BC's Emergency Response Symbol

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

Burma's horrific situation, followed by China's recent disaster in such short order, has certainly let the world take notice and not be as complacent in that it couldn't happen to me.

Below are links that belie that complacency in that it can and will happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Best be Prepared.

Many think in the lower mainland and other countries that  Emergency Responders will immediately run out and rescue you is a false assumption.

Emergency Responders are human, and will ensure their own family is alive, safe and healthy before heading out to assist others, it is human nature.   Rescue , Food, or Shelter and medical help in a major disaster can take a minimum of a week to get help, it will be total chaos.

  Ever notice those steel containers outside school yards, with graffitti on them, they are emergency supplies, water, medicine, "meals ready to eat" called MRE's, etc for your children. But it will only last a few days until help arrives.  

Do You have anything like the above supplies outside your home in a garden shed or in your car to last you and your family for a few days?  If not, maybe you should consider it.  

The last place to put your supplies is in your home, kinda hard to get to them if the house is flatter than a pancake!

You should also know it is human nature to be complacent, and if you are not prepared, it may be too little too late.

Go to the internet and find out what you need to do in the event of a natural disaster. 

One more thing, in a major natural disaster, you will not be allowed to start driving helter skelter throughout the lower mainland, you will be forced out of your car and stopped.  The roads have to be kept clear for emergency responders, police, fire and relief workers.

The only people allowed to drive through most major arteries in the lower mainland will be those who need to get to their  Emergency Response, Police of Fire  Stations.  Hence why I drive a 4-wheel drive, and carry the  identification, and if lost a symbol  in my personal vehicle which allows me access.   I have posted a facsimile photo of that Government Emergency Response Symbol in this story. 

 url="http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=532784"]

The earthquake in China's Sichuan province killed perhaps 50,000 people and left thousands of people buried under heaps of rubble.

And while a massive quake like this one -- magnitude 7.9 -- would undoubtedly do damage to any world city, the death toll and degree of destruction has more to do with investment in well-designed infrastructure capable of handling a massive earthquake than the quake itself. Unlike the Beijing Olympic venues, built to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, the majority of China's infrastructure in the area proved ill-prepared for a shock like Monday's--felt as far away as Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand.

Blame the mortality spread on exponential population growth, increasing poverty and lax or nonexistent building codes. In short: Poor nations -- like China -- run far greater risk of earthquake fatalities than rich ones.

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