FEMA / RED CROSS & DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Over the past few months, I have heard the Red Cross in Southern Oregon providing ‘advice’ to radio listeners on one or more radio stations. In the radio announcement, they are providing preparedness information about the predicted 9+ earthquake that occurs off the Northern California-Oregon coast every 300-350 years, and is expected to hit anytime now. More Here.

However, having read about the recent track records of FEMA and the Red Cross in regard to large disasters in the U.S. it’s very difficult to have any level of confidence in their ability to timely provide disaster relief in a really big disaster, since many sources say they failed on many levels in smaller events. I’m not suggesting these organizations are useless; they are no doubt effective in localized emergencies and with other projects. For instance, the Red Cross blood drives provide much needed plasma for E.R. rooms across America and elsewhere.

Nonetheless, when it comes to large-scale disaster, the media’s list of FEMA failure stories related to hurricane Katrina is long and very concerning, especially considering that Katrina may actually be a ‘small-scale’ event in scope compared to a national Grid-Down event, or the predicted big earthquake (9+Richter Scale) that is due on the west coast of the U.S. any day now! And there are other major fault-lines in the U.S. that could also produce a very significant earthquake (New Madrid, etc.)

Notice that the largest recorded event (Chile 1960) doesn’t take into consideration the last 9+ Cascadia quake just over 300 years ago

How big is BIG?  Geologists are saying this will be a ‘9’ or ’10’ on the Richter Scale. Basically, an earthquake of that magnitude will seriously damage most infrastructure:

• KEY bridges and road will be damaged, including the Interstate-5
• High-voltage transmission lines and other power lines and facilities will be damaged
• Some large and small airport runways as well as tower facilities will be damaged
• Many terrestrial-based communications systems will be damaged, cell towers, etc.
• Gas and oil pipelines will be damaged
• Water and sewage lines will be damaged
• Large dams (Bonneville dam, etc.) may suffer catastrophic failure
• Most buildings and structures will be damaged or destroyed.
• Roads that are impassable due to damage in the actual road will have that compounded by heavy debris on roadways everywhere, including trapped and stalled vehicles
• Initial fatalities may be in the tens of thousands or more.
• Initial injuries may be in the hundreds of thousands
• Millions of people may be displaced from their homes

Deploying disaster relief into such a large area (West Coast of the U.S.), which has been so greatly affected will be monumentally difficult as compared to past disaster events, and will certainly take much, much longer than in past disasters. I believe that the related timeframe for any such relief effort may require many weeks or months. During that time many people will be cut-off and isolated from any help.

Very few people truly understand and can comprehend what the fallout from a disaster of that magnitude would be like. And even fewer people understand how to prepare and protect themselves and their families in such an event. The strategy that is needed, which is not being proffered by FEMA or Red Cross, is to create an in-depth level of preparedness at the household level; Americans need to be in a position to fend for themselves for many weeks as a minimum!

What concerns me is that, neither FEMA or the Red Cross are educating people properly in the needed preparedness strategies and tactics for an earthquake of the predicted magnitude. And their lack of leadership in this regard is being cloned by smaller government agencies who look to FEMA and the Red Cross for disaster preparedness guidance. I suspect this may be the case because these organizations aren’t sure what to do themselves in a magnitude 9 or 10 earthquake, so as a default, they advise a ridiculous 72-hours-worth of supplies (the basics for a very short-term event, where disaster relief is close at hand).

Such inadequate advice on disaster preparedness assures there will be exponentially more casualties than need be, and that should concern all Americans. Why seal the fates of so many people?

Understanding what exactly would happen is critical in determining your own survival solution in a catastrophic event such as the predicted (9+ Richter Scale) earthquake along the Cascadia fault. Detailed research here.

During Katrina, some survivors were re-located in a sports stadium, which would be flattened by a 9+ earthquake

FEMA claimed they learned a lot of important lessons from hurricane Katrina. Really?

When hurricane Sandy hit the New York area 7-years later, many of the same problems happened yet again! Lessons learned from Katrina by FEMA seemed to equal nearly ZERO.  More Here.

From my chair, FEMA is ill equipped to provide any meaningful advice to others when they continue to have great difficulty in dealing with their own in-house preparedness for events that are small compared to a 9+ earthquake over a large area. More Here.

What about the Red Cross? Well folks, the story there isn’t any brighter; with more catastrophic failures and horror stories in their own disaster preparedness and relief efforts:  More Here.

Instead of trying to justify their existence and advising Americans to keep just enough supplies to keep someone alive until their ‘best-case’ disaster relief materializes, these organizations could do a stellar job by just being honest with citizens by telling them the truth (‘you may be on your own for many weeks or months; make your own preparations accordingly’).

Both organizations should start telling Americans that they need at least a few weeks with of supplies (I recommend 6 months for each person in the household) and supportive equipment. This means at least all of the basics; water, food, first aid, clothing, backup shelter such as tents, medicines that anyone requires on a regular bases, supportive equipment and fuel.

Both of these agencies keep talking about 72-hours-worth of supplies. Why? A 72-hour kit is great, for a get-home kit in a car or truck. But for your home, that’s not nearly enough survival-time. In any large-scale disaster, the last thing you want or need is to suddenly run-out of the essentials for basic survival! But that’s exactly what you have when you rely on the failed disaster survival strategies and advice currently being proffered by these government organizations.

The predicted earthquake off Oregon-California (Cascadia fault) will produce a disaster on a very large-scale, possibly involving most of the west-coast of the U.S., and certainly many times worse than Katrina and Sandy together!

This two-day long traffic jam happened when the electrical grid temporarily went down in India

A 72-hour kit might be enough to get you back home, depending upon where you are when things get ugly, and how many bridges are out. In metropolitan areas, it’s likely you will have to abandon your vehicle and head for home on foot, and this might take several days or more in the post-disaster chaos.

But here’s what really puzzles me: On one of the local AM radio stations, I heard a young lady speaking for the Red Cross, providing advice related to the predicted massive west-coast 9+ earthquake, which they fully acknowledge. And that advice was just so obtuse I had to write this article… the totality of the advice in the announcement in regard to a 9+ earthquake was to: “pull off the side of the road if you feel the ground moving”, “make sure there are no pictures hanging over your bed”, etc. Nothing about having enough supplies (food, water, clothing, medicine, firewood, fuel, etc.) on hand; nothing about having essential equipment on-hand (generators, lights, batteries).

So with their so-called ‘preparedness advice’ you might avoid a car accident or avoid a bump on the head only to end-up dehydrating, starving, freezing or suffering from an acute medical condition due to a lack of medication because you had relied upon that advice and a 72-hour supply kit to last for many weeks!

If you have read about just some of the disaster failures by FEMA and the RED CROSS cited herein (the links), it’s clear that Americans need to look-out for ourselves in cases of large-scale disasters. Get your supplies stockpiled now. Get your equipment organized and safely set aside. If you can, get set-up to be on your own for many weeks; six-months-worth of supplies is best. That’s my advice to my family, friends, and readers.

More reading on the subject of ‘Large-scale Disaster’ here.

Being prepared today means being ready for tomorrow!

Cheers! Capt. Bill

Capt. William E. Simpson II – USMM Ret.
Semper Veritas / Semper Paratus

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