Ike’s aftermath, Emergency Preparedness
Reading up on pictures and reports from the aftermath of the hurricane that hit SE Texas this past weekend. It’s amazing at how much damage the storm surge did to taking out entire towns along the coast. One section of Galveston looked like a bomb went off, with just vertical wooden planks standing up, everything else is pretty much swept away.
Been listening to some independent radio lately, its always interesting to get alternative viewpoints aside from the corporate news sources. One troubling story came up that there are several hundred emergency first responders and national guard operating in Houston without adequate supplies for themselves. When I first heard it I didn’t want to believe it, I mean what’s the point of deploying people to a disaster zone to help others when the first responders don’t even have enough food and supplies themselves. I guess there is some truth to the original report, as the AP reported it a few days later.
A lot of people not currently in the affected areas have been quick to lash out at those that stayed put, often citing the fact that the government would have to send in people to rescue those that stayed put. But if really looking to recent history as a guide, I can’t say that I would be in a rush to head out either. Apparently there were a large number of people who decided to shelter in place citing the last big storm when a large number of people died while trying to evacuate. Given the choice of dying in my car idling on a highway or at home, well I think I might opt to take my chances at home. All in all, it is fortunate that the human and financial toll doesn’t seem that it will be nearly as bad as hurricane Katrina.
There was another story on TV about gas stations in Houston running out of gasoline, there were lines of cars and trucks, some of them with people pushing them along since they had already been running on fumes. One lady was so desperate that she had brought plastic milk bottles. There were also a lot of angry people trying to get ahead in the line, you could see the tempers flaring, and this is just the day after the storm. Have to wonder what would happen if the shortages continue days and then weeks. It makes me wonder sometimes how adequately prepared any of us are to deal with a disaster and carry on with society.
I remember talking to an old co-worker a while back who was working for probation/parole on Kauai when during hurricane Iniki. She basically had to track down all of her guys while the island without the aid of modern communication, or even reliable transportation along clear roads. She was communicating with the police department by two-way radio, and had use of 4X4 vehicle. I give her credit for keeping her sense of duty amid the chaos, although I kind of wonder whether any of the inmates were thinking about committing crimes the day after the storm hit.
Events like these serve as a reminder to my own preparations for a natural or man-made disaster. Call it the old scout in me, but I’ve made it a point to make some kind of preparation, although its a modest effort overall. Over the years I’ve accumulated a small cache of supplies, a good supply of canned goods here and there, cooking oil, non-perishable grains (rice, beans, lentils) a butane stove and extra fuel, freeze dried camping food, candles, batteries, a few MREs, and a handful of stack-able water cans. Most recently I’ve added a KAIO shortwave radio equipped with 4 sources of power (AC, batteries, hand-crank, solar). Depending on the prognosis of the disaster when it hit, at least these supplies could last a couple of weeks, maybe longer with rationing.