While criticism mounts over the government's initially inept response following Hurricane Katrina, this disaster underscores the importance of personal preparedness.
As a result of the storm, people are beginning to take a hard look at their own disaster preparedness, and retailers are reporting brisk sales of disaster supplies.
"This unfortunate event makes the need for emergency stockpiled water and food, lists of emergency contacts, flashlights, radios, plans for pets and family reunification even more evident," said Susan Garritson, UCSF bioterrorism coordinator. "At our San Francisco hospital council meeting today, several facilities agreed that right now is a 'teachable moment' related to personal preparedness -- people might be inclined to actually take action."
For many Americans, the ineffective and slow response to Hurricane Katrina - which was forecast days in advance - was a stunning and woeful example that the nation has not yet learned how to prepare for or even cope with a catastrophic event four years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who will assist Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, in leading the Senate investigation into what went wrong, said the federal response to Hurricane Katrina had shaken the public's confidence in the ability of the government to protect them.
"Hurricane Katrina was in one sense the most significant test of the new national emergency preparedness and response system that was created after 9/11, and it obviously did not pass that test," Lieberman told the New York Times.
Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney, sent by President Bush to Mississippi and Louisiana to clear up any remaining bureaucratic snags in the disaster relief efforts, gave an optimistic account of the response. Read the CNN story
here.
While much will be reported on the failures of the local, state and federal government to work together to save scores of victims in a timely manner, one lesson is clear: It may take days before anyone comes to the rescue after a major disaster. Men, women and children can best weather a storm if they have necessary survival supplies ready to go at a moment's notice.
"Emergency planners have consistently stressed that it could take several days for outside emergency response teams to arrive and vital services to be restored," Garritson said. "Yet the California Office of Emergency Services notes that an estimated 70 percent of Californians are unprepared for either natural or terrorist disasters and less than 50 percent of households have a disaster supply kit."
The annual campus safety fairs, sponsored by the UCSF Police Department, are a great source for disaster preparedness and safety information. See story
here.
UCSF also will participate in the annual November statewide disaster drill. This year, the theme of improvised explosive devices will test regional response and mutual aid between San Francisco and other Bay Area counties. As part of its drill preparation, UCSF will roll out its "Know the Drill" campaign urging the campus community to be familiar with their department emergency action plans, prepare a family disaster plan and participate in emergency preparedness training. Watch for upcoming information about the drill in UCSF's print and electronic publications.
Be Prepared
A variety of other resources are available to help people become personally prepared for emergencies. National, state and local agencies have initiated public education campaigns to encourage everyone to be prepared for disasters, whether caused by Mother Nature or manmade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
website, for example, has posted useful information on how to prevent illness and injury, keep water and food safe, and maintain proper hygiene when cleaning up after a flood.
This September's National Preparedness Month is the second annual national effort to urge Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, workplaces and schools. The American Red Cross, along with more than 100 agency members of the National Preparedness Month Coalition, will host events and distribute personal preparedness information to encourage Americans to prepare an emergency supply kit, make a family emergency plan, be informed about different threats and get involved in preparing their communities. For more information about National Preparedness Month, go
here
The American Red Cross website, which posts a list of items to include in a disaster supply kit, also makes an Emergency Contact Card, available for individuals to use to enter important family phone numbers at its
website (pdf).
The California Office of Emergency Services and Maria Shriver, First Lady of California and honorary campaign chairperson, launched the "California Be Ready" campaign. For more on that effort, go
here.
The California Be Ready campaign describes 10 tips on how to be prepared. They are:
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1. Identify your risk
2. Create a family disaster plan
3. Practice your family disaster plan
4. Build a disaster supply kit for your home and car
5. Prepare your children
6. Don't forget those with special needs
7. Learn CPR and first aid
8. Eliminate hazards in your home and workplace
9. Understand post-9/11 risks
10. Get involved,
volunteer, bear responsibility
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Lastly, San Francisco's Office of Emergency Services has launched its own personal preparedness campaign, named
www.72Hours.org, to acknowledge that it may take several days for outside assistance to arrive. In addition to handy preparedness tips, this website provides information about natural and terrorist disasters, local emergency response sirens, evacuation and shelter-in-place.
Source: Lisa Cisneros
Related Links
UCSF Conducts Fourth Annual Public Safety Fair
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Cheney, Gonzales tour disaster area
National Preparedness Month
American Red Cross Emergency Contact Card (pdf)
California Be Ready
72hours.org
