This will be a very real challenge. staying put won't be an option until we're together. getting to my son will be priority number one for me, especially if he's anywhere but with my husband. we'd all do well to try to stay aware that our judgement may be clouded if we're not with our kids.

Bacpacjac said ... This will be a very real challenge. staying put won't be an option until we're together. getting to my son will be priority number one for me.

I understand. I'm a parent too (as you can guess). There will be a lot of stressed out parents in a major disaster.

I've come to realize, after thinking about this, that there are circumstances that could stop us from linking up with our children, perhaps for a long period of time. And in the same way, there are other parents in my city who want to find their kids - but it just so happens that THEIR kids are in my neighborhood. Which means that I need to do a good job of taking care of all the kids in the location where I am - wherever that location is.

If I can't make it back to my kids, then someone out there will hopefully look after them until I get back. And I need to reciprocate by looking after the kids at my spot. That's part of of how our social obligations are going to have to play out. Seems obvious when you say it ... but Yeah. Parents are going to be very stressed by all of this. :-)

Pete #2

I respectfully disagree. There has been much light on personalities and the spectrum of answers to the scenario that you might find in the real world in such situations.

Absolutely right Pete. I would be compelled to take care of the kids around me if they weren't already with caretakers. (Happened last summer actually. A guy in a campsite near ours went into a diabetic coma and his kids came looking for help. One of us went to him and his wife and transported them to a ranger station, and one of us stayed with the kids until mom came back for them.)

For me, the same moral code would go for the elderly lady down the street.

Bacpacjac ... for me personally my biggest survival challenge will be to try to take care of the kids, old people, and sick during a major emergency in Los Angeles. I am ONLY JUST realizing how difficult this is going to be. If we get a major earthquake, a lot of seniors living in multi-story buildings are going to need help with evacuation or rescue. I honestly don't think there is a coherent plan to help them right now. Also, some kids are going to be wandering the streets with no homes ... maybe because their houses have been destroyed and their parents are dead (or just commuting and a long way from home). It is a really big challenge to figure out how we are going to feed these people and get them some fresh water. I do think that there are a lot of altruistic people in the community - so that helps. But I think many of them are unprepared, not too organized, and may be quite fearful themselves after a major disaster.

I think a big part of the "response" will be to try to keep people thinking positively and constructively. Good mental attitude after a major disaster will be vital.

Pete #2

I've noticed that there are several Scout Leaders on the forum,so I'll throw out a suggestion for your troop or possibly an Eagle Scout Project...several years ago we received a community service grant to develop a hurricane preparadness plan directed at the elderly living in the community boundaries our school served.

we identified seniors that lived alone, or needed special care through the "meals on wheels" program.... there was some red tape involved

members of our NJROTC unit volunteered to contact these individuals, and distributed pill vials ("Vial of Life"courtesy Walgreens)to contain emergency contact information, current medications and medical history, etc, custom written for them (paramedics typically check for these stored in refrigerator), and helped them construct a hurricane emergency plan (housed in a water resistant folder) with contact information for special needs shelters, basic hurricane supplies, and a phone tree

with assistance from the Director of Emergency Management at nearby MacDill AFB, we used a DVD produced by them for a video presentations at several community centers and mobile home parks for group preparadness presentations..

Les ... good idea on the Scouts providing help after an emergency!

Pete #2

Going back to some of the original items in this thread, and the possibility of defending yourself with firearms during a "bugout in a devastated city". Here is a news article that provides some food for thought ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12925328

This is a situation in which police officers in New Orleans were convicted of using unecessary force to kill people inside the disaster zone after Hurricane Katrina. Of course, we may never know the exact circumstances of what happened, and what the "victims" were doing to provoke this kind of retaliation. Or possibly, it did involve bad judgment and bigotry by certain police officers. Anyone who has been to New Orleans can tell you that there exist long-standing animosities between some segments of the local population.

The point is ... we don't suddenly operate on a different set of laws - just because we find ourselves in the middle of a major disaster zone. There will be a time for accountability of our actions after everything returns to normal. You would expect that the local police would know the rules for using lethal force better than anybody else - yet the court found in this case that excessive violence was used.

There may be no easy answers when it comes to defense of our lives and property in a serious disaster. But we do need to have a good rationale for our actions.

Pete #2

Great idea Les! It would work especially well in a smaller community, where there's a little ore familiarity with each other and maybe a little less red tape.

Makes me wonder if our local Meals on Wheels is ready to Mobilize in an emergency.