Lono ... good response. Sooner or later a disaster will be over, but we will have to live with our conscience for the rest of our lives.

That being said ... there are some scenario's where a person may feel obligated to cross a devastated city - without stopping too much. Let's look at them, because they deserve consideration.

1. Many people in large cities drive a long commute to work each day. They may easily live 50-100 miles from their work location, and they may drive a personal auto or travel daily in a van pool. What exactly are these people going to do - if their city gets devastated? Most likely they will feel a compelling need to get home quickly ... because they are worried about their loved ones. But also quite likely - local roads may be jammed by debris and traffic jams. So they can't drive. Or alternatively, they start driving and get trapped in traffic, then abandon their vehicle and walk. A lot of Americans would find this process to be very SCARY, esp. once they are out of the comfort zone of their personal car.

As I pointed out earlier, most Americans are not good at walking, and their ability to survive in the street is not great. I have actually encouraged people where i work to put a spare rucksack in their office, along with some sneakers, a warm jacket, a bottle of water and a granola bar. Keep in mind that I live in L.A. To the best of my knowledge, not a single person has heeded this advice.

2. Some people may be visiting a city as tourists, or they may be residents of a neighboring town or state. They may not feel a lot of obligation to the city where they are staying, and they may just want to "get the heck out of dodge". For reasons that i will explain in my next post, there may be many people in Los Angeles who feel that way after the Big Earthquake (!), including a lot of residents. These people may also be tempted to exit the city as promptly as possible. But in reality this means crossing a lot of unknown nighborhoods, some disaster scenario's (fires and demolished buildings), and moving through crowds of scared people.

Geeting out of a major disaster zone, such as Los Angeles after the Big One, is not a trivial undertaking.

other Pete