In the wake of the Katrina disaster and the current predictions of a more-than-normally-severe hurricane season in 2006, states are warning their citizens to prepare now and not to count on emergency responders to put them at the top of the list unless they are the most needy (elderly, infirm, or poverty-stricken). [Ed.: Yes, I know this is a link to a NYTimes article despite the general Mod-Blog policy of boycotting them. They have the only article I could find right now.)
The problem here lies in the very success of the War on Terror, and our Y2K efforts. Before Y2K, everyone was terrified with stories of what could happen, and so they stocked up on emergency supplies. 9/11 again reminded us that we are vulnerable to not only acts of God, but also acts of psychotic criminals. But now things have calmed down as Y2K was a non-event (thanks to the tireless efforts of hundreds of thousands of I/T workers) and there has been no (American) follow-up to 9/11. So we have gotten lazy. Wake up, America! We have to be ready for the next one, as best we can.
I would encourage those who can afford it, to consider following these tips on preparing for a Hurricane as it applies to virtually any major disaster, whether it be fire, flood, storm, or war. If you are not ready to go out and assemble your own emergency preparedness kit, consider something like this and purchase a pre-assembled kit.
We have some of the best emergency responders in the world, and some of the most prepared planners in the world. But even they can't save everyone in the first few hours. Best to have a store of food to last at least 72 hours, which is the time it would take to deploy the National Guard in a real crisis.
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