What do you think would happen in this country if..

[Virginia Dare]

we lost 50,000 to 100,000 people in a natural (or other) disaster? How do you think the American people would react to such a thing? How about the government? We were freaking over 3,000 after 9/11.

Such a thing is hard to comprehend, but definitely not out of the realm of possibilities at this point. I read an article yesterday predicting the loss of London and New York due to global warming within the next 100 years.

Just a little doomsday food for thought for your Friday!...


:hi:

[Ian David]

1. Eat your Republican neighbors first. Save the canned good for an emergency. n/t

[Cheap_Trick]

7. just don't eat the clowns....

they taste funny.

[lligrd]

2. We Got A Taste Of It With Katrina Didn't We

You'll be on your own.

[Virginia Dare]

3. We have started organizing a disaster preparedness plan in our neighborhood.

I think this is a great idea, because you know if and when a disaster hits, you will have to count on your neighbors first.

It could be hours or days before the government gets to you, especially if it's a big enough disaster. Organizing neighbors into teams to check on/help each other is a good thing in my opinion.

[lligrd]

4. That Is A Great Idea nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. That's how I would organize a national disaster plan

I'd designate a block captain in each urban and suburban neighborhood to figure out how many people lived there and how many would be especially vulnerable in a disaster. Then I'd pair up the vulnerable people with those in the neighborhood who could help them leave or would take responsibility for alerting rescuers to their presence. In areas where few people had cars, the city would dispatch buses to major intersections.

Each major city would have evacuation points within 50 to 100 miles. School gyms and other public facilities would be set up as official refuges. Any community that refused to participate would lose all federal funding for everything.

Aside from a terrorist attack or act of war, the natural disaster most likely to hit Minneapolis is a whopping blizzard (which keeps people housebound) or a tornado (which is small, as disasters go), but areas vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes would be well advised to adopt a plan like this.

[Virginia Dare]

6. That's pretty much how we're set up..

our local High School (about 1/2 mile away) is the locus, where people would go for evacuation medical attention as needed.

With our traffic issues here in Northern Virginia, unfortunately evacuation is not a viable option unless we had more than 24 hours notice. Even then, it would be dicey.

We're also organizing block parties every year so people can get to know each other socially first, learn each other's names, backgrounds, etc.