Trying Times

Last week many of us watched with horror as the Midwest was battered by something like 150 tornadoes in one day.  One of those tornadoes was so strong it created a seismic wave! The deadly force of this weather killed nearly 40 people and leveled entire towns, a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. Incredibly, one of the most inspiring moments was a woman in Indiana who had returned to collect her things that had survived and was met with friends and neighbors who joined her to help her gather her things.  She had lost her home and nearly everything with it and yet, with a smile, said to the camera, "I'm a rich woman.  I have my friends." 

  Time and again when we look at the images of past tragic events what we see is people coming together to help each other even at personal risk.  Anyone who remembers the Los Angeles quake from several years ago remembers the images of civilians climbing the wreckage of a bridge to try to free trapped people.  No one will forget the hundreds of emergency responders who went down to Ground Zero for weeks trying to find the trapped and the lost; that personal sacrifice cost many their lives later on.   People are remarkably brave and resilient in the face of hardship, most often our first instinct is to reach out and help, not harm.  That's a good thing since that's how we evolved to be soft skinned, fangless, clawless creatures that like to snuggle each other.  We are a playful and loving creature, and we need to remember we are not crocodiles.  Sometimes some people forget that and then things get ugly.

Mother Nature has much in store for us yet, and we will need to work together to be ready for
disasters to come.  Whether a disaster merely takes out the power a few days, or levels entire neighborhoods, preparedness is key.  Resilience will be seen in communities that have planned ahead and anticipated their needs.  It wouldn't take much for a town to set up an emergency center with food(MRE's) and clean water, renewable power (solar & wind) to keep communications and electronics working for medical care, and emergency clothes and shelter for those who need it.  We know communities like to help each other out, preparing ahead is kind of a no-brainer.
  This past year in Westchester County we have experienced unusually long power outages due to lousy weather events, several of them...  With the October storm gas stations ran out of gas if they had the power to pump it, and food got scarce because trucks couldn't get in due to the blocked roads.  Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Tropical storm and even so took out entire towns in Vermont that had never seen a Tropical storm before... Even without weather events we've had "issues".  I remember the East Coast Black out that was NOT caused by any kind of weather and lasted days... We still didn't get a clear explanation what that was all about...

Being ready for those unexpected events will go a long way to keeping people calm.  There is a slight imbalance in the awareness sector of readiness, where a handful of people are preparing for the Apocalypse, while most are not doing anything at all... If you haven't seen National Geographic's new show Doomsday Preppers, you don't know what I'm talking about. 
Moderation in all things! For heavens sake!

If MOST people had extra food and water, solar powered radios, a source of heating, extra medication and baby food (dog food, bird food, snacks, etc), maybe the Doomsday Preppers wouldn't feel so worried about staying alive when things get really rough and then they could relax a little knowing that most people were being responsible about their own survival and had the situation covered? 
There's no need to start building a bunker in your basement, or storing three years of MRE's and water.  Just some common sense prepping will get people through major outages and events until we can regroup with each other, and figure out what needs to be done if there is an even longer outage of services and power expected. 

Looking at the devastation in the Midwest it's hard to imagine how anyone could prep for something like that.   Amazingly, and perhaps tragically, they could have! Many had just finished rebuilding from last year's tornadoes, yet used the same stick construction as before, rather than researching dome construction that is far more resistant to high winds. 
Or they could have done as Pat Robertson advised, they could have prayed harder.  Though, having sat through a tornado myself with my family when I lived in Texas, I know there's really no way to say the Lord's Prayer fast enough or harder than when a tornado is bearing down on you...
My heart and prayers go out to everyone hurt by these storms. 


10 Steps to take to Prep Reasonably
1. Have a safe place to go either in your home or a neighbor's
2. Have back up food and water for everyone in your home that will last a week (at least)
3. Have medical supplies and extra medicines (even if you have to buy it out of pocket)
4. Remember your pets and their foods and meds.
5. Have a Go Bag in case of a nuclear event at Indian Point.  Fukushima is teaching us well.
6. Have a plan with family, where to meet, what to do in specific events
7. Have a back up power source. Small portable solar panels to charge phones or laptops & mini lights
8. Have a crank/solar powered radio to keep up with news and weather announcements
9. Always keep your car's gas tank at least half full, and an extra can of gas in your garage (remember to use it within a few months or it will go bad)
10.  Know your neighbors.  They are the single most important factor to you and your family's survival. Remember what the lady in Indiana said, your friends & neighbors are your treasure.

So get out there and have a block party, or a neighborhood fruit tree planting, or set up a neighborhood watch, or T ball game, share your phone numbers and gardening tips over the fence.  We are much happier when we are playing together and sharing, than when we are fighting and scratching for the last resources.  We are not crocodiles.  We are fragile and beautiful human beings.