I spent some time in a developing nation recently and came away with a new appreciation for all that we have available to us in the United States and a growing concern that we have too much. Sometimes I used to like to refer to myself as a “hunter and gatherer” when I went off to the market. Simple truth is now I could simply use one of the Aps for my smart phone, have the store do my shopping based upon my past purchases and deliver the food to my home.  This tremendous age of convenience comes at what I suspect could become a growing cost during major emergencies, disasters or catastrophic events.   Yes I list catastrophic events separate from disasters and will address my rationale for that in a later post.

Let’s say I live in a major city where I don’t need a car since public transportation meets my needs, and I rely on my smart phone for financial transaction of deposits and paying bills, ordering my food, communicating with business and family members and entertainment.  A major weather event rolls into the region, knocking out power, creating gridlock with downed trees and utility lines, blackouts across the region.  This is the point when I think we can now measure our self-reliance in a matter of hours as we have grown so accustomed and in some cases spoiled by all we enjoy.  Right or wrong we all get into routines and take for granted the clean water will always flow out of the tap, toilets will flush, the power stay on or be out for a relatively short period of time, at least not requiring food in the refrigerator and freezer to be consumed before spoiling.  How many businesses will stay open when the power is out, unable to process credit cards, cook food or provide adequate lighting for security?

Homes in the country I visited are plagued if viewed from the eyes of a tourist, or blessed if viewed from my emergency preparedness standpoint, with unreliable power.  This means they are used to having their power go out at any moment and therefore structures are built to capture natural light, use few light fixtures and have access to kerosene lanterns for emergencies.  Many people do not have access to motorized vehicles to get around and numerous small neighborhood markets or street vendors allow daily fresh food purchase within walking distance so refrigerators are small and not crammed full of items that could spoil during power outages.

Potable water is another commodity that suffers from reliable deliver compared to standards here in the United States.  What they have learned is to simply have 35 gallon barrels of potable water always available, and/or have a rainwater collection system to allow them to still be self-reliant even during water outages, just like loss of power has little impact on their daily living.  I think any emergency manager in the United States would be thrilled to have a populace prepared to this extent, as they know the challenges associated with providing these basic services under disaster conditions.

I have spent a good number portion of my career working on emergency, disaster and catastrophic planning and response here in the United States, including response in federally declared disasters.  As the magnitude and scope of an event grows the ability for the general public, emergency responders, public and private enterprise to be self-reliant becomes more and more important, yet few people take preparedness to the simple steps as those in the less developed country I visited.   I am now working with an innovative small company and we are looking to design and build a pilot project disaster-resistant amphibious community.  It seems counter-intuitive that we will have a better chance of success in a developing nation than here in the United States, but my own impression is the more ground we have gained here in the United States in making our everyday life easier, the more we surrender self-reliance when disaster hits.