane is bearing down on your city it is too damn late to buy plywood. Avoid anyone connected with the government, cops, FEMA, "Homeland Security" (the new Nazis). |