Take steps to prepare for the worst
The Patriot-News
Monday, September 22, 2008
We are a nation of reactors. Something happens, we react.
Terrorists attack using commercial airplanes and we lock down our airports. A massive bridge collapses in Minnesota and we vow to inspect every U.S. overpass. A batch of tainted tomatoes sickens hundreds and we pull all tomatoes off the shelves.
If hindsight really is 20-20, we have perfect vision.
We only seem to mobilize as a nation to address problems after they have happened. Just think what we could do if we applied that energy to prevention. We need to move from being reactive to being proactive.
This month marks National Preparedness Month. In Pennsylvania, one state agency wants to help Pennsylvanians become more prepared for any type of emergency, whether it comes from nature or man.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency recently launched Ready PA, which offers common-sense tips to help all of us plan for the unthinkable. And that's the problem: We just don't want to think about it.
"We wanted to spread the message that citizens need to take three important steps: Be informed, be prepared and be involved," said Ruth Myers, a PEMA spokeswoman.
"So many people don't think about it. They think it won't happen to them. We want to try to change that culture."
In the case of an emergency, we should be ready to take care of ourselves and our families until state and local responders can reach us, Myers said. Circumstances sometimes delay rescue efforts.
PEMA recommends families set up an emergency plan that would carry them through 72 hours. That's enough food, water, medicines, diapers and pet food to last at least three days.
The Niemen Group, where my husband, Tim Reeves, is the president, has a contract to help PEMA raise public awareness about Ready PA.
"Preparedness starts with personal responsibility," Myers said.
"We don't want to instill fear. We want to educate. By preparing ahead of time with an emergency plan, people will know how to respond and the situation will be a little less scary."
I have to admit that our family is ill prepared for an emergency. After 9/11, I made some frantic -- but feeble -- attempts to get ready just in case the terrorists came back. I stockpiled six gallons of water, took a little money out of the bank, bought some additional flashlights and visited the county emergency management center to help make my children's preschool safer.
But eventually, I needed the money, the jugs of water evaporated and the flashlight batteries corroded. Time passed and my shaken sense of security slowly returned.
Then came the ice storm of '07, leaving us without power for three days: no electricity, no heat, no telephones, no computers. It was terrifying. I vowed to change my ways.
Of course then the ice melted, spring arrived and my intentions stayed right where they were, well-meaning but unfulfilled.
The first thing we need to do is make a family emergency plan. The plan includes a pre-appointed meeting place and arrangements to get everyone there safely. Families should also select one out-of-town relative or friend who serves as a contact point for each family member in case they are separated and local phone lines become disabled.
Secondly, families need to assemble an emergency kit that includes enough basic necessities for three to five days. The kit needs to be portable in the event you must evacuate your home. And you should have a smaller version of the kit in your car in the case of a roadside emergency.
"We know people are busy and that they also might not have extra money to buy the supplies. But you don't have to buy the emergency kit all at once," Myers said.
In the next couple of months, PEMA plans to work with the state Health Department to address the preparedness needs of senior citizens, the handicapped and residents who don't speak English, Myers said.
PEMA officials say that while no one can control a flood, blizzard, nuclear-plant meltdown or flu epidemic, we do have control over our response to them. I'm sure the residents of New Orleans, Galveston and Southern California could never have predicted the devastation they suffered from the power of water, wind and fire.
Even though it's hard to imagine the worst, we should prepare for it. Because not thinking about disaster won't stop it from happening.