In the effort to encourage people to prepare in advance for a major disaster, the most challenging obstacle to overcome is people's lack of personal experience. Most Americans have never experienced a catastrophic disaster. Therefore, most Americans do not fully comprehend the realities of the aftermath of such a devastating event. Lacking this first hand experience, many of us are challenged to learn from the experience of others.
When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti last year, we saw very little increase in people determining to be prepared. Was this because people just assumed that the impact of a disaster in the United States would be very different than the aftermath of a catastrophe in a third world country such as Haiti?
How quickly we seem to forget the suffering in the United States after Katrina. Yes, you can go hungry and thirsty in America and be left without adequate shelter and access to medications after a major disaster. Some of us learned that lesson without having to live it ourselves. Some of us got better prepared because we understood that what happened in New Orleans could happen elsewhere in the country in a major disaster. Others, sadly, did not see the application of the lesson.
Well, here is one more chance... Like the United States, Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world and has one of its largest economies. It is not a third world country. So read this article to see a first hand account of what it can be like after a major disaster like that experienced in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. This account made me ask myself once again, "How well prepared am I for a major disaster?"
I've survived more than one disaster, and I know how being prepared can (1) ensure survival and (2) make living through the aftermath a more comfortable and less stressful experience.
Every Life Secure
