A LOOK AT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN MINNESOTA: Hey, it’s the land of 10000 lakes, so why do they want you to have so much water stored?

Oh, that’s why. Be very afraid.

HERE’S A Disaster Preparedness List for those who are interested. Just remember: It’s important to have supplies, but disaster preparedness is about more than just buying things.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS UPDATE:

Most people along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts haven’t made hurricane survival plans, despite pleas from emergency officials for residents to prepare before the season starts, according to a poll released Thursday. . . .

One forecaster said odds were high that a major hurricane would hit the U.S. this year.

Nevertheless, 53% of people surveyed in 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast states say they don’t feel that they are vulnerable to a hurricane, or to related tornadoes and flooding, according to the Mason-Dixon poll. Eighty-eight percent said they had not taken any steps to fortify their homes.

Officials encourage a 3-day stock of food and water. That’s not really enough,”But 61% of poll respondents had no hurricane survival kit. Of those who did, 82% packed a fire hazard — candles or kerosene lamps. Missing from most of those kits were axes, which emergency officials recommended after many residents were trapped in their attics as they tried to escape the flooding following Hurricane Katrina.”

You should have at least a week’s worth of nonperishable food and medicine, and you should have a bag packed with essentials in case you have to evacuate. And that’s regardless of whether you live in a hurricane zone. More here. Also here.

And are candles bad? Judging by the picture, you need them for a proper hurricane meal presentation. Standards must be upheld!

I’VE HAD POSTS ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS BEFORE, but here’s a whole list on how to survive a nuclear war and thrive in the aftermath.

READER MARIO FANTE WRITES:

Given all your excellent posts on disaster preparedness and emergency kits, you might be interested to know that the only show on television that dealt realistically with the problems of Americans recovering from a massive disaster in the U.S. – Jericho – has been cancelled after only one very promising season.

Every episode was not only better than any given installment of 24 (from any season), but each week it showed what challenges Americans would have to overcome if the country fell apart overnight (with 24 major cities being nuked at once). No sensationalism, just clearly showing what stresses and problems they’d have to face (in addition to a compelling backstory and subplot mystery about who attacked us and why), and how this particular Kansas town tried to survive in the aftermath and rebuild.

I was hooked on this show from the start. It had some of the best writing on TV, great actors, and memorable, fully-developed characters, and a Firefly-like devoted following. I loved it, and am sad to see it go. All the episodes are still online last I checked, in case you’ve never seen it.

Maybe it’s not your thing, but there’s an online petition to save it that went up just a few hours ago, and already has north of 17,000 signatures. CBS’ website went down for a while, possibly under the burden of distraught fans, and they’ve been getting calls all day about it.

Thanks and best regards.

I’m afraid I never saw it, but that’s no evidence of its viability — I don’t watch much TV, really. At a guess, that’s the show’s weakness — the kind of people who might have been its biggest fans are all busy online. . . .

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS UPDATE: Wired Magazine posts an updated disaster preparedness kit.

Some earlier InstaPundit posts on the subject can be found here, and here.

UPDATE: Chuck Pelto emails: “What about 2-3 months of stay-at-home because of a pandemic? And yes, today the health department people are talking in terms of months and not weeks of ‘social distancing’.”

That kind of preparedness is more than a kit. It’s a lifestyle.

Prediction: If that happens, Mormonism will really come into vogue.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Some less instrumental things to include.

I’VE WRITTEN ABOUT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FOR ADULTS on numerous occasions; here’s a roundup of stuff on the subject aimed at kids.

RE-REPEATING HISTORY: Greg Stein looks at disaster preparedness, disaster responses, and changes in building codes, and observes a cycle of response and relaxation that seems to fit a lot of human affairs. He notes a connection between the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the World Trade Center collapse, and also has some thoughts on what to do about this phenomenon. Plus, the quick-thinking lifesaving heroics of a law professor and his students. No, really.

THOUGHTS ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND communications. Don’t forget the cheap CB radio, either.

