Ok, Im gonna drop a little Doom and Gloom on you in this post. Not because I want to frighten anyone but because its a subject matter that I take very seriously and we all need to at least give it some consideration. Because I live near Seattle, I will use it as my back drop for this HYPOTHETICAL scenario. Lets assume that tonight an 8.4 earthquake hits near downtown (a very real possibility). Communications and power are out, roads and bridges, airport runways and hospitals are badly damaged, many building were destroyed or damaged. You can see the chaos that could occur instantly. Now lets fast forward 24 hours; a mad rush to any open stores by the population has all but emptied the shelves. Cars line up for miles to try and get gas. The federal government is trying to organize and coordinate getting emergency supplies to the region, however landing planes is risky at best and even if they could, distributing the supplies is next to impossible with all the damaged infrastructure. Seattle only has two major highways leading to the city, I-5 from N and S and I-90 from the east, assuming they are even passable. Naval ships from the pacific fleet are steaming towards the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma but again, distribution will be very difficult. Now fast forward two weeks. Looting has begun and violence is becoming widespread as people become more desperate for food, clean drinking water and medical supplies. Military helicopters are finally able to start getting supplies out to command centers set up in the most populated areas, however the small towns and communities away from the metropolitan areas are largely left to fend for themselves. Ok, are you starting to get the picture? This is why FEMA, The American Red Cross and other emergency/disaster relief organizations keep saying GET PREPARED because its clear the local and federal governments can only do so much. This is no joke. many people will die unnecessarily because they were too bull headed or lazy to take a few hours to do some research and spend a few dollars to get some long term emergency supplies. Be Prepared not scared.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 02:33:01 +0000