Real Time Example

I would imagine most, if not all have seen, or are following the disaster in Haiti. I for one am taking notice. What is of particular note is the response time by outside agencies. The Haitian government has always been totaly incompetent in taking care of its people, so there are no real lessons to be learned from them. It is an example of the "lag times" that occur in the event of a large scale disaster, and gives you an idea of how long you may be "on your own" in the event of something large scale. So I for one am paying attention and learning.

If you intend to donate money to the relief effort then please be aware that scams are starting to pop up, as despicable as that is. Here's an article you will want to read.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...ians-scammers/

There are so many people from around the world that are quick to help in situations like this. It truely is sad that some are so quick to take advantage of the pain and suffering of others though.

One of the biggest is the Government of Haiti itself. I would strongly recommend DO NOT donate to any entity within Haiti, especially government. Concentrate any donations to a reputable US based charity

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Originally Posted by Pal334

One of the biggest is the Government of Haiti itself. I would strongly recommend DO NOT donate to any entity within Haiti, especially government. Concentrate any donations to a reputable US based charity

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Agreed. That is why there is such a disparity between them and the Dominican Republic.

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Agreed. That is why there is such a disparity between them and the Dominican Republic.

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I have been listening to the Haitian Ambassador to the US and the one interview with the Haitian President. They are shockling ignorant people. It is a shame fortheir people. And they have not even organized any type of Haitian government response!!!!!!!

One of the lessons I am seeing here is the value of a BOB, and "teaming" with kindred spirits . Mostly just to avoid the disorganization

In addition to the lessons we can glean from this, perhaps our members living in foreign lands should re evaluate, or at least review their plans

Pal, you hit the 2 big ones dead on! A BOB and teaming up with kindred spirits. With those 2 and some survival skills everything will work out to your benefit.

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Originally Posted by SARKY

Pal, you hit the 2 big ones dead on! A BOB and teaming up with kindred spirits. With those 2 and some survival skills everything will work out to your benefit.

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And CNN just had a report that sporadic gunfire is starting in the main square of the Capital city. That is another stage in a calamity. As horrible as this is, there are many lessons to be learned as it unfolds.

I think about how corrupt the Haitian government is makes it easy to see why Obama made Bill Clinton Special Envoy to Haiti.

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Originally Posted by Pal334

One of the biggest is the Government of Haiti itself. I would strongly recommend DO NOT donate to any entity within Haiti, especially government. Concentrate any donations to a reputable US based charity

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Having spent more time there than I care to remember, I would have to agree. The Haitian government and most of the folks in power are VERY corrupt. I wonder who's palm we will have to grease (in the Haitian Gov) just to be allowed to help out.:sneaky2:

I am just damm tired of helping all these schmucks out! It seems like we are helping out corrupt countries all over the world, to what end? Maybe we should leave them to their own devices and then maybe the people in these countries we get the idea that they can't live with a corrupt government hat is ill prepared to do anything to help them in an emergency. These poeple don't want a hand up, they want a handout!

I am going to avoid any comment on the politics of the situation. I just hoping to learn from the tragedy. As SJJ said, it shows why some sort of a BOB is important. Seeing the example he cites, takes the subject from the abstract to the real. How about the possibility of storing some goods away from your primary residence? As we see in this example ,many of the homes have collapsed

Just so you guys know I'm watching and learning too, I just haven't got a viable comment (yet). What I have to say might be a little left of center, so I'll wait...

A verbatim quote from a post by Rick. Is certainly worth a thought

"Currently, there is no way to accurately predict quakes.

My wife and I were talking about this last night. What if a 7.0 quake hit where you live? A magnitude 7 earthquake would produce seismogram waves 100 times as high and release energy 1024 times as great as a magnitude 5 earthquake. 7.0 is considered a major earthquake. How would your home hold up? It's certainly worth considering."

Unfortunately this is another thing to think of:

Quote from a CNN article:
"Outside the clinic -- and on city sidewalks -- people piled up bodies because there was nowhere to take or bury them"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americ...ake/index.html

At 7.0 damage to my home would be extensive. I would guess that my fireplace would collapse leaving a portion of one end of the house open. How many ceilings would collapse? Fortunately, I don't have gas utility so the threat of fire would be lessened but water lines (all copper) would certainly be damaged and municipal water would be gone as would sewer from broken and/or collapsed lines.

Do you have fall straps attached to large objects such as T.V., free standing shelves, water heaters, dressers, etc.? Even if your structure doesn't collapse a free standing shelf falling on you could kill you, cause crushing injuries and/or break bones.

If you don't think earthquakes can occur where you live then take a look at this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rs_1963-98.png

The Madrid fault is comming due to erupt.