IN LIGHT OF MY OCCASIONAL POSTS ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, I thought that some people might be interested in this, which I found via the magic of Amazon recommendations: Apocalypse Chow: How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out. Recipes for improvised meals using improvised heat sources! Plus, they’re offering it bundled with The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity. Both look pretty useful. And they combine two InstaPundit interests — cooking, and disaster preparedness. Now if they could just work in nanotechnology!

UPDATE: A reader suggests this book for your blackout-entertainment library. But I say: Why wait until the power fails? . . .

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS UPDATE: Josh Manchester has thoughts on the wisdom of crowds.

WE’RE ALL SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE NOW: My TCS Daily column, on disaster preparedness, is up.

MY EARLIER DISASTER PREPAREDNESS POST drew this email:

Glenn, if you are so inclined, please remind people that one of the best things to do to be prepared for disasters is to be trained in first aid and CPR. Too many people (myself included, but I’m planning to fix that) don’t even know the basics of first aid, and ought to.

Secondly, a plug: If anyone can, please try to volunteer at and be trained by local fire and rescue/emergency medical units, especially in more rural areas. Many men and women volunteer their time to serve their communities in this way, and they are CRITICAL. I am so proud of my husband, because he saw this need in our community, and stepped up to the plate.

Each person who aids their neighbors this way deserves our deep gratitude and recognition!

Absolutely. And reader Tom Jank writes:

Maybe there’s something in the water, regarding interest in Disaster Prep. CBS just renewed “Jerico,” the one hour drama about a small town cut off by a nuclear blast.

Checking my office email, I noted this message from the other day (we’re on Fall Break so I hadn’t noticed it before): “A Homeland Security exercise involving multiple jurisdictions will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, on part of the UT campus. Several parking areas and sections of roads will be closed for the exercise.”

And, pulling together two big themes from today, reader Scott Cosman writes:

Perhaps folks are buying the disaster kits in preparation for the Democratic takeover of Congress.

It all makes sense, now.

UPDATE: Chris Nordby emails:

During a large-scale disaster, one with mass casualties, the priorities of medical care shift to doing the most good for the most people with the available resources. Sustaining CPR until outside helps arrives during such a disaster is not a very realistic proposition. I would suggest that if isolated pockets of people have a member of the group present the signs and symptoms that are taught in CPR classes, then they will lose nothing by attempting to revive the afflicted member. However, stopping after a prudent time will probably be necessary if the casualty doesn’t spontaneously respond.

I suggest advanced first aid training as a better adjunct for disaster preparedness such as that available from the American Red Cross. (Personally, I also keep a copy of my old Boy Scout Handbook in my kit because of the variety of subjects that support disaster preparedness.)

Ah, as a matter of full disclosure, I am a former US Army Special Forces Medical NCO (MOS 18D) and now make a living as a Security Analyst for Lockheed Martin servicing a Homeland Security contract. I routinely act as part of a team assessing Homeland Security installations to determine their level of preparedness in the face of a terrorist attack. My part on that team is to assess their medical preparedness and reaction to WMD events.

Anyway, CPR is great and helpful for a functioning community with ready access to EMS support, but first aid is better for disasters where survivors can expect to be cut off for anywhere from 3-14 days.

Yes, I took an advanced first aid course years ago — it was more like bush medicine, really, with everything from how to do traction and bonesetting to delivering babies, and I hope I never use any of it — but that’s closer. However, many CPR courses are bundled with other basic trauma first-aid training. Good point, though.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: My mention of Consumer Reports’ article on the subject led to an email from a staffer at the magazine, who noted that they have this online guide to disaster and emergency preparedness too. No subscription required.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS — IT’S NOT JUST FOR INSTAPUNDIT ANY MORE: Actually, it never was, but I do go on about the subject. But I notice that my latest Consumer Reports has an article on it, and Slate is covering the subject, too. An ounce of prevention, and all that.

UPDATE: Here’s another installment from Slate.

STILL MORE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: A somewhat snarky post over at KnoxViews gradually turned into a fairly useful discussion of disaster preparedness for people who are poor, sick, or disabled. (Bizgrrl’s actually very nice; she was just a bit overwrought.)

