Why Food Storage is Important

‘You never want a serious crisis to go to waste’ -  Rahm Emanuel

The tragic events in Japan show why Food Storage is so important. Everyone needs to be able to care for their own family's needs for at least one week. And longer is better. See my post from last year for recommendations on a 3-month supply.

Despite being one of the best prepared nations on Earth, the AP reports That there are millions of persons in their fourth day without electricity or power. The government is overwhelmed and can not take care of everyone days after the event.

No nation can support millions of survivors overnight. In Westchester county with a population of nearly 1 million we would be lucky to find 3000 cots for the Red Cross to shelter families. It takes a lot of time to fly or ship supplies on this scale. And the conditions are less than favorable with local roads, bridges, airports & ports damaged or destroyed.

Japan is demonstrating every possible disaster scenario.

1. Those on the coast have suffered total devastation and loss. Their entire house may be gone, washed away. They must rely on the government, International Red Cross, or friends/family/church for food and shelter. Families who live on higher ground with more than a week supply will have something to share with those who have nothing.

2.  185,000 persons living near the Fukushima nuclear reactors have been ordered to evacuate. Did they have go-kits to grab? How much time did they have to pack? If a plant melts down, will they ever be allowed to return?

3. Persons within 12 miles of the nuclear plants (but outside the evac zone) have been ordered to stay inside their homes. This is where you absolutely need a week supply of food for the family. Do you really want to risk exposure to radiation because your cupboards are bare?

4. Families further away must repair earthquake damage and get by without water & power. Again a small food store will be a major blessing because local stores are quickly emptied and may be slow to restock after a disaster. See my post, Out of Stock.

Bottom Line

There are claims of 10,000 dead in Japan. This could have been tens times worse but for the earthquake drills and preparedness of the residents.

Our prayers go out to all the families affected.

Is Looting OK?

“The truth is, a terrible tragedy like this brings out the best in most people, brings out the worst in some people. We're trying to deal with looters as ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them.”- Haley Barbour, Mississippi Governor

There is an opinion piece by Author Rebecca Solnit that I have mixed feelings about. Her book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster describes how charity prevails and people mostly cooperate during natural disasters. In a recent opinion article entitled, When the Media is the Disaster, she lambastes the media for focusing on the negative human events during disasters, looking for crime and abuses and making things sound much worse than they are for publicity’s sake. Think back on Hurricane Katrina the horror stories of murders, gangs, rapes, etc published by the media; now known to be false.

I’ll agree that the media will do anything for profit and making mountains out of molehills is their common stock and trade. But the gist of her article focuses upon “looting”, a word Solnit would like to see banned. She points to “looters” carrying dehydrated milk or bolts of cloth, who are trying to help their families under extreme circumstances. Fair enough. But she chooses not to see the looters who are grabbing TV sets and other high-priced items from stores.

Years ago when I was a teenager, I decided to go on a hike up a “mountain” on the spur of the moment, completely unprepared. When I reached a building at the top I was extremely thirsty and desperate for water. I did not see any people, or a water facet, but I did see a glass of bottled water. I knew I had to have that water but stealing is wrong. So I compromised and left some money behind in place of the water.

It would be nice if looters returned after a disaster to recompense shopkeepers. I hope this has happened but I’ve never heard of such a thing. Lack of preparedness (i.e. no food storage) can force one to take extreme steps. But where does one draw the line? If it’s ok to steal from a store to feed my family, how about stealing from another family? Would you kill another to save your family? What price will you pay for survival?

Bottom Line

I’m reminded of Les Misérables where Jean Valjean spends nineteen years in prison: five for stealing bread for his starving sister and his family, and fourteen more for numerous escape attempts. The author, Victor Hugo, wants us to see the injustice of this, to have pity on the looter (who is afterall a very good man). But can we condone any crime done by the poor just because they are poor?

What are the alternatives? Food kitchens & homeless shelters? These are often shunned by the poor themselves as too dirty and dangerous, filled with drug users, alcoholics, etc who really do not want to take care of themselves. They feed the starving but don’t cure the problem.

I favor free education and training programs – the “teach a man to fish” philosophy. Also workfare projects like Goodwill or Deseret where the unskilled are fed and taught basic workskills.

This meshes with my uneasiness over the relief efforts in Haiti. Yes they need food & water now but what happens next year and the year after? People can feel virtuous that they gave clothes (which are not wanted by the way – too expensive to transport) but ignore the long-term poverty that has existed for years and will be even worse now. An entire infrastructure needs to be built in a country that was too poor or too corrupt to build one for itself in the past. I’d like to hear and see more attention paid to long-term recovery efforts for the country. Or will the world walk away after the Haitians are fed and leave them in their poverty?

