One of the reasons we urge our readers to be prepared when disaster strikes is that local governments and emergency responders will not be able to provide support for massive amounts of people needing food, water and medical supplies. This is a threat that should not be underestimated, as evidenced by US Red Cross running out of medical supplies in Haiti:
A spokesman for the American Red Cross says the aid organization has run out of medical supplies in Haiti.
Red Cross spokesman Eric Porterfield said Wednesday that the small amount of medical equipment and medical supplies that were available in Haiti has been distributed.
The Red Cross is sending more medical supplies to Haiti, but Porterfield says he does not know when they will arrive.
It took the government three days to get water to the Super Dome during Hurricane Katrina and that event was forecasted days ahead of time.
At the bare minimum have enough food, water and basic medical supplies to provide for your family for at least seven days. We’d recommend also considering holding some charity reserves to provide to friends and family. A gallon of water goes a long way in a crisis.
As bad is this is now, it’s going to get a lot worse.
Word is that they don’t even have the heavy equipment needed to get trapped people from collapsed buildings…and even if they did, the road system is essentially non-existent, so they wouldn’t be able to move the equipment anyway.
On top of that, right about now they are probably starting to have problems with what to do with the bodies of victims…which is going to lead to a serious health problem for survivors very quickly.
Not to mention disentary and what ever else comes with drinking un-sanitary water and food .
Rick, you’re right. This process has only just begun. I saw some video footage earlier – they’re just piling bodies on top of each other near collapsed buildings because there’s no where else to put them.
It’s so sad (and interesting in a sort of macabre way) that it only takes one event to basically undo civilization and turn everyone into basic survivalists.