We still live in areas with hazards, nothings changed

So, I have been retired from Emergency Management for almost a year; I have done some public speaking on disaster preparedness as a community service and find how surprising it is that people still are not preparing for disaster.  A couple of things have made me think harder about this and why it’s different for me (and maybe you).  Someone posted a question on twitter last week, and it was this.  “Nurses and phlebotomists spend time looking at veins to draw blood from, and when off duty can’t help but notice people’s veins; what can’t you not notice?”

Well for me it’s, hazards of where and how we live.  I can’t not look at a high rise (or mid-rise) in an earthquake area and not think “uo – oh”.  Or a low-lying home near a river and not think, “wonder if they are prepared for flooding”.

The second thing that gave moments for pause was this; I walk most every day for exercise; while walking I normally listen to NPR or a podcast.  I just finished a 9 episode podcast called “The Big One – Your Survival Guide”.  It was produced by KPCC Public Radio of LA; I highly recommend this well done and thought-provoking piece.

Many things were fascinating and I learned some new things, but the most fascinating thing to me (the thing I could not, not see) was one of the last episodes the whole crew talked candidly with each other (as we listened) about how they had spent months researching, interviewing experts and recording these episodes and most of them had not made headway in preparing for the Big One, even though they knew they lived on the San Andres Fault. 

Here is what I walked away with is:

1.     People can’t focus on the Big one, because unlike a Hurricane we don’t know when it will arrive.

2.     Delivering bad news doesn’t work; we need to show people the benefit of preparing (see #1).

3.     Optimism is bad; it causes the brain to underestimate bad things and overestimate good things. Think win lottery.

Going forward I will try to remember those points as I talk to people, but I still need to help people be prepared.   

Next week I am talking to a group of HOA board presidents who live in buildings on Alki.  I can’t not see the hazards of their buildings.  Small Sea Wall, Sandy Soil, Hill Side behind them, one way out… Sigh

disasterdave

Smoke on the Water

I really never thought I would write a blog post on forest fire smoke for Seattle, but here we are just finishing up 3 days of dense smoke hundreds of miles from the fires and this morning they are predicting more dense smoke starting Monday from the 56 fires in British Columbia to our north.

Well did we learn anything during the last smoke event?

• Yes, we learned that only an N95 mask will protect you from the particulates and that the stores have run out. 

• We learned how uncomfortable it is in our apartments on a 91 degree day with all the windows shut.

• We learned how to make a MacGyver air filter with a box fan for around 30 bucks; but the stores are out of them.

So a few things to do during the calm before the next Smoke Storm:

Go to the hardware store and get a box of N95 Masks while they are in stock, or if you have  a Prime account order today and they will be here tomorrow

Get yourself a box fan and a filter to filter your air

Try to adjust your schedule so you don’t spend time exercising or doing lots of out door things. Remember it’s not just smelly, it has small particles that you don’t want lodged in your lungs.  
 

And here from Washington State Department of Health are a bunch of other good tips

Guess I’ll start getting ready for next week too.

What to write about next, falling stars?

Disasterdave

Unregistered Volunteers - Maybe not

If you have read any of my writings on volunteer management, you will take away that I am strongly in favor of organized disaster response volunteer efforts.  My feeling is that Spontaneous Unregistered Volunteers (SUV's in the biz) are dangerous to themselves and the operation (kind of like my feelings on unsolicited donations, but that's a different blog post).  In 2012 coming out of a response in Malaysia I wrote this about  People want to help .  

As I watch & listen to things unfolding in Texas (Its not just about Houston) following Hurricane Harvey, I have been thinking maybe we I need to update my definition of SUV's.

Case in point- The Cajun Navy - they came out of Katrina response, Citizens with boats.  It seems no special organization or response structure, but boy did they make a difference, and virtually no one tried to turn them away.  I spent several days on Zello  listening to them operate.  They not only brought boats, but they also brought "dispatchers".  And I was amazed, proud and happy they were there saving lives.  Listening to their professionalism and drive often brought me tears as I listened to them drop people off and ask for an other rescue.

So, maybe we still have spontaneous  unregistered volunteers, people with no plan but to help; and a third group - Informal Ad-hoc Volunteers IAV? But with no office or 501c3 how to write them into your plan?  

