Disasters Happen

If it’s not one thing it’s another. Drought, wildfires, hurricanes, floods. Whatever happened to the lazy, hazy days of summer?

Texas mostly dodged the drought and wildfire bullets this year, but the state suffered enough from both of those hazards in 2011 to last a lifetime for most folks.

Oklahoma, Arkansas and states throughout the Midwest have been plagued with massive drought, abnormally high temperatures and wildfires all summer long, with seemingly no relief in sight.

With crops shriveling in the fields, Midwest farmers’ hopes for rain dried up like the parched soil beneath their feet.

Then, along came Hurricane Isaac just before Labor Day, dumping not just inches but feet of rain in some areas of Louisiana before lumbering to north and east, leaving a trail of wreckage behind, and probably arriving too late to save the Midwest corn crop.

Plowing into New Orleans on the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a few days after the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew and a couple of weeks before the 4th anniversary of Hurricane Ike, Isaac dredged up plenty of reminders of the devastation wrought by those three far more formidable storms.

Despite those disasters and many more (the Federal Emergency Management Agency made 99 major disaster declarations in 2011 and according to a recent survey by Allstate, 21 percent of Americans have had their homes damaged by natural disasters), it seems that a large number of Americans are unprepared in the event a catastrophe should occur.

The Allstate study found that more than one-in-four (27 percent) Americans would ignore evacuation orders and wait until absolutely necessary before leaving their home or seeking shelter in the event of an imminent disaster.

Nearly half (46 percent) of survey respondents say they have not thought about or even discussed an evacuation plan or meeting place away from the home for their family.

The majority of Americans (62 percent) apparently have not prepared an emergency kit.

And, 56 percent of homeowners and renters say they have not made a home inventory list of their personal belongings.

Now it occurs to me: I haven’t done any of those things, either. So I’m glad to be reminded and vow to complete at least one of these necessary but unenjoyable tasks before I write another opening note!

Topics Catastrophe Wildfire Hurricane