Emergency Response Follow-up

OK I have to front page a comment from my last post, because it states some points I want to touch on. This is from my friend Jenny.

Yeah...but if we know about these things waaaay ahead of time (such as was the case for Wilma), why can't we have supplies already in place? Why wait until *after* the hurricane strikes?

And no, of course people don't understand about that stuff. Most people don't even know what all that jargon means. To them, it's, "The phone line is down," or, "The electricity is out." Hell, it's that way for me. But we also live in an age where we expect government offices to have better electricity/phones/etc than our personal homes--maybe having back-up generators, that sort of thing.

Personally, I don't see the sense in just warning people about disasters. Yes, warn them--but warning alone doesn't do much. It's like trying to get younger siblings to listen, or trying to supervise a group of unwilling employees. We would do better to have items already in place in times of emergencies--store up MREs in places like Florida, which is frequented by hurricanes. Make sure the place where the MREs are store is as secure as possible.

Plus, it's REALLY hard to store up 72 hours worth of supplies on a limited income--hell, it's hard enough to buy a week's worth of groceries, not to mention electric bills and the like. And, frankly, most of our country is on a "limited income" of some kind. Sad, but true.

Anyhow...that's a bit of my thoughts on the issue. *shrug*

Peace.

23:44 (10-29-2005 I think -SWK)

I hate to say this - This is the EXACT thought process that gets people dead in a disaster. We see pictures of a hurricane, we read about the destruction but its hard to conceptualize properly. I live in Indiana, so do many of my readers. I will put this into terms of a tornadoes. The Fujita Tornado damage scale states that

Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.

This damage is found at windspeeds of about 113-157mph. The link in the quote takes you too this picture :

One good think about tornadoes is that they are confined in a very small area, from a few yards wide to 1 mile wide.

A hurricane is a different story. I'm not entirely sure of this information but the eye of Wilma was about 15 miles wide and severe winds most likely surrounded that eye at about 10 miles out. That means the damage area had a radius of 17.5 miles and a diameter of 35 miles. This only includes that most damaging winds of the hurricane. Wilma was a Category 3 hurricane during its entire time over Florida (which is rare, hurricanes typically die when they go over land, even a small amount such as the peninsula of Florida). The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale states:

Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Jeanne and Ivan of 2004 were Category Three hurricanes when they made landfall in Florida and in Alabama, respectively.

I want to make something very clear. The wind speed of a hurricane is measured over a 1 minute time span, a gust can be 20-25% higher than the base speed (Wilma was around 130 mph sustained and gusts in excess of 150 mph). A tornado with the wind speed around 130-150 mph is able to do significant damage to homes in a short period of time (around 30 seconds) imagine what several hours at those speeds will do. Now that we have a conceptualization of the damage of a hurricane let me respond to the post (FINALLY! =-) )

The government is not able to deploy significant resources to a possible strike zone of a hurricane. This would be very foolish. Not only would you need the resources to store the relief aid, you would need to protect it from the storm. This is shaky considering the many variables within a storm of that magnitude. This would mean deploying such aid to an area outside of the damage area of the storm. With a hurricane that is around 60-100 miles away. You would then need to ship that aid to the victims. Keep in mind that the worst hit areas are surrounded by a giant damage area. Also keep in mind that not only are the phone lines down, but many of the radio towers used for cell phones and government communications are down, leaving many agencies with backup systems capable of only about 15 miles of communication radius (Very high frequency radios). This means drivers of the trucks would have a difficult time delivering the goods because landmarks may not be there, road signs are down, GPS can easily fail (that's from personal experience), and radio communications are hit and miss. In addition to finding their ways they would have to find their way around thousands of trees that are knocked down into the road. This will make a trip of two hours possibly take 12 or more hours. Now for the relief points. Many of these places will be open, though the supplies stored there would be token compared to the people being served. The supplies would run out quickly and many would have to wait on trucks which are battling the poor road conditions. This action would take a well prepared state (which Florida is a very well prepared state for hurricanes) about 24-48 hours to enact. It is during this time you would be on your own, regardless of income. Heck this doesn't even touch a persons ability to GET to the distribution center.

My insight comes from relief training and practical experience I have gained while working and an Emergency Management officer. We are told to keep supplies for 72 hours in our cars. I also make sure my parents have that in their basement. What exactly constitutes emergency supplies and what do they cost?
There are several sources of commercial kits available I found one for 2 people for $71. That's for specialized food and prepackaged water. I imagine I can put one together for about $15 on eBay, most likely less. The Department of Homeland Security recommends a gallon of water a day, so for a 72 hour kit you will need 3 1 gallon jugs per person, and the wherewithal to fill them. They recommend 3 days worth of food. That means you need to get a box of ramon from Aldi's, and 10 cans of some sort of mostly prepared food, ravioli comes to mind. In addition to that make sure you have blankets around the house, a battery powered radio, a flashlight, first aid supplies, and your own personal medications. Most of these things you already have around the house, though if you need to buy them they can be had at very low costs. If you live in a house with a basement in Indiana, you would want to gather these supplies and put them in the basement.
I got to respond directly to what Jenny says in the last paragraph. What would happen to you if we had a blizzard this year? That's the reason why you buy an extra can of whatever a week to shove someplace just in case, hell if you don't I'll buy yah a kit and send it to yah. Regardless of if you have power in a blizzard, you can't go anywhere to eat, and if its enough snow, it will clog up DoT's ability to clean roads for at least a day if not more.

