subject: Disaster Preparedness Can Save Lives [print this page] Hurricane Katrina, which struck the US Gulf Coast four years ago, was a real eye-opener for all that witnessed the human tragedy. The inability of New Orleans to cope with the storm was dreadful. All of the country watched in horror as the storm descended on Louisiana, bringing pain and suffering to the residents.
As we watched, it became very apparent that most people were ill prepared to sustain themselves for even the first 72 hours of a disaster, let alone the many days it took for help to actually arrive.
Have we learned from past disasters? Are we all now more prepared than ever before to protect ourselves and our families from future disasters, or are we still unconvinced that it can actually happen to us.
Presently a growing wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles has spread over miles of bone-dry forest, forcing evacuations of homes. Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation notice for 150 homes located within a half-square-mile area and on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains. Another wildfire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south Los Angeles County coast has now been contained, but not before 1,500 people were forced to flee at the height of the fire. A state of emergency was declared in the county as the other blazes forced evacuations and knocked out power in parts of the state.
The evening news tonight states that 10,000 homes in British Columbia, Canada are threatened by a large wildfire that is spreading quickly. The residents have been notified that evacuation may be necessary at any time.
Did everyone that was forced from their homes during last weeks wildfires have sufficient emergency supplies to see them through? Did the people without power have food and water for their families? I certainly hope that they did!
Are those in British Columbia that are about to be forced from their homes, prepared with emergency supplies to see themselves through the coming days. I certainly hope that they are!
We all know that we need to be prepared, however the fact is that only a very few of us are ready for even the smallest emergency, let alone one of larger significance. I can assure you that all of those people that survived these disasters will be much more prepared for the next emergency situation they are faced with.
It is human nature to feel that the natural and man made disasters that we see on the TV could never happen to us. The truth is that no part of our country, or North America for that matter, is immune to a natural or a man-made disaster.
The point that I am trying to make here is that if we do not attempt to prepare for an emergency situation, no matter how large or small, we are leaving ourselves and our familys health and safety to chance. Are you really willing to take that gamble? I am not.
