Monday, January 25, 2010

Personal lessons of Haiti

From PopularMechanics concerning the evolving nightmare in Haiti,
Surely things would be different if a major disaster struck in the United States. Right?

Not necessarily. Of course, every disaster is different—the problems caused by earthquakes differ from those caused by floods, hurricanes or volcanoes. But while the greater wealth and infrastructure in America is a nice thing, it doesn't mean that disaster relief will necessarily arrive quickly. American cities have better airports and more roads, but those can be damaged too. This was certainly the case with New Orleans and large stretches of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, where roads and railroads were flooded, blocked by fallen trees or rendered impassable by collapsed bridges. Military forces are equipped to cross rivers, repair bridges, and move massive quantities of supplies under difficult conditions, but it takes time to get military engineers together and on the way. Plus, the more people you send in to help, the more of the supplies you're delivering that have to go to support them, as opposed to the people they're supposed to be helping.

After Hurricane Katrina, flood waters, debris and downed bridges were the main logistical impediments. An earthquake could cause even worse infrastructure damage that would hamper relief. If, say, the New Madrid fault in Missouri were to let go with a series of magnitude 8.0 earthquakes, we could see much of the Midwest devastated, with enormous damage to railroads, highways and bridges. (The last such quake, actually a series of three earthquakes, caused damage as far away as Washington, D.C,. and Charleston, S.C., and caused the Mississippi River to actually flow backwards as the newly formed Reelfoot Lake filled. But there weren't many buildings and bridges in the midwest in 1811.) Responding to such damage would strain the resources of the nation, and many communities might go weeks before seeing significant relief. A major California earthquake, an Atlantic Coast tsunami or another major hurricane might also create this kind of widespread devastation.

Which brings us back to a theme Popular Mechanics has been driving home for years: self-reliance. If you're at the scene of a major disaster, it may be a long time before outside help arrives. But one person is sure to be there: you. And nobody cares more about helping you and your family in time of disaster than, well, you. So it makes sense for you to be prepared to take care of yourself—and look out for your neighbors—for some time afterward. That means having adequate stocks of food, water and basic tools on hand. (Experts say that Haitians should have had at least two weeks of food on hand, but of course many Haitians can't afford to keep such reserves. Americans, generally speaking, can.)
I would also add that if you live in a major metropolitian area - having a country retreat would be good as well - if you can't afford that, ask your Mormon neighbors for some good references on what keeps for long periods of tiem.

And yes, I am looking at a 100 acre spread a couple of hours from here in the middle of nowhere as we speak.

16 comments:

MR T's Haircut said...

Everyone should be prepared.  We are 9 meals from anarchy.

Water and water and water and of course some food.

Be ready.

Ken Adams, Amphib Sailor said...

Don't forget shells, powder, and shot, MTH.  For the zombies.

Grumpy Old Ham said...

"<span>Which brings us back to a theme Popular Mechanics has been driving home for years: self-reliance."</span>

Great advice, except that 40+ years of The Great Society -- almost two generations -- has all but bred self-reliance out of the population (52% of it, anyway).

<span>
</span>

Mike F. said...

Advice on firearms? I was thinking of 12 ga riot gun, semi auto handgun and a rifle but have no idea on what caliber to go with.

Anonymous said...

My undisclosed location, 75 acres on a lake so far back in the woods that I pipe in the sunshine, is well stocked with canned goods and ammunition.  There is fish in the pond, game in the woods and two daughters who fish alongside me and want to learn to shoot.  I'm ready to go tomorrow.

DeltaBravo said...

"After Hurricane Katrina, flood waters, debris and downed bridges were the main logistical impediments."

Gosh.  And the press told us it was President Bush that prevented help from getting there within 72 hours.

were we LIED TO??!
:'(  

Byron Audler said...

As long as it's bigger than caliber 30, you should be good to go ;)

ewok40k said...

great, everyone bunkers in his castle, instead of self-organizing the local society...
this is the true fall of civilization, when you can't trust your neighbor

cdrsalamander said...

E40,
When the wheels come off of a civil society or the security/health situation deteriorates, you can stay in the large cities and deal with what happens - or you can go somewhere that give you room to hide, breath and be left alone as the masses consume themselves.  

To personalize it, who survived better in WWII Poland?  Those Poles, Jew and Gentile alike, who stayed in Warsaw, or those who retreated to a relative in the countryside or a country retreat?

Byron Audler said...

Not to mention, when you get out of the urban areas and get into or around the smaller towns (-1,000 population) you are in an area where there is more trust in the society. In the large cities, you might now one or two of your neighbors. In the small towns, you know everyone, and they all know you. Better security in the small towns, too. Of course, CDR, you will have to get you a stock of power and bullets for your reloader :)

ewok40k said...

There was a great deal of human self-help  in Warsaw uprising, and citizens managed to organize own radio, postal service run by boy and girl scouts, press...
In the darkest days of communist economy collapse, Solidarity meant not only political movement but ordinary human instinct of helping one another.
Smaller communities have stronger bonds usually, but society really depends on the spirit of the citizenry in face of disaster, even in larger cities.
And finally one note: it is a known fact there was and somewhat still persists a strong current of antisemitism in Polish nationalism - yet Poles are most numerous at Yad Vashem "Just among the nations" alley. And penalty for hiding a Jew was death for the whole family, not a fine or arrest like in western Europe. There was no Polish Vichy state to help organise transports to Auschwitz - and Germans wouldn't want one from "slavic undermen".
Ever since the partitions of 18th century  we are accustomed to deal with situation where state either is enemy/ccupant or is dissolving.

MR T's Haircut said...

Ken, I didnt forget and bars on my bug out vehicle!

MR T's Haircut said...

5.56 AR

.45 for your handgun

MR T's Haircut said...

I expect to quickly attempt to secure the neighoborhood (one way in) and establish an operational security watch with my MAG.  The funny thing is the people I have selected do not know it yet due to OPSEC. 

I intend to be a king maker not the king... the military guys ALWAYS get voted off Survivor first....

MR T's Haircut said...

Ewok,

our nieghbors drive Prius's and seldom say hello...

Ryan said...

Standardize on common calibers such as 9mm, 5.56 and 7.62, then buy multiple firearms in those calibers and at least a couple thousand rounds in each.  When the s**t goes down, your neighbors will appreciate your armory.  Then you can protect the whole neighborhood.

Don't forget extra magazines and holsters.