Further reflections...

I just got back from making another pharmacy run for the child, and was listening to the news from Haiti and pondering the lessons I had personally learned from my own post-disaster experiences.

Of the four permanent members of the Bund, I hope we all have learned the importance of being able to "survive" for the first week after a disaster without assistance (in as much as we can, that is). Sufficient water, fuel and basic supplies to sustain moderately comfortable conditions without power or utilities is an absolute requirement, even in this ultra-modern age of instantaneous results. The images from Haiti that are the most devastating are those of people within the limits of a city of nearly half a million souls, and nearly all of them living in "sub-standard" or less-than-ideal circumstances... urban poor, in other words.

The continuing tragedy, however, is going to come from those living in impoverished rural areas when public services such as electricity, fuel and water are no longer working because of the devastation to the infrastructure combined with the lack of actual governmental or emergency services that even a nation as poor as Haiti has come to depend on. Free clinics stretched beyond the breaking point, roads that are impassable, bridges that have already or will fail, water conduits and aqueducts that cannot carry water, and entire water supplies contaminated beyond the ability to use safely. In the case of Haiti specifically, imagine how quickly the removal of dead bodies and even spoiled food is going to become a critical issue to avoid further complications from disease and cross contamination.

Prior to August 28, 2005, I was the sort of person that didn't put a lot of weight in the arguments that many "survival" enthusiasts made about preparing for the worst, even if it never happened... but Katrina fixed that. So, as I was driving and listening, I began pondering what I would be forced to do if a similar situation happened here in NEPA as that in Haiti (God forbid!) or on the Gulf Coast in '05... if a child was sick, there was no hopping into the car and driving to the pharmacy, there was no phoning for doctors or ambulances, and there was little to no hope of anyone getting to you at all for the first 72 hours WHATEVER the emergency.

I hope everyone here, and anyone reading this, takes the message to heart: Have what you need ON HAND for at least a week's worth of needs, stored in a manner that will keep it as safe and available as possible. We have no fewer than 25 gallons of water stored in 5-gallon bottles (and a means of dispensing it without power) at all times. We have alternative means of cooking in case we are without electricity for any amount of time. We have many (but perhaps not all) of the medicines and prescriptions we routinely need on hand and stored in case we cannot simply drive and get them. We have an impressive amount of food suited for long term storage (canned, dried, evaporated, etc) as well as many staples in low-bulk form (bags of beans, rice, and oats stored in a nice, DRY place). We even have the means to shelter ourselves should the "old homestead" become uninhabitable... camping gear and tents enough for all of us and lots of open ground to set them up on. Dual-fuel heaters and lamps, very utilitarian cookware (good old fashioned cast iron... there is nothing finer for durability) and a home located very close to two artesian water sources so that our potential water supply is indefinite.

I hope I don't sound too much the "paranoid militia-type" because I really am not that sort of a hard-corps survivalist... but this is simple common sense and it is something I hope we ALL learned from our mutual experiences after the hurricane.

How much death and suffering could have been or could be avoided had even a percentage of the people in Haiti had the above mentioned supplies on hand prior to the earthquake?