Emergency Response

Florida's Failure

I don't understand the reason why people who live in a major disaster zone relies so completely on government. Being part of a government agency in charge of responding to disasters I know that no response pleases the majority of people. In Florida Jeb Bush was most likely way to optimistic in delivering relief supplies to victims of Wilma in under 24 hours. What people don't understand is that the phones are down, many of the 800 mhz towers are down, the VHF repeaters are down. This limits any response because of communication issues. A major response demands good communication. Second there were no major routes open. Trees where down everywhere which limits route choices and can cause people not used to the area to get lost. The solution is for people to listen to the government. They tell us to prepare 72 hours worth of supplies for disasters. This is the average time of response to a major disaster. People get smart... Government can't protect you from everything.

Wilma

This puppy slammed into the coast with a great amount of intensity. The damage seemed much more than a typical hurricane, though this thing has been anything but typical. It became the most intense hurricane ever recorded, it maintained CAT 3 power even while moving over Florida which typically does not happen, and it refused to die, maintaining a high level of power while fighting wind sheer that would typically tear a hurricane apart. The recent news story I saw was still putting winds in upwards of 70 miles per hour. To me that's incredible. What an awesome storm. Then there's TD Alpha. Yeah we made it to the Greek alphabet, wow what a year.

Gas Prices

Well, now we see what I was talking about in gas prices. Their "making up" and getting "twice the profit" at the pump.

Sounds good to me

Alright being a NRA member I have heard of this particular piece of legislation for awhile now. It is honestly a decent piece of legislation in that it does put an end to stupid law suits. This story creates an unsavory view of the entire bill addressing it as a nod towards big business. It seems that they are disappointed that the people will no longer be able to companies responsible for their own actions (the peoples actions that is). The article brings the whole McDonald's debate in.

Well here's my views - MD's is not responsible for people getting fat off of their foods, the people getting fat are responsible. Gun companies are not responsible for guns being used in a crime. The criminals are responsible. People have sought compensation from gun companies because they or a loved one have been wounded or killed by a gun. That's because the gun companies have the money. Gun companies do not advocate the use of weapons in crimes. Those that sell concealable guns aim their advertisement towards those like me who will carry concealed for self defense. I am sickened by the idea that someone would blame themselves being fat on a fast food place because they obviously were forced into the store at gun point and had the food stuffed down their throats by company officials. If that would happen I would support a lawsuit, but if your fat because you make wrong choices in food, that's your OWN damned fault.

Now a brief review on the article.

Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, whose district was terrorised by a sniper in the Washington area three years ago, said the gun bill will "strip innocent victims of crimes of their rights and instead extend protections to those unscrupulous dealers who put guns into the hands of criminals".

Opponents argue that had the gun immunity law been in place, relatives of the victims of the sniper incident in Washington would have been unlikely to win the $2.5m settlement from the dealer who claimed he had lost the weapon used, plus some 200 other guns, to the black market.

The problem with this logic is that he did break the law by allowing the weapons to enter the black market. If he sold it to a qualified buyer, then the weapons didn't enter the black market through him, though if he was selling to unqualified buyers then he was in violation of federal law and civil courts would have been able to pursue him on those charges.

One thing that I had to laugh at is one article has touch on the fact that Al Gore lost support in rural communities because he advocated gun control. People who live in medium to large cities have the luxury of relatively fast response times to emergencies, whereas if you live in the country response time can be 10 minutes or more. This is not the police's fault by any means, God knows they try, but basically you are on your own until they arrive. Rural citizens realize this and many will keep a firearm for household defense. Take that away you do give power to the criminal.

Gas Prices

Crude Oil Falls a Fourth Day as Storm Threat, Fuel Demand Eases

The demand is down the price is falling and we have yet to see that at the pumps. Prices go up to $3 a gallon in a week and decrease very slowly. We are quickly approaching the low price of crude that we saw at the beginning of the summer, whereas overall gas prices have yet to let up. Many gas prices in this area are still well above the $2.50 mark, and it seems that the prices will not let up, seeing as the industry will come up with another excuse to keep prices high.

Big nasty Wilma

This is a nasty storm. It is the most intense storm ever both breaking wind records and pressure records, the pressure was down to 884 mb the eye wall was 2 nautical miles. I hope that once it breaks into the gulf and meets with the trof that's making its way through the CONUS it will lose some organization, but chances are good that it will still be a major hurricane. Right now its a violent CAT 4 storm that is going through eye reorganization and will most likely strengthen to CAT 5 again in 12 hours or so. The models all basically put the storm tracking over southern Florida by evening on Saturday. I hope everyone is getting away from the coastline with this powerful unpredictable storm approaching.

