Are you prepared?

Loren Booda

Does Katrina change your personal plans for disaster preparation, and if so, how? Should each of us be culpable if not self-sustaining during a crisis?

What suggestions do you offer to avert catastrophe in the near future? How will this hurricane affect American charity around the world?

GOD__AM

Honestly I don't think anyone can be fully prepared to deal with any emergency that can come up. With a hurricane there is at least some advance warning, but consider tsunamis, nuclear attack by terrorists, the Twin Towers....If the initial event doesn't get you the aftermath can be even more life threatening. Consider that many people in New Orleans thought after the storm passed that they were relatively safe...until the levy broke. Life is too short to stress yourself over all the little details. We will all die, and I personally don't feel the need for constant paranoia as I have enough stress in my life without it.

DaveC426913

"Does Katrina change your personal plans for disaster preparation, and if so, how?"

Yes. I have added the following items to my list of things I need to put in my emergency kit:
- copies of all our ID and important papers
- some solution to the "mobility depends on gas" problem

Grogs

I agree with you, but only to a point. There's a big difference between being scared and being prepared. Some folks (survivalists) have been known to sell all their possessions and move to a cabin in Utah with a years supply of food and water. That, to me, is going way too far. But keeping a few gallons of water and a first aid kit in the house is a whole different animal to me.

I go to the grocery/drug store every couple of weeks, so it's no sweat to keep a few essentials on hand. I just keep a little extra water, a few extra batteries, and a few extra cans of food on hand. These are things I'm going to use anyway, I just make sure I've got a few extra on hand at all time. If nothing ever happens, no sweat, I'm going to use the stuff anyway.

moose

In Arizona, I cannot think of a single disaster, other than a nuclear bomb being a threat. No earthquakes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes, you name it. It's a safe place.

hypatia

I live in a tornado zone, so I am always ready. But much like the people hit by Katrina, if you loose your home, you loose your storm kit.
But I keep long term storage grains/beans, water purification kit, well stocked first aid kit, rotate canned goods, propane stove/tanks, batteries and radio/flashlight.
Its also good to know how to turn off your gas.

Evo

Poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, car crashes, fire...

We need to be sensible, but not live in fear. Hurricanes are actually the best natural disaster as you have time to prepare for it. If you chose to live in an area that gets hurricanes, you can't pretend to be surprised if you are affected by one. I lived 29 years in Houston, Tx and lived through several hurricanes, one being a category 5 (Carla) although some will argue it was reduced to a 4 as it hit. My parents took precautions, they lived on high ground, in a steel framed brick house. We never had problems. Homes in hurricane areas need to be built to withstand hurricanes. Look at the homes in Europe built out of concrete for fire reasons. We need to see more of that here.

I live in Kansas now, we have tornadoes. You don't know days in advance that you will be hit. That's why there are tornado sirens and everyone has a basement or underground shelter, that's why I have a special weather band/alert radio and I have provisions stored in the basement (batteries, flashlights, candles, matches, non-perishable food items and bottled water), in case I become trapped for awhile.

JamesU

The forest fires

I wouldn't say we're completely safe, it's not like tornadoes are unheard of around here

Kerrie

A major power outage in July would be extremely dangerous with the 115 degree heat. Lived there one year, moved right back to Oregon the next.

I chuckle when people think I am unsafe because I live 60 miles from active volcanoes. If I lived at the base of the mountains, then perhaps there is danger, but not 60 miles.

JamesU

The heat doesn't bother us natives that much

Pengwuino

Where I live...

Too cold in the Pacific for a hurricane
Too large of a valley for a flood
Too far from the san andreas fault line for any real damage
Too far from forests for wildfires
Tornados dont happen

im set :D

Evo

One word....meteor.

Pengwuino

Sounds like we need a new roof then!

Astronuc

I thought those things only happened in Arizona. I do seem to remember a big hole in the ground somewhere a little east of Flagstaff.

Hey for those in California - A moderate earthquake occurred at 01:27:19 (UTC) on Friday, September 2, 2005. (Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 6:27:19 PM = local time at epicenter) The magnitude 5.1 event has been located in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 10 km ( 6 miles).

I think it's in the San Andreas system.

moose

are you kidding me, i live nowhere close to any forest. There has been one tornado in the past long time, and it did near no damage. They simply can't go through our mountains

JamesU

but they're not unheard of in arizona. You mean the valley

TheStatutoryApe

Yeah.. not much happens around here except earthquakes and I'm pretty far from any major fault line myself.