Maybe you write a space in your plan for them?  I don't know, now that I have seen a successful operation by a not organization? I need to think of a way to account for this and utilize, support and help them help us.

Good work Cajun Navy 

Disaster Dave 

Guest blog post

One of the things I prepare for and hope not ot use when I Deploy for ShelterBox is first aid skills.  Below is a link to a very good succinct First aid primer.  It doesn't replace taking a good back country first aid class (in fact it makes that point).  
So whether you go to disasters, spend time in the  back country or just around town, having some first aid skills (and kit) is a must.

Wilderness First Aid - Be Prepared Before Venturing to the Backcountry

 Cheers, 
Disaster Dave

Reflections on Cascadia Rising

Well its almost the 4th of July, kids are out of school, everyone is enjoying upcoming vacations and here Cascadia Rising is over.  All of the articles written about what it really meant for a Cascadia event have been forgotten.  Like this one The Most Devastating Quake In US History Is Headed for Portland   And who could forget this scary article. The Really Big One  

But with the event for those of us who "played" in it, it was apparent that we (individuals, neighborhoods, cities) will be on our own for a bit of time.  So lets not forget the fact that we do live in a seismic area and we do need to take some responsibility for protecting our family and ourselves.  A couple of my previous articles might jump start you or get you to finish up the planning you started.
neighbors-as-responders 

build-your-own-emergency-kit-updated 

  

Enjoy the 4th of July 

Disaster Dave

Vacation Preparedness

Something I have written about before is preparedness for vacation, but in the light of the Tunisia attack we need to plan for an egress in case of danger.   Its not the first thing you think about on vacation, but in light of how things seem to be going its not a bad way to think, not dwell on or stay home, but to consider.

One of my friends & classmates from the Emergency Management Academy is an Emergency Manager named  Greg Santa Maria who recently posted on his Facebook about something he teaches called "the Greg Minute".  

In his own words Greg writes "When I teach Active Shooter classes, I encourage the attendees to practice the "Greg Minute". I ask them to set a random alarm on their phone that's during waking hours. Every day when the alarm goes off, wherever they are, they should spend 30 seconds considering their escape route should a shooter begin firing a weapon. The second 30 seconds is spent considering an alternate escape because the first is not viable.
I get so many positive responses from that one small, but priceless piece of advice. It takes a minute a day to save your life."

I think this piece of advice could provide you with peace of mind in unfamiliar areas, but I am willing to compromise with you if you may not want an alarm going off everyday of your vacation. You should take some time to look at your surroundings when you arrive someplace new and think "what would I do if..."


Lets be safe out there and enjoy our vacation

DisasterDave

Build your own Emergency Kit - updated

  By now you have read the NY Times Article or read a story about the NY Times article.  Then of course this happened: Earthquake Kits Selling Like Hotcakes After Terrifying New Yorker Story
 If these are flying off shelves as part of a complete planning process by people great!  If they are going where I think they are (closets, basements) then its a failure; it will take more than a prepacked kit for you to make it through a catastrophic event.

I am not a fan of buying an emergency kit; it typically will be thrown in a corner and forgotten, besides who wants to eat wood chips and drink 10 year old water.

Kits need to be packed piece by piece by the person so it reflects their needs and desires - mine has chocolate and a wine bottle opener !

Instead of buying a kit, make one; here are there sites I recommend, there are others:

http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Survival-Kit-Checklist nice printable list to start from

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit The Red Cross the experts

http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit  because I guess we have to include the feds.

and then start answering some hard questions:
Where will you go with your kit? 
What if you are at work and your kit is at home? 
Where will you meet your family or friends after the quake? 

Don't be scared , just get prepared

Disasterdave

Lessons from Deployment - People want to help

I was deployed by Shelter Box to respond to massive flooding in Malaysia for three weeks; when I return I always do a lessons learned for my department. They are often not lessons we can utilize in Public Health but still important in the larger Emergency Management community.  

Two of those lessons have been bouncing around in my head along with Reading Patrick Meier’s book Digital Humanitarians

1. Local’s are important to the mission

2. People want to help, they just need direction
 

No matter what you plan for “People want to help”

 The local government was overwhelmed so this is not meant to be critical of them; this is a cautionary lesson we can learn from.

