Category: FEMA & Other Disaster Agencies

Lessons From Christchurch: Urban Earthquake Preparedness and Survival by Alex F.

Let’s be honest. Thinking about the end of the world is kind of fun. If it weren’t, there wouldn’t be so many post-apocalyptic novels, movies and television shows. Preparing for a relatively slow-moving Armageddon like a civil war or pandemic demands a lot of shopping which is an enjoyable pastime. However, as the grieving citizens of Christchurch, New Zealand attest, the most likely threats are also the most sudden, the least glamorous, and not fun at all. TEOTWAWKI may or may not happen in our lifetimes, but almost everyone has to deal with a natural disaster at one time or …


Looking For the Wave: Our Experience with Hawaii’s 2010 Tsunami Alert, by An Oregonian

Here on the Oregon coast we have included precautions for a Tsunami in our emergency preparations.  This last spring while on vacation on the north shore of Oahu we experienced some valuable lessons when the Tsunami alert was raised after the earthquake in Chile.  This experience has helped us and hopefully will provide food for thought for others. We have family living on the north shore of Oahu, in Laie that we were staying with during our trip.  About 4am in the morning as I was sleeping on the porch, a woman knocked on the door to inform the family …


The Earthquake in Haiti: First-Hand Lessons From Disaster, by Dr. L.F.

I’m a neurosurgeon, and I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks in Port Au Prince, Haiti last year, arriving just two weeks after the earthquake in February. This was a great opportunity to serve people in need, but I also benefited from seeing WTSHTF firsthand. I brought in a team of three doctors and two nurses , along with one former Marine turned pastor (for security). When a missionary flight company said: “We can get you in if you can be here day after tomorrow, but we can’t guarantee you a flight out,” a wiser person might have …


Letter Re: Emergency Alert System Radio Stations

Sir, Regarding your question, WBT is one of the 30 or so stations being added to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) Primary Entry Point (PEP) network by the end of this year. Under the EAS’s older sibling, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), 33 stations served as PEP stations. These stations could receive an emergency message from the president and relay it to the other stations in its area. The PEP stations were generally the old 50,000 watt AM powerhouses because of their wide reach. The requirements for a PEP station are as follows; – Diesel backup generator with fuel sufficient …


Letter Re: State Defense Forces

Sir: I have been meaning for some time to write a short article about State Defense Forces. These forces are an excellent way to train and learn. I have served seven years in my state guard. There are federal laws that allow a state to maintain a state guard or state defense force. These are forces available to the governor of the state when the national guard is on duty somewhere else, or if the emergency is a huge one the state defense force can actually be activated on paid mandatory duty. If a state wants to have such a …


Seven Letters Re: Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse

Mr. Rawles, I read with much interest the article on community planning for a societal collapse. It mirrors my own thinking on the subject and it is an issue I’ve given a lot of thought to lately. The reality of my situation is that I live in a small town (about 1200-1300 population) that lies on one major line of drift and two minor ones. The major line of drift is a major east-west interstate between two medium-sized cities and the two minor lines of drift are a state route that parallels the interstate (on the opposite end of town …


Seven Letters Re: Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse

James: Some of the arguments made against J.I.R.’s article reminds me of a scene in Gone With the Wind, in which the southern gentry are talking of coming war and Rhett Butler steps in and tells everybody that the North is better equipped for war; and that all they, the southerners, have is “…cotton and dreams of victory.” Obviously this was met with indignation, but Rhett Butler was right. As preppers we are our own group who thinks we are better equipped for “war” and can also be blinded by our own arrogance. Even amongst the prepper/survivalist groups we must …


Six Letters Re: Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse

Jim, As the author of the article being discussed, I would like to address the concerns expressed by “Rocky in the Midwest” This is a good example of the kind of reactions you will undoubtedly run into if you attempt to confiscate someone’s property. He is exactly right and justified in being indignant. He has worked hard and accumulated his property lawfully and has every right to use it as he wishes. Morals aside, confiscating privately owned property not only causes anger and resentment, it’s just a bad idea on many levels. Doing so will destroy your local economy. I …


Four Letters Re: Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse

I read the article on Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse, by J.I.R. and was reminded by an incident that was related to me by several individuals involved, discussed in the local papers, and is well known . In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the State of Illinois sent a convoy of trucks and equipment down to help the citizens in New Orleans. This convoy consisted of dump trucks and low-boys carrying backhoes, bulldozers, boats, generators, etc. The convoy also had a half dozen or so tanker trucks full of fuel. The boats were to be used for search and …


Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse, by J.I.R.

I believe that in a severe crisis, most of the problems are going to have to be solved at the local level. State and federal government are too big and dependent on technology to survive a severe crisis once the grid drops and all services start to erode. Local governments, too, are ill prepared to assume this crushing responsibility, but they are much more resilient because their scope of control is smaller. Most of them have never even considered what they would do. This article is a discussion piece to stimulate thought on the subject of small community recovery after …


Two Letters Re: Transitioning to Seven Day Bug-Out Bags

Firefighter Charles’s statement about FEMA‘s response times shows a lack of understanding of how the process works. In the event of another Hurricane Katrina type natural disaster, the following things have to happen, in the following order: 1. Disaster strikes 2. Local officials setup an incident command 3. Local Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) are activated. The local emergency operations plan (EOP) is put into action. 4. Mutual aid agreements are activated. If the disaster goes beyond this, then… 5. State EOCs are activated. State EOPs are put into action. 6. The state activates it’s mutual aid agreements. 7. If the …


Two Letters Re: Lessons From the Tennessee Floods

First things first, please accept my heartfelt thank you for your excellent web site and all of the information you have helped disseminate to folks such as myself. My heart goes out to the people of Nashville and the disaster they are facing from the flooding. However, the logical part of me is astounded by all of this as the media and government (http://www.nashville.gov/oem/preparedness/wcd.asp) in Nashville have been repeatedly warning people to prepare for a major flood since 2005 and have held numerous public meetings in conjunction with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The warnings were not from …


Lessons from Nashville, Tennessee–That “Oh My Gosh” Moment, by Cheryl C.

I live in Nashville, Tennessee.  Most people have heard about the devastation of the recent flooding of  our city –what a  lot of folks don’t know is that there were over 1,400 boat rescues of stranded people who could not (or would not) evacuate their homes before the water overtook them.  The events of these past few weeks has heightened my disaster preparedness and has proven to me once again “that being prepared” is paramount “to surviving” any natural or man-made disaster. This brings me to share with you what I call the “oh my gosh” moment.  When the forecast …


Survival Rations and Food Security, by J.I.R.

I think we can all agree that a deep larder is good insurance for bad times. There is some variation on how we approach this topic, but we probably all have a lot in common. I would like to present my approach to food storage to give your readers (perhaps) a new perspective. Some of them may have inadequate plans for feeding their families. First, I have to admit that I am probably not as well prepared as a lot of readers and that my preparations could easily be improved if I were less lazy or worried more. I don’t …


Two Letters Re: Middle Tennessee Flooding has Lessons About Preparedness

Dear Mr. Rawles, We live in southern Middle Tennessee, about an hour south of Nashville, and we are watching the news coverage of this weekend’s record-breaking flooding in the Nashville area. It is confirming our conviction not to live in a metropolitan area as we see how people are affected by this natural disaster. All three interstates going through Nashville–I-65, I-24, and I-40–have been shut down for long periods of time yesterday and today. The cars and trucks stuck on I-40 as I write this stretch for over five miles, and the drivers have no way of backing up, turning …