The Philosophy of Disaster Preparedness

[Turtle]

___It may have been Aesop who wrote the little story about preparing for tough times. I suppose it was only the tough time of Winter,(squirrels or mice...), but the point of it is the problems which ensue from lack of preperation.
___We have talked about this some in the tsunami thread, & again today in relation to the volcano in my front yard erupting, & I have in mind to ask you all if you're prepared for a disaster, & if not why not?
___Besides your personal preparedness, what percent of your country's people do you think is prepared? The last abstract I saw for the US is about 40%.
___So why do so few prepare? Should I/we care?

[orbsycli]

Yeah we should, because these things happen. We don't know when, and most of us think they wont.
I live right on americas penis, florida, and last summer during all of those hurricanes, we were pretty prepared, despite just moving here the month before. A lot of stubburn people decided to stay in their homes in the city i live in, we got lucky, but the town 30 minutes away didn't. they got hit the hardest...leveled.
anyway, my point is just...these things do happen. Turtle's right, we do need to be prepared. and sheesh, hurricanes can be predicted...ok ok....phone, good night.

[Buffy]

No one is really ever prepared. I was on the opposite side of the planet when my house burned down in a major catastrophy, but that didn't stop it from being a traumatic experience. The loss of possessions are nothing. Don't worry about them: if you have a plan, just have it be a plan to *get out* in one piece with your loved ones (and I mean humans: your pets will take care of themselves). Know your escape routes. Have a healthy respect for nature. On the north coast of California they remind all visitors: "never turn your back on the ocean."

Be careful out there,
Buffy

[sanctus]

I think turtles was asking personal preparedness and I think that should be limited for the risk of bevoming paranoid. I lived in valleys with big water barrages, I once read somewhere what I should do if the wall was to break, but I never thought about it constantly, if not every time I went to my town I should have been extremely scared as there were about 6 barrages around that could have destroyed my town.

I think what is more important is that a nation has its programs to be prepared for desaster so one can live more freely. Now in a case like orbysclys, I think you have to prepared but the hurricane is not a disaster as I see it, simply because it is predictable you know that once a year at least a hurricane can come so you have to be prepared and are not paranoid as the hurricane actually arrives.

[C1ay]

Originally Posted by Turtle

___It may have been Aesop who wrote the little story about preparing for tough times. I suppose it was only the tough time of Winter,(squirrels or mice...), but the point of it is the problems which ensue from lack of preperation.
___We have talked about this some in the tsunami thread, & again today in relation to the volcano in my front yard erupting, & I have in mind to ask you all if you're prepared for a disaster, & if not why not?
___Besides your personal preparedness, what percent of your country's people do you think is prepared? The last abstract I saw for the US is about 40%.
___So why do so few prepare? Should I/we care?

I'm as prepared as I think is practical. Even if Yellowstone erupts and half of the U.S. is wiped out I am prepared to live off of the land if need be, both physically and mentally. As for the average american citizen though, I think most are in a dream state that it cannot and will not happen to them. If and when nature strikes I think most will wish that they had given it more thought in advance.

[Infiverse8@yahoo.com]

We live in New Mexico and except for forest fires and a few hard winds are pretty lucky. I read about the Pacific Northwest being able to survive a tsunami because they would have a fifteen minute warning. I wonder how that would work? Broadcast on the radio? Not evryone listens to the radio. I think you should prepare by moving from areas like Florida that have high risks and not much future. The southern half of Florida never rises above 50 feet.

[bumab]

In the Pac NW we have sirens throughout town for tsunami warnings, which get tested once or twice a year. But I'll bet 50% of the people living here don't know what those sirens mean (air raid?)...

I heard that most people who die in disasters are new to the area. I grew up here, and 25 years of sirens means I'll know when a tsunami is coming. But a lot of my friends, new to the area, won't. I think 90% of "disaster preparation" is just knowing what's possible.

[RiverRat]

Here is a scenario that very few people can be prepared…

The total collapse of industrialized society on a world wide basis brought about by the steady depletion of our planets fossil fuels (oil being the first).

It is postulated by numerous geologist (some of which worked for years with BIG OIL CO’s) that we are near PEAK OIL production. This peak is estimated to occur between 2010 and 2015. This estimate has been countered as too aggressive by others. But… can it be imagined what impact the vast economic growth of China and India will do to oil reserves?

One time line I came across was startling! It is estimated by 2040-2050 the world will be in transition back to an agrarian society coinciding with a massive population reduction.

Quack Doomsday Scenario …. Maybe
Possible Outcome … Maybe

http://www.peakoil.net
http://www.oilcrisis.net

[bumab]

I doubt it will be catastrophic (sadly) when oil runs out. If it were to suddenly stop coming out of the ground, THAT would be catastrophic. But more likely, prices will slowly, but steadily, increase until gas is too expensive to buy for most people, forcing action from the government. Sadly, it also gives them time to find alternative sources of oil, like the tar sand deposits in northern Canada. Extraction of that gives oil, but on a destructive scale (to the environment), that's hard to imagine.

Sometimes I wish it would suddenly get pinched off, but I think it's more likely to slowly trickle out.

[Fishteacher73]

I think one should be aware of the possibities of disaster in your area and what the appropriate action should be. One must also recognize that a life of constant fear of death is futile. You might as well be a rat then. Understand that there are risks for any activity, even when selecting where to live. If you are terrified of tidal waves...Live in Kansas. Unless you spent Y2K hunkered down in a bomb shelter with cases of canned peas waiting for the computers to turn on us, simply get over it. Understand your risks, do what you can to minimize the risk without becoming consumed by it; have some joe and a smoke and do the crossword. If the world wants you dead, there aint no runnin'.