TS Wilma

Tropical Storm: 5 Day Forecast Map : Weather Underground

Well look at this. This may become our next major storm especially if it does get into the Gulf. Lets hope not.

Disaster and Gun Rights

Disaster Can't Destroy Gun Rights
Seeing as I do hold a federal firearms license, carry conceal permit, and belong to the NRA,my views on this particular amendment are obvious. It is my opinion, especially in the wake of New Orleans, that this amendment is very important, even now in the age of e911 services and police. Many anti-gun advocates think that police should be the only ones armed and that they can take away this particular right from people. The truth is the police are unable to protect everyone and criminals will defy any anti-gun law leaving only those who seek to remain legal at risk.
In light of this, lets examine the Katrina disaster. For almost a week (+) lawlessness reigned, the police were unable to respond and in some cases joined in. This lawlessness paved the way for neighborhood militias to take up arms and protect each other. This is the very essence of the 2nd amendment. In spite of the fact that the vast majority of people who were armed were not criminals and I'm willing to bet the police got more of the non-criminals than criminals when they disarmed, this opens avenues for the criminals. Now I guess when anti-gun advocates say the police and government can protect us, all we have to say is New Orleans now, that will sum up exactly how police can protect us in some of the worst of circumstances.

TIME Magazine Archive Article -- The Battle Over Gay Teens

TIME Magazine Archive Article -- The Battle Over Gay Teens -- Oct. 10, 2005

This is a good article that looks at several points of view. I like it because it does point out many myths about the gay lifestyle, especially currently. As a note my opinion on the whole matter is I don't care who you like/love/screw whatever. I also support same sex marriages. I don't like the religious right defining laws because of something that is said in the Bible. Last I checked there is a separation between church and state, well at least that's what it was 5 years ago, pre-Bush. Welcome to the Theocratic States of America run by Pope Bush.

Opinions and such

Journal and Courier Online - Letters

I like reading this first one. A bit of history before I begin. West Lafayette is currently looking at a smoking ban at public places and private places where the public can gather (restaurant, bars, etc). The person draws the Constitution into it, and honestly it does give the right to smoke in the Constitution.

Article 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Umm basically its saying since smoking isn't mentioned in the Constitution then it is indeed protected, simply stated. Nor does it matter that it stinks, that's a personal preference. Let me tell you what, once you get old and start shitting on yourself, you will stink too.

Anyways my opinion on this matter is that the city can regulate smoking on its public property, but privately owned public places should be able to choose if they will allow smoking, then consumers will be able to make the choice to come or not.

I survived

Well last night's firework display went up nicely. I will post a couple of pictures later, once I get the video on the computer. Small show though, I wish more companies would know the worth of sponsoring a firework display, seeing as its something I pay attention to. Anyways I need to study the CDL book and email the head of the nursing school department, that and I think I'm done raving for now. Not too much to rave about in the news.

More bitching about Bush

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Let's all face it now, Rove is guilty. This may have been an attempt to get back at those who provided intelligence that was contrary to what Bush said and in fact caused some embarrassment to Bush. Well, as if Bush doesn't embarrass himself already.

Scary

ABC News: Sen. Clinton Has Almost $14M for Campaign

Well this is scary... Sen. Clinton won't fix anything for the country, just screw things up more. Personally I hope there is a moderate Republican running, even though I generally don't vote Republican in the presidential election. My biggest problem with Clinton is that she is FAR too Democratic for my taste, much like Bush is far too religious/dishonest for my taste.

Bush and Miers and other shit

Bush's Miers Predicament Forces GOP Split or Nominee Withdrawal
Hah! Our president is an ass. Well since this would be the first political rant on my new blog I figured I should goto the source. Bush has once again showed us how unafraid he is in creating a White House that is lined with personal friends and, for lack of better term, lackeys. Miers is obviously not qualified for the job, seeing as she has most likely never dealt with Constitutional law outside of law school. In addition to that she supposedly said that Bush is, "The smartest man I know." This came from a questionable source, but seems in character for Miers. Bush seems to get off on putting friends in positions of power. Lets see... FEMA - Brown, FDA - Crawford and now von Eschenbach. These are the positions that have gotten attention in the news. FEMA, well look at Katrina, though there is a lot of evidence that suggests that local and state government sucked too, but STILL. Then the FDA. Lets just start this rant on the Plan B, or Morning After pill. What is so bad about this? Jesus, don't deny access to this because your worried that this will promote promiscuity. ITS A FUCKING MORNING AFTER PILL, as in ALREADY HAPPENED. Damned, Miers must have met Crawford at some point, which may explain her statement.

The First Post

Well this is the first post, obviously. I get to do a professional fireworks show today, and the weather looks like it will be nice, which will be a huge change compaired to the last pro show I worked. During that wonderful show whatever could go wrong, DID go wrong. Well not everything, the show was good, I think (hope). I will get feedback on the show today. I'll go look at the news and find something else to bitch about.