Here’s a blog post on that very topic, “disaster preparedness $5 at a time.” Anybody interested should join the conversation with their own suggestions.

MAX BORDERS RESPONDS to my column from last week on disaster preparedness.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: So people want me to follow up on my earlier disaster-preparedness posts with lots of recommendations, but I don’t have anything all that new. But for those interested, here’s a pretty comprehensive list of stuff by Sarah Mankowski.

There’s more to preparation than buying stuff, though, and you might want to acquire some training via the Red Cross, FEMA, or the Citizens’ Corps. And this PDF booklet from the LAFD, though focusing on earthquakes, has a lot of useful knowledge.

It’s useful to have the right stuff handy, but you also need the right knowledge, and mindset. That doesn’t come from a catalog.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN JAPAN:

I write, of course, from Japan. You know, the Japan that makes social-democrat/third-way types feel all warm and fuzzy? The Japan in which enlightened technocrats, enshrined in the federal ministries in Kasumigaseki and insulated from elections and politicking and evil market forces and stuff, guide the nation toward a bright nationally-insured future? Yeah, the bloom is somewhat off the economic rose, but in social policy terms, a lot of my left-leaning acquaintances still swoon over the degree of ministry control here.

Well, I will tell you as someone who has lived here for a decade: what you hear about disaster preparedness ALWAYS involves local intiatives. . . . In Japan, what we’re told is this: A disaster may render you unreachable. It may cut you off from communication networks and utilities. The appropriate government agencies (starting at the neighborhood level and moving upward depending on the magnitude of the damage) will respond as quickly as they can, but you may be on your own for days until they do. Prepare supplies. Learn escape routes. Then learn alternate escape routes. Know what your region’s points of vulnerability are. Get to know your neighbors (especially the elderly or infirm) so you can help each other out and account for each other. Follow directions if you’re told to evacuate. Stay put if you aren’t. Participate in the earthquake preparation drills in your neighborhood.

If that’s the attitude of people in collectivist, obedient, welfare-state Japan, it is beyond the wit of man why any American should be sitting around entertaining the idea that Washington should be the first (or second or fifteenth) entity to step in and keep the nasty wind and rain and shaky-shaky from hurting you. Sheesh.

Read the whole thing (Via Virginia Postrel).

UPDATE: Reader Peter Murphy emails from Madrid:

Your post on Japanese disaster preparation reminded me an experience I had last year with some Japanese workers in my office building. I work in a seven story building in Madrid, Spain and each year the mangement conducts the standard fire drill which consists of someone sounding the fire alarm and everyone in the building exiting by way of the staircases. I timed it and it took me 10 minutes to exit from my office on the sixth floor. “Not good” I though as I exited only to find the majority of the office workers from the lower floors loitering about the exits, smoking cigarettes, hindering my “escape” and blocking the firefighters’ entry. As I struggled to get through this crowd of ambivalent Spaniards I looked across the street and see three small groups of Japanese workers (presumably from the Japanese bank office in my building). They are ALL wearing miner style helmets with attached flash-lights and fluorescent vests. They were separated into groups of 10 or so and one from each group was conducting what appeared to be a head count as another member diligently rummaged through a well-stocked first aid kit conducting what appeared to be an inventory check. As my co-workers took delight in mocking our Japanese friends I thought to myself “if there is a real disaster I know who will be getting the last laugh.”

Indeed. There is an ant-and-grasshopper aspect to this subject, which doesn’t get enough attention.

THOUGHTS ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, DISASTER RESPONSE, and societal information processing, over at GlennReynolds.com.

MY COLUMN ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS YESTERDAY inspired this column by Tim Worstall today.

A PACK, NOT A HERD: An interesting lesson on disaster preparedness from Japan, via Virginia Postrel.

MORE ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS — and an email from my mom! All over at GlennReynolds.com.

BE PREPARED: The Disaster-Ready Home: A Step-by-Step Emergency Preparedness Manual for Sheltering in Place. #CommissionEarned

PREPAREDNESS: Tom Del Beccaro: Coronavirus is proof that US not ready for a serious disaster.