Hurricane season and the storm called Complacency

It doesn’t seem that long ago that ‘Jiggle Bells’ was playing on the radio and the calendar marked the end of a very calm 2007 hurricane season. Many thought that now we can enjoy the holidays without a care in the world.

Fast forward. Since January 2008 we have had a record number of tornadoes that have wretched havoc on many in the heartland of the US. As the days of winter slipped into Spring the number of destructive weather events kept mounting. Remember that the news ‘should have been’ all about the playoff in Atlanta but instead the news of night was about a tornado came racing through the city. Everyone forgot about the ball game as hotel patrons and staff at CNN looked out through shattered windows and sport fans walked through what use to be busy urban streets filled with destroyed street signs and downed traffic signals.

Now fast forward --- tomorrow starts a new year of 2008 hurricane season in the Atlantic and Gulf Of Mexico region of the Americas. Last year we saw the largest and deadliest hurricanes of the season in the unusually early days of 2007 hurricane season. Hurricane Dean and Hurricane Felix were Category 5 hurricane storms at their peak. Much damage was wrought on families and businesses south of the American boarder.

Already a tropical storm Alma has slammed into Nicaragua’s coast on Thursday and it is not June 1^st yet! Still in the US there seems to be growing daily two more terrifying storms that what a single hurricane could possibly bring. The storms are called “COMPLACENCY” and “DISASTER AMNESIA”. These storms could very well be the biggest and most problematic storms any society and civilization can be faced with.

Complacency is the deadliest form of storm that can rip through the very fabric of our homes, societies and world by people not being willing to prepare themselves and their communities for disaster occurrences. Complacency’s deadly twin “Disaster Amnesia” helps cloak the real possibilities of emergency dangers that people and societies want to forget. It seems the faster people can ride the coat tail of Disaster Amnesia and forget the pain and suffering of past disasters and traumas the better. But people forget that the ride on the USS Good Ship Lollipop while wearing rose colored glasses of better days ahead keep the true possibility of better days ahead from being a secure reality.

People who prepare for long term disasters even two years ago now have the luxury of having saved themselves tons of money and hours of worry. So what should those who have been caught up in the storms of Complacency and disaster Amnesia to do? With prices of food and all other supplies going up and now rising at much faster rates than in the recent past, it is prudent to get prepared NOW before the prices and supplies are even more prohibitive by reason of a pending or resulting disaster or by inflation.

Studies show that people who prepare both physically with long term supplies and concrete emergency plans have a much better chance of quickly recovering their standard of living and going on with their lives than those who do not prepare. The scariest part of these studies is that less than a third of the residents of the US are prepared for an emergency of natural or human cause.

Right now 203 MILLION people in the US alone are NOT prepared should a disaster hit their home and community. If the odds were that that 203 Million people would be handed a $100 dollar bill, the lines for the money would be crisscrossing every street and road in America. The advice to prepare is worth a whole lot more than a $100 bill. It is a life saver for many who are hit but destruction.

If you are well prepared for a hurricane you are well on your way to prepare for almost any kind of disaster that may occur. Here are some important things to start your disaster preparedness:

§ Get your disaster plan completed

§ Develop your hurricane kit for both home and car.

§ Check your hurricane supplies and rotate the batteries, water and can food as necessary.

§ Ensure that you have at least a 3 week supply of disaster necessities

§ Let your family know where the disaster meeting place is for all to gather should a disaster occur when loved ones are not together and establish an out-of-state contact person that all are instructed to call to check in with their status and needs

§ Prepare your animals (pet and livestock) for a disaster evacuation

§ Get a 30 day supply of ALL medications that you may need. Medicine is expensive so start by buying 5-10 day supply extra per month. In 3-6 months you will have your emergency supply available. If it means skipping a movie and dinner once a month in order to have the extra cash to buy the medications – THEN MAKE THE SACRIFICE! The movie will come to the video store soon enough but your medication supply will help keep you alive in an emergency!

Be Prepared and Be Safe!

Terrie Modesto

Dr. Terrie Modesto, PhD, author of Train For A Hurricane is an international expert in dying, death, loss and critical incident individual and community disaster preparation and response with 20+ year’s experience. She has over 60 courses, books and training manuals to her credit and is available for consulting, lectures and interviews.