I saw a terrible amount of waste and un-controlled giving in Malaysia. We utilized a government center in the affected area to store our tents and moved them in and out daily as we worked through the affected communities.  In that center were piles (not stacks) of liter water bottles, rice, soap and many other things. And after two weeks those piles were still there; maybe they had a plan for distribution, but I didn’t see one.

The other area was in the village of Manik Urai  

one of the most heavily affected community's. While we were moving through the community putting up tents with the help of our local volunteer force, there was a stream of cars going through the village (mostly on the one or two main streets) handing out *stuff.  Many of them were truly wanting to help, many were just disaster tourist there to drop off a few things and look around and get a selfie.  While it is great to see the people (many who drove as far as nine hours) helping, it was unbalanced and disruptive to the organized aid. 

 I watched people hand out items to those on the main streets, often the people would put the item in their tent or ruin of their home and get more; sadly for the people not on their front yard or on a side street they were missed.

So what can we do to fix this before it happens?

Well first have a plan, think about what might be needed if disaster X strikes. Part of that plan is to tell well wishers from the outside (or the affected) communities, what you need and where to bring it.  Don’t allow people to drive through a damaged area and look or drop things off.  Set up a drop off point and then have a volunteer force trained (in the moment) go in in marked vehicle and distribute things as quickly as possible; for the affected time is precious. 

CHECKLIST:

• Written list of what you might need for disaster type X

• List of where you will post need-Facebook, Bulletin boards (virtual and real) (and who/how it will happen)

• Brief write up of a team make up:

o   Type person

o   Job skills & duties

o   Requirements (drivers license, calm personality, focus)

• Shifts they would work

• A volunteer team trained in advance how to implement this plan! They could be from one of your already registered group.

Is it hard to work in the future? Yes, but its harder to fix things after - insert here (flood, fires, earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes)

But don’t do Nothing…

 Disasterdave

 

 * Stuff - water, food, clothes, Koran's, Women's hygiene, CASH, books for kids.

Lessons from Deployment - Locals are important to the mission

In January I was deployed by Shelter Box to respond to massive flooding in Malaysia for three weeks; when I return I always do a lessons learned for my department. They are often not lessons we can utilize in Public Health but still important in the larger Emergency Management community.

Two of those lessons have been bouncing around in my head along with reading Patrick Meier’s book Digital Humanitarians

• Locals are important to the mission
• People want to help, they just need direction

No matter what, “locals are important to the success of the mission”. 

I volunteer in a situation where after a usually long plane ride I am dropped into someone else’s disaster with a teammate.  And in a very short amount of time we accomplish some amazing things.  It is because we realize as an organization we can’t do anything substantial without local help. So lets bring this closer to home.  
 

 

In my recent deployment to Malaysia I had a couple of interpreters I worked with, they were both great; but I realized beyond the language, they knew the people. They would tell me when they thought someone was not being truthful, or needed help but weren’t identified, or taught me about the culture. 

You may live in the affected community, but you probably don’t speak all the languages of the affected population and you don’t understand from their point of view (economic, religious, etc.) how this disaster is affecting them.   

I recently saw a National Guard recruiting poster in the airport that showed 2 Guardsmen comforting a woman and the bubble above one soldiers head said “She lives 5 miles from here”. That was a powerful message to me.  We need to utilize the local spontaneous volunteer where we can, realizing they are going to come.

No matter what I respond to in the future (Even if I speak the language) I will employ a volunteer guide. Someone from the affected community, but not of the affected population.  Someone who can help me find my way to help those in need.

Checklist

• Understand your population and make contacts there
• Don't be afraid to ask that population for help (I know you are there to help them, but you need them to do that)
• Decide how you will activate, badge, give access to
• How will you make sure you aren't showing favoritism to that person in the community? It could hurt their standing
• How do you make sure they aren't taking advantage of you in the situation? It could hurt your standing

Remember the disaster happens to our/their community - connect and do the best you can. Locals are important.

Disasterdave

The 7 rules for protecting your valuables BEFORE disaster strikes

 This is not an endorsement of the 
company that authored

Flood Damaged home in Serbia

the article at the link below, but an endorsement of doing some serious planning for the loss of your home.  I know no one likes to think their home may burn down but they do. In 2013 the NFPA documented 1,240,000 house fires. Or that a quake or other natural disaster may make your home uninhabitable.

