Another Reminder Of Emergency Preparedness Considerations

September 28 2018 - Indonesia was hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake followed by a tsunami and landslides. The death toll is currently estimated to stand at 2000 dead, 2500 injured, 5000 missing and up to around 65000 homes destroyed.

Threat Assessment

Their main risks were many! After all, the people of Indonesia live in the RING OF FIRE! So why was the death toll so large and why is this area STILL struggling? The reasons may be numerous, but i can probably list a few off the top of my head:

• Poverty and lack of disposable income preventing living in a SAFE area.
• Insufficient Building construction and regulation.
• Towns situated within Tsunami zones.
• Lack of robust key infrastructure and transportation routes.
• Poor Governmental planning and investment.
• Reliance on Governmental food hand-outs/ Disaster Aid relief.
• Lack of individual preparedness measures.

Learning Though Disaster Analysis

Countless disasters share a commonality after the initial destruction. From the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China, to Hurricane Maria and onto the Sulawesi quake in Indonesia. Months and in some cases even years after, hazards still exist. Movement becomes difficult and way of life changes beyound normality into an apocalyptic theme. Dangers include:

• Debris and unstable buildings
• Problems with sanitation
• Food supply problems
• Unreliable electricity supply
• Transportation routes critically damaged
• Unreliable communications networks and service blackouts
• Security instability
• Lack of medical resources

My Point

Folks, this is just ANOTHER grim example of the time associated with the resurgence of normality. There may be NO help for months. If there is Aid, it WILL be scarce. For these reasons, it is our duty to our families and loved ones, to have some kind of contingency and emergency preparedness supplies in order to mitigate some of the hardships that will follow.
We should keep watching, keep analysing and KEEP PREPARING for those devastaing events that can and will linger, long after the initial event. Carry out a threat assessment of your area!

CDC Reference

Know Your Threats & Risks!