Commentary: Disasters and Catastrophes are the new normal
Pastor Dale Morgan
Commentary: Disasters and Catastrophes are the new normal*
* Story Highlights
* Honoré: Catastrophes that were once exceptional events are
happening more often
* Disaster readiness is the responsibility of every part of our
society, he says
* He urges governments to work with private industries to make them
part of the plan
* He says good first step is "ready box" filled with food, clothes
and disaster materials
By Retired Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré
Special to CNN
As the Atlantic hurricane season begins, Honoré, who was commanding
general First Army and leader of Joint Task Force Katrina before
retiring, offers his views on why the United States needs to develop a
culture of preparedness for natural disasters.
(CNN) -- The recent series of disasters in the United States and around
the world have resulted in the forced evacuation of hundreds of
thousands of people from their homes and have again demonstrated with
startling clarity that we are living in a new normal.
In this new normal, international interdependencies and instantaneous
communications combine to constantly remind us of disaster and
terrorism, and disasters that once were considered exceptional now occur
more frequently. The recent earthquakes in China and the Myanmar cyclone
are but two reminders of such disasters.
The reminders are beamed into our homes and workplaces as if to
demonstrate that tragedy that can result if we fail to prepare. What
people once viewed as the exception they now see on a routine basis, yet
we still don't take the steps to be prepared for this new normal.
We have to be better prepared, and the first steps start at home and at
work.
In today's densely populated and technologically dependent communities,
disasters have a far greater impact than ever before. It's time for
America to wake up to this reality.
In a world where natural and man-made disasters can and will happen with
little or no warning, we need to be prepared. We face a host of
potential disasters: from earthquakes, hurricanes and pandemics to
industrial accidents, electrical blackouts, terrorism and the effects of
possible attacks with weapons of mass destruction. Our task as Americans
is to be ready.
At home, events after 9/11, Katrina, wildfires in California and
Florida, numerous destructive tornadoes and other storms, and the threat
of earthquakes accentuate the need to create a culture of preparedness
in America.
A preparedness that is ingrained and intertwined in every part of our
daily life, but is mostly common sense, is based in the American spirit.
While it is the duty of local, state and federal governments to prepare
for and respond to disaster, true preparedness begins in our homes and
our neighborhoods.
To create this culture of preparedness, we need to focus "left of the
disaster," which means we focus on preparations and responses before the
disaster. How, or if, each of us survives a disaster is directly related
to where we were before it hit.
To create this culture of preparedness, we must change the way that
academia, private industry, community groups and individual households
think about preparedness in their daily lives. Disaster readiness is the
responsibility of every part of our society and every individual.
In our free-market society, the private sector has far more response
capability than our government. Governments need to work with private
industries and make them part of the plan so we can quickly tap into all
of our nation's best resources when we need them most.
Our schools, from kindergarten to post-graduate institutions, need to
develop a curriculum that will teach us how to prepare for and better
respond to crises as communities and as individuals. Neighborhoods and
community groups need to know about and keep track of those among us who
are unable to self-evacuate or unable to care for themselves,
particularly when the power fails or when they run out of medicine.
And each of us has a personal responsibility to be ready. We need to
prepare our families and our homes. In many cases, family and personal
preparations can be fairly simple. All it takes is a shift in our
thinking. For example, when Granny's birthday comes around, we have a
tendency to get her one of those little silver picture frames with a
photo of the kids. We need to stop giving Granny those picture frames
and give her a weather radio. And on Father's Day, instead of giving
Grandpa those funky colored ties, give him a weather radio, too.
In times of disaster, information is power. Those radios will let them
know if it's time to act because we can never predict when we'll be told
to evacuate. An inexpensive plastic tote -- a "ready box" filled with
food, water, clothes, a battery-operated radio, copies of important
papers, cash and other family necessities, kept in the closet by the
front door -- is a big step toward personal preparedness.
In this new normal, we have only two options: We can exist in a culture
of fear and dependency, or we can do the responsible thing: Live
comfortably in a culture of preparedness and readiness; a culture where
individuals can save themselves and empower their local, regional and
national governments to better respond to any disaster. It's time for
America to adopt this culture of preparedness.