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In my opinion: Why Don't People Listen?
By David Colmans, Executive Director,
Georgia Insurance Information Service |
Tornadoes, hurricanes, violent thunderstorms, earthquakes, severe winter storms and other natural disasters have taken thousands of lives just since the year 2000 and just in the United States. In many cases, those deaths were avoidable.
Public safety officials, insurance industry experts and other safety advocates constantly sound warnings, but all too often the public may hear but many do not listen. Why?
The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, tornadoes such as the Evansville, Indiana disaster in November of 2005, kill many people because, a) They did not hear the warning sirens; b) They missed broadcast alerts; c) They don't watch the news; d) They refused to heed evacuation orders.
"Mandatory evacuation" must be a meaningless phrase to many, and there are senseless deaths along the Gulf Coast to prove it. People die in house fires from lightning and other causes because they neglect to replace the dead batteries in their smoke detector…if they even have one. Or they won't buy a weather alert radio because it may keep them awake, as if sleeping through the night during dangerous weather is more important than living through the night. A weather alert radio will roll most everyone out of bed, giving the family precious minutes to seek shelter from a killer storm.
Why are we so inclined to prepare so little, and then complain so much when we suffer for our lack of self-sufficiency? In the South, the prediction of a snowflake in the forecast sends everyone to the grocery store to clear out the shelves. But when a major hurricane is headed directly for them, very few people make an effort to get the necessary three-day supply of non-perishable food and water that will sustain them until help arrives. Is the frequency of summer storms making us complacent? Or are we betting on the storm to change direction, rather than betting on a more surefire outcome - to take care of ourselves before the storm hits.
For less than the cost of one ticket to a sporting event, a family can have two of the most inexpensive live-saving tools in their home…one or more working smoke detectors and a working weather alert radio with battery backup.
We can debate post-Katrina/Rita disaster response all the way through to the end of next hurricane season. But the bottom line is that too many people died for lack of basic preparation; a failure to heed helpful consumer tips; and, the misguided belief that someone else would take care of the details.
A basic family evacuation plan rehearsed periodically, a supply of emergency food and water for the family; an awareness of pending bad weather, and preparation for power outages can make a huge difference. These actions are our individual responsibility, not the job of local, state or the federal government. Self-sufficiency should be first in our thoughts and actions during dangerous times. That is a do-it-yourself project we can all do. |
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