Document your goods
I can remember in the 70's inventorying my household goods before they were shipped to Europe, it was boring, and a hard slog. Writing down serial numbers, colors, etc.

But today all you need is your smart phone and a note pad.
So this holiday season make it a fun opportunity, grab a loved one, a glass of eggnog, your smart phone and go on a hunt to document your valuables.  Focus on Art work, collections, Jewelry, electronics. (Don't forget to take a picture of any notes you made- serial numbers, Cost, etc.) Snap away, then upload to a website (Yahoo, MSN, DropBox) something that will survive if your house doesn't.  I wrote back in 2011 about using the web to store valuable documents, and the same goes for pictures of your valuables. You can review it here and another one here.  I either own the internet or think its a good idea :)

So here is the article, get started.
The 7 rules for protecting your valuables BEFORE disaster strikes http://tinyurl.com/q8a2tmp

Happy Holidays

disaster_dave

All Hazard

Often times you will hear Emergency Management in your communities talk about "All Hazard Planning", what you may not hear is the words "Risk Based".  While the planning process lays out who does what in a disaster, we do want begin planning for the most likely and build our planning effort towards less likely events.

So as you and your family, friends look at what to prepare for start with this nice info-graph from Homeownersinsurance.org. 

Also take some time to chat with your insurance agent about your coverage. 

Back to the info-graph, find your state, look at the hazards for that state and start from their. 
I live in Washington State and it list forest fire, but I live in the city of Seattle so that is not a high concern for my family (but what about smoke?, What if you are on vacation on the other side of the mountain during fire season?) All good questions, that should inform your preparedness.


As a bonus here is FEMA's State and Local Guide (SLG) 101 Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning

Happy Sunday
Disaster_Dave

L.A. Prepares for the Big Quake Amid the Questions of When and How Large - Is your city prepared

 My promise in the beginning was not to use scare tactics and to try to make things bite sized for you to prepare for disasters in Where to Start. 
This week I read with interest how  Los Angeles has begun to look at the pieces in the public forum so their citizens understand it. They have been planning for a long time, but articles like this one show you the citizen the types of things they are worried about and planning for.
LA Prepares for the Big Quake Amid Questions of When and How Large  Its long (more than 30 seconds) but worth the time to read it all.

Why do I think its important citizens read this? Really two reasons:  
1.  Honestly, most of what we do in emergency management is not recognized by the public as it seldom produces perceptible results to the public in the short term.  But it does produce things that may save lives in the long term.  Pay attention to the discussions of water and transport in the article.  Pay attention as your government makes budget cuts, if the Emergency Managers are on that cut list you WILL have a harder time surviving and recovering from a catastrophic event. 

 2.   If you read this piece and pay attention to the main points they are making you can look at your planning and say okay I need to do a little more in that category, and that one looks good for now. But you are conscience of the need, and that makes it more focused.

And if you read this and think, okay I have put this off long enough- awesome. Start here and dig in, a little at a time, planning takes time.

Good Planning
Disaster_Dave




 

You've lost that preparedness feeling (sung to the tune of "You've lost that loving feeling")

Why do we constantly talk about preparedness?  I know some people may tire of it, but its necessary.  Why? 

Well we do not have it as part of our memory and or we think it can't happen to us.  Lets look at two examples; one of a group who survived not because they had a back pack by the front door (a good idea though) but because they recognized the danger as it had been passed down and another group that didn't follow their traditions. 

In 2004 the Tsunami in the Indian ocean killed over 230,000 people in multiple places, but one island had zero deaths or casualties.  The Andaman Islands inhabited by the Mokens (Sea Gypsy's). When rescuers arrived they found them safely atop a hill!  Their culture had passed down stories that when the great water receded it would flood the land.  

And in 2009 the earthquake that hit L'Aquila that killed 309 people and pretty much destroyed every home.  This is a case where the scientist were convicted of sending a message that..."interfered with the local “earthquake culture”, a set of entrenched habits and reactions such as, for example, that of spending the night outdoors after the occurrence of medium shocks."

So what does your culture or habits in our modern wired always on society tell you to survive and thrive after a disaster? I'm not sure, but surveys seem to say we aren't prepared for the hazards we face.  A 2009 survey showed 57% reported making some plans, