Disaster Preparedness

[Catgrrl]

Disaster preparedness can always be improved. The Monday-morning quarterbacking that our news media is doing is disgusting. You can try your best to be prepared for every scenario, and then nature throws you a curveball. To think we mere humans can calculate every possible event that nature can cause is impossible. Science is ever evolving; we are doing pretty well at learning and adapting so that the next disaster may not be as catastrophic.

However, it is everyone's responsibility to make sure that they are prepared: from individual on up to national levels. Individuals should learn their evacuation routes, municipalities should have their employees ready to take on coordinating evacs/recovery, and so forth and so forth.

Unfortunately sometimes in a disaster you are left to survive on your own, with maybe a few others along for the ride. We should all help each other out when it comes to an emergency, but also remember to be prepared ourselves.

EDIT: This is why I should stay out of D&D. My votes were on who I think should be responsible for preparedness, not who currently is. Most of the time in the US it seems that who is responsible never comes out until finger pointing begins (ex: Hurricane Katrina)

[Ominous Gamer]

A small part of Japan's early warning system:

[rumrunner]

I find it rather shameful that so many of you think it is the responsibility of the some govt. agency to make you better able to survive a disaster. The poll was about preparedness not response. If you are not prepared, the chances of you surviving until the govt. agency finds and rescues you are about zero.

[GGT]

I find it rather shameful that so many of you think it is the responsibility of the some govt. agency to make you better able to survive a disaster. The poll was about preparedness not response. If you are not prepared, the chances of you surviving until the govt. agency finds and rescues you are about zero.

I consider early warning systems part of preparedness. National Weather Service, Pacific Tsunami Warning System, NOAA --- for things like tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and tsunamis. NRC for nuclear dangers. All those government agencies have to coordinate with FCC to alert people, then begin first-responder preparedness.

That's different than having water, flash light batteries and a go-bag in your house or car after a disaster happens.

[Nessus]

Are there any public bomb shelters in the U.S.?

[agamemnus]

Are there any public bomb shelters in the U.S.?

Yes, but that probably was rhetorical...

[Catgrrl]

There are? I know there is a bunker for federal government officials, didn't know there were any for us peons....

[Loki]

There are buildings designated as valid nuclear shelters all over NYC.

[Catgrrl]

Oh, didn't know. Well guess you guys will survive while those of us next to the navy base get to fend for ourselves.

[Flixy]

I know there is an underground shelter, presumably nuclear, under the market square in my city. You can open the hatch but a bit down the door's locked

[Dreadnaught]

I sorta doubt those buildings from the 1920s - 1950s will really function as bomb shelters. But they at least had supplies in the basements to make people feel good! I wish they hadn't taken down all those neat fallout shelter signs on the buildings.

[GGT]

Not sure what I'd do if I was stuck in Japan. The US government is evacuating military family and all "non-essential" personnel. International companies are moving their employees back home. China and South Korea are scanning Chinese imports for radiation. Pictures of Japanese scanning lines of people for contamination, even isolating individuals for exposure. TEPCO saying one thing, gov't saying another, and the US NRC even more cautious. Whose facts should you trust?

Meanwhile, millions are told to shelter-in-place and seal their homes, with food and water running out, no electricity or heat. And it's snowing. Even if they could get out, it looks like stores are empty and relief supplies haven't arrived yet. News reports say the Japanese are beginning to question their gov't and quiet desperation is setting in.

[Loki]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2011032...08599206077300

The flip side of a lack of individualism.

[GGT]

Every disaster has a flip side, though. Wouldn't you agree? I'd say those glitches reflect discipline that tends toward rigidity, or maybe stubbornness and reluctance to bend the rules. Let alone ask for help.

[Veldan Rath]

Oh, we have to follow your standards now?

Wow, you DO have an over inflated opinion...of your opinion.

Forgot to mention: Zombies!

[GGT]

[Veldan Rath]

Zombielicious

[GGT]

I just had to bump this thread from ten years ago. I got a warning for telling a new member to fuck off.

I was looking for the thread titled "Infrastructure", but was reminded by Rand that it dated back to the Atari forums. Funny how I can remember bits and pieces of that thread -- like citing an article from Popular Mechanics where the Society of Civil Engineers gave US Infrastructure a failing grade -- but can't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday.

oh dear