[OMIK] Wise Words from K9TWC

[Lloyd Mitchell KO4L]

Hello All,

My wife and I went to a CERT meeting in 2010. We live in a small, rural
community near the Mt. Palomar Observatory; we have been evac'd
twice....once in 2003 and in 2007. We prepared our own PPT's and lessons as
the FEMA instruction was far too generic to fit every community; ours in
particular. We were immediately hooked on the idea that every citizen in
their community should know and practice how to take care of themselves
during an actual emergency.

The reason is simple: there just aren't enough "first responders" to take
care of everyone, even in the best of times! Whether it be earthquake,
wildfire, flood, hurricane, etc, we stressed that you will be on your own,
under any severe weather/man-made our environmental emergency...at least
for 5 to 7 days. So, we took F.E.M.A's class "Teach The Teacher" and became
FEMA licensed and accredited instructors in the C.E.R.T. curriculum; in
particular, "disaster preparedness".

Look at Los Angeles for example...

In 2023, there were about 20,000 Sheriff, P.D. Fire and EMT's responsible
for the care and well being of 10.4 MILLION people: ONE for every 520
citizens.

In 15 years you learn a lot about human behavior and how to avoid, as much
as possible, the emotional reaction to a severe alert that your life is
about to change dramatically.

I learned, among so many other things, that, in California, over 92% or
wildfires are started by humans, intentionally or "inadvertently", I use
that term advisably. Later on, I discovered that many "first responders"
thought it curious that the arrest, , prosecution, conviction and
penalization for staring these fires was woefully, woefully inadequate. It
is to this day, as is our judicial systems in the prosecution of
'conventional" crime, headlines notwithstanding. Yet, I digress.

So many folks in Los Angeles and in other parts of our country and, indeed,
in our world haven't a nodding acquaintance with just what devastation can
occur in these terrible conflagrations. Perhaps, never wondering just how
"wildfires" got their names.

Fortunately, there are so many apps that now focus on wildfires,
earthquakes and shelters available for victims to evac to, resources to
avail themselves of before disaster strikes.

The point of all this is to persuade you, if you have yet to give this
matter any notice, to prepare yourself for the unexpected. In my 15 years I
have learned that most disasters do not occur when we are the most
prepared, but when we are the most vulnerable. Example: out driving our
vehicles to work or play, visiting friends or relatives, or just out
shopping or having dinner. How are you prepared, at that moment to survive,
for what potentially could occur?

On March 11, 2011 the people of Japan not only suffered through a 9.0
earthquake, but the ensuing tsunami and a snow storm with 0 degree
centigrade temperatures that lasted for weeks. They are the most prepared
country in the world; preparing every year for what might occur...again in
their seismically active country. The Pacific Rim is the most seismically
active area on the planted. ONE THIRD of the global population lives within
the "Ring of Fire"...perhaps you do as well.

Forewarned is forearmed.


Forwarded by:
Lloyd M. Mitchell KO4L
lmitchell at gmail.com