© 2017 Michael
Swickard, Ph.D. Watching the
Hurricane Harvey disaster in Texas causes me to wonder why it came as such a surprise.
Yes, it was stronger than had hit for many years. And the way it hit caused
feet of water instead of just inches.
Still, that
is hurricane alley and there are many examples of hurricanes devastating the
area with storm surge water or just buckets and buckets of rain. What I really
wonder is why many people didn’t have any disaster supplies set aside.
Supplies
such as food, water and batteries are easy to store in case of a hurricane. And
again, they are in hurricane alley.
I’m not
talking about should they leave or not from where they live. That is their
minute by minute decision based on how the storm is tracking and how much risk
they care to take. But that is not my central concern.
Rather, my
concern is that so many people “flooded” the stores ahead of the storm trying
to get food and water with which to ride out the storm in their own houses. Why
were they just then trying to get supplies?
They know
they are in a hurricane zone. Yet hours before the landfall of the big storm
people were just then starting to go to stores looking for water and food. Why
were they not prepared already?
Many
hurricanes have pounded their area in the past. Example: A Category 4 hurricane
hit Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900 causing perhaps ten thousand deaths.
Back then there were no systems in place to warn the residents.
Today we
have nonstop weather reports that warn of approaching storms. Yes, sometimes
they are wrong but if people prepare with food and water along with batteries
for radios and flashlights, they are not out that much money. Why not already
be prepared?
But the
same could be said for any place in our country. A disaster will happen
wherever you are in some form like in New Mexico during a very cold spell in
February 2011. There was no electricity for days. Some people had a very hard
time because they had not prepared.
Unfortunately,
the answer often is that some people never prepare. They assume the electricity
will always work.
Likewise,
the same is true for people traveling in remote areas of our state who do not
bring water, food and blankets. Cars will break down. Sometimes there is no
cell service. Sad to say at that point there is going to be some suffering
people.
We must
prepare in case of disaster. How? We need to have at least a week of food,
water and supplies for ourselves and family plus what we will give to neighbors
who didn’t prepare.
Why would
we give to our neighbors? Well, for one thing the lights will come back on so
you don’t want to deny your neighbors who will remember your wonderful charity
or how they were treated poorly.
Again, you
have been warned to prepare.
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