The residents of the states affected by Hurricane Sandy are going through (as of this writing) a recovery phase in the aftermath of the widespread destruction.  They are going to have to deal with many problems besides the immediate situation.  Yes, having fresh water and food is extremely important.  And also shelter.  As in all major disasters, there are things to be learned on what could have been done better as well as what should have been done to prepare.

From early in my life I’ve experienced various disasters.  I remember back when I was a kid, while living in Okinawa, going through a typhoon.  That was an experience, especially when the eye was over us and it was sunny.  When I lived in Savannah, GA I dealt with flooding in the aftermath of a hurricane.  In Alabama, I dealt with going through a swarm of tornadoes, though our house was spared.  And in California, I went through the Northridge Earthquake.

Boy, life sure has been exciting!  Through everything, I understood that the most important thing is preparation in the best way possible.  That included learning as much as I could on what to do and what not to do.  I learned quite a bit while I was in the Marines and later with the Los Angeles Police Department.  In both instances, the training I went through was harder than missions or other experiences.  The harder you train, the less impact the real world experience will have on you.

In every experience I went through regarding natural disasters, I learned that we were basically on our own for at least a week.  We had to be prepared.  During the Northridge Quake, roads were down.  Emergency services could not respond and were overwhelmed themselves.  This the main lesson of this blog post:

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND SELF-RELIANT!

If you simply sit back waiting for others to help you, then you are in a mess of trouble.  Taking action, by first assessing the situation and then making plans is important.  That includes taking stock on supplies, checking for gas leaks, ensuring that everyone is fine, giving first aid (if necessary) and setting up a staging area (if necessary).

Long before any disaster and emergency happens, get yourself trained!  That includes first aid, CPR and even Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) training.  I continue to get trained, even though I’ve had lots of it in the past. Keeping up-to-date is important and also helps as a refresher.  Here’s my CERT certificate that I received from the Los Angeles Fire Department (they created the very first CERT program in the nation).

It seems that in most disasters, people who served in the military, as first responders, ER personnel and the like, tend to fare much better than the general population.  This is because of the training they’ve had and their mindset (probably because of their background).  In all cases they are trained to remain calm, assess the situation, make a plan and take action.  They realize that simply waiting doesn’t work.  Especially for the long term psychological and physiological damage that could be done.

Training beforehand helps to build resilience.  While having gone through disasters in the past may help, it is the training and knowing what to do that really helps.  During times of crisis, that will take over.  Under stress, your limbic system will simply do its job and cause your mind to go into an automatic mode.

When you train and plan for any emergency situation, then you will use what you trained for.  Do you remember doing fire drills as a child?  It’s the same thing.  Those that were in the scouts were also taught to plan and then trained.  “Always be prepared.”  The motto of the Boy Scouts.

My final words…

1.  Know yourself.

2.  Train for emergencies (CERT, first aid, CPR, EMT, at home, at work, etc.).

3.  Prepare for emergencies (supplies, special equipment, know location of gas main, electrical, etc.).

4.  Develop a meeting area in the event you and your loved ones become separated.

5.  Know that your training will work and make adjustments as needed.

6.  Get to know your neighbors and maybe all of you can go through training together.

This is a cursory view of getting through disasters.  You can find out more about CERT training by going here: Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)

Thanks for reading.

Bob