My name is David Scott. I'm a "secure survivor” who has personally survived several natural and man-made disasters and emergencies, and I want to help others be prepared to do the same. My goal in hosting this blog is to help ordinary people be secure in any disaster or emergency.
I survived my first disaster in 1970 while growing up in Asia on the Philippine Islands. My father worked for General Electric and had been transferred to the Philippines after a two year assignment in Sydney, Australia. Shortly after our move, my U.S. expatriate family and I were welcomed to the tropics by Super Typhoon Yoling. With its sustained winds of 130 MPH, this was one of the strongest and deadliest storms on record.
Never having experienced any type of hurricane or typhoon, we were totally unprepared to weather both the storm and its aftermath. In the process of "defending" our home from the high winds, my father, my two older brothers, and I narrowly escaped injury or death from the shattering of large glass patio doors. For two weeks after the eye of the storm passed directly over our neighborhood (as seen above in this satellite view of the Typhoon Yoling storm track), we lived without electricity, running water, or access to groceries.
As soon as the storm was over, we sped to the grocery store. Too late! I will always remember the candles lighting row after row of totally empty shelves. It was near Thanksgiving, so we roasted our frozen turkey on a charcoal barbecue grill. After eating the rest of the contents of our refrigerator and freezer, we lived off of what rice and canned goods we happened to have on-hand at home. We lined up for water at a local public pump and carried it back home in buckets on a little wagon.
These hardships taught us lessons that we would never forget. As a family, we determined never to be caught unprepared again, and we made emergency preparedness a focus.
Since surviving that first typhoon, I have lived through various disasters and emergencies in the United States, Mexico, and the Philippines including: additional typhoons, floods, earthquakes, blizzards, severe storms, blackouts, a chemical plant explosion, a volcanic eruption, political violence (including riots, shootings, kidnappings, terrorist bombings), and the imposition of martial law. In these subsequent events, my family and I have always been prepared with basic emergency food, water, and supplies to sustain ourselves for several days or longer.
I hope that together, with the help of those of you who choose to comment and participate on this blog, we will be able to better help ourselves and others prepare for emergencies and disasters. In this way we can help to reach the ideal of ... "every life secure."
What is your true "secure survivor" story? Please share your story with us by commenting or Emailing me at dscott@lifesecure.com. What did you learn from your experience? How are you better prepared today?
Every Life Secure
An Emergency Preparedness Blog helping to make "Every Life Secure" in any emergency or disaster... at home, work, school, or on-the-go