Earthquake in Haiti

"Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself" - Luke 4:23 KJV

Last week a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. The resulting aftermath was a complete breakdown of civilization as we know it. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, understatedly said: "The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function." [Actually they weren't functional much at all.] Days after the event, victims started stacking bodies along the roads as a sign of protest over no one coming to their rescue.

The earthquake in Haiti hit the government just as hard as the population. Bodies piled up and rotted at the morgue attached to Hospital General in Port-au-Prince because the Hospital Administrator had had no contact with any government officials to see what to do with them. He said, "I'm awaiting the decision of the government. What else can I do?" But as one Latin American expert noted, "The sad truth is that no one is in charge of Haiti today."

A shop owner figured out the problem, "There is no one in our country capable of sorting this out. Everyone is looking after their own families." Even President Rene Preval lost his home. He told CNN, "My palace collapsed. ... I can't live in the palace, I can't live in my own house." The 9,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti, instead of coming to the rescue, it looked after its own dead after its headquarters were destroyed in the quake.

Bottom Line

A 19-yr-old survivor said, "Look at us. Who is helping us? Right now, nobody." That's right! During an emergency you have to help yourself and your family. You can not count on government or outside rescue, especially not in the first 3-days, the famous 72 hours. Three days after the earthquake international organizations had yet to arrive in the country to help.

Update

Here's an article dated this morning, Jan 18, that describes how after 6 days, the first food and water is reaching a village of 10,000 people in Haiti.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.935566350b537e75897dfaac9f307642.5b1&show_article=1

Update 2

The U.N. World Food Program plans to start feeding 1 million people in two weeks and 2 million people in one month, the secretary-general said....With an estimated 3 million to 3.5 million people in need of aid, Ban was asked whether it would be enough to avoid riots.
"I sincerely hope and appeal to Haitian people to be more patient," he said. "We do not want to even imagine that kind of situation."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9DA0IHG0&show_article=1

Government Money

“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” - Jim Rohn quotes

Now that three years have gone by since Katrina, it's possible to look back and see how well the government spent the disaster aid money. Answer, not well. Wizbang sites an article titled The Myths of Hurricane Katrina. Is was not lack of funds (currently 100 BILLON) that is stalling redevelopment in Louisana, it is government regulations.

Talk with people on the Gulf Coast area and you'll soon learn the primary problem they face is not a lack of funding, but the mass confusion created by federal, state, and local governments about the rules of the game when it comes to rebuilding. Confusing and contradictory regulations, showboating by politicians, and stunningly complex bureaucracy have only exacerbated the problems of people who've already been through hell and have kept people from making the decisions they need to make to get on with their lives. This creates what economist Emily Chamlee-Wright calls "signal noise"--the persistent uncertainty created by uncoordinated government at every step of the recovery process.

So is the answer to hand out money freely, no regulations? That didn't work either.

Some recipients would undoubtedly squander their funds, and there would be
widespread fraud. This isn't idle speculation. According to the Government
Accountability Office, immediately after Katrina hit, about a billion dollars of
emergency aid--16 percent of the total--was lost to fraudulent claims. Even
legitimately obtained pre-paid debit cards given to aid Katrina's victims were
used to buy champagne, guns, tattoos, and porn

Bottom Line

Personally I like debit card solution but there must be accountability. No going back for a second handout because the money was wasted on alcohol, etc. Trust the people to spend wisely but DO NOT bail them out again if they don't. Why should the government award selfish and irresponsible behavior? (Will this work, probably not. There is no coordination between agencies so you can always go somewhere else and beg for more.)

Red Cross Disaster Services - Part 1

A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. - from the children's book,
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Last night my wife and I were called by the Red Cross to provide aid for a small apartment complex that had experienced an apartment fire. No one was home when the fire started and the cause remains unknown. In today's blog I'd like to share some of what happened.

Disaster recovery takes time. The fire is thought to have occurred at 3:30 pm. At 4:30 the fire department initially told the Red Cross that no help was needed (no one was home). This changed at 5:30 when residents started returning from work and the Red Cross was officially asked to assist. The shift coordinator was stuck in commuter traffic and was not able to build a response team until 7pm. My wife and I arrived on site at 7:30 and waited until about 8:00 for a translator to arrive and organize the several families that needed help. With the help of the translator my wife & I completed case files for five family units, filled out financial assistance forms, obtained authorization for and provided debit cards. This took 2 1/2 hours until 10:30pm. During all this we sat under a street light on a sidewalk trying to keep the paper work organized.

A part of the process that surprises many people is the request for an ID. Before handing out debit cards, the Red Cross representatives need to verify that you are actually a resident of the impacted building. This is to prevent fraud. A foreign passport is nice and proves that you are you but won't provide proof of residency in apartment X. Last night we were fortunate to have the landlady on hand to verify actual renters.

Tomorrow I'll give more details on the assistance provided.

Bottom Line
Disaster recovery requires time and patience and lots of paper work. Be prepared for lots of personal questions and lots of waiting.