It’s been almost a week since Hurricane Sandy reached the East Coast. There are still millions affected in her wake. Because there are so many still affected, I hesitate to write this, but I think there are lessons to be learned that will have more of an impact now, since this is still a current event.
Losing it all
Sometimes there are events like hurricanes and tornadoes that are so big, no matter how prepared you are, you lose everything you own. In these events only having a cache of supplies at a location away from your home would still be useful. You could have an agreement with a friend or relative to each store some supplies at the others home. You could also rent a small storage unit. This would ensure you have clothes, copies of important documents and possibly even some food or other preparations.
Looting and lawlessness
Looting is a very large problem. One resident is quoted saying ‘It’s like the Wild West’. The article goes on to say, “With little police presence on the storm-ravaged streets, many residents of the peninsula have been forced to take their protection into their own hands, arming themselves with guns, baseball bats and even bows and arrows to ward off thugs seeking to loot their homes.”
I have mentioned a few times in the past that defending and protecting your family and possibly your neighborhood may fall on you and your neighbor’s shoulders. This hurricane is an excellent reminder. There were also reports of people dressing like Con Ed workers and a Red Cross worker to gain access to restricted areas to loot.
Here is an article from the New York Times called In New York’s Public Housing, Fear Creeps In With the Dark. It explains that people who live in areas of New York that are without power fear the dark, because of the crimes committed in it. This isn’t just when the sun goes down, but also in windowless stairways and the like. What I took away from that article wasn’t just that the dark was to be feared, but how the blackout brought citizens together and bonded them into a community.
“In the meantime, heroes emerged among public housing residents, with those well prepared and able helping those who were not.”
And
“There’s a sense of community,” said Darryl MacCullum, 24, who lives at the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village, where the tidal surge had, for a time, ringed the buildings like moats. “Neighbors I usually don’t talk to, I talk to now.”
The residents cooked for each other, eager to not waste food that was thawing fast. At the Red Hook Houses on Wednesday night, there was an impromptu outdoor barbecue for 25 people, with hamburgers, frankfurters and ribs sizzling on grills. “
In times of crisis police and other emergency services are pushed to their limit. I was told in CERT that there are 300 civilians for every first responder. Because of this we need to be prepared to meet our five basic human needs.
Those Unprepared to Last a Week
As I stated above, there are some events that you just cannot prepare for. When there is a direct hit, you lose everything. This section is not directed at those people. It is aimed at those who did not heed the call to evacuate and were ill prepared to last the aftermath of the hurricane. In this article from ABC News, people were pleading for help just three days after the hurricane. They were asking their elected officials for clothing, food, water and gas. Below is a video of the reporter showing how people were dumpster diving to get food to eat.
I’m not sharing any of this to put down the ill prepared, but to show how truly ill prepared so many people are and also to show how quickly people will begin to panic because of their lack of resources.
Gas Shortages and Rationing
There have been multiple reports of lines of people over a mile long waiting to get gasoline. Here is a report from a CBS New York affiliate stating “Drivers Waiting For 6 Hours At Midtown Gas Station”. In New Jersey Governor Christie Orders Odd-Even Rationing System For Filling Up Gas Tanks.
“Residents with license plates ending in an odd number can make gas purchases on odd-numbered days of the month Residents with plates ending in an even number will be able to buy gas on even-numbered days, the governor said.”
Imagine only being able to purchase gas on even days and then having to wait in line for six hours to get it. I have said before that our economy runs on oil, but for many of these people the fuel also runs their refrigerator and gives them a means to charge their cell phones to communicate with the outside world.
Government Incompetence
There were many complaints after Hurricane Katrina about the government’s poor response. Many people are not aware that the federal government has to be invited in by state government and that is what caused the delay. You would think there would have been a better response to Hurricane Sandy, but in many ways there hasn’t been.
The New York City Marathon saw many police officers, large generators, food and water diverted to it instead of to the relief effort. As of this morning they canceled the marathon, but the generators sat unused.
FEMA has a policy called “Lean forward” that calls for advanced staging of supplies. Here is a report that says “FEMA failed to have any meaningful supplies of bottled water — or any other supplies”.
This goes to show that even when the government means well they are often incompetent. The larger an enterprise of any kind is, the more ineffective they can become. Often the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing, or what either should be doing.
My Take:
Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you’re fairly well prepared to last at least a week. This hurricane should be a wake-up call for many, to have a minimum level of preparedness to meet their five basic human needs. But there have been many wake-up calls in our recent past that were not heeded. Because of this, there will be plenty of chances in the future for those of us who are better prepared to be the heroes mentioned above and to be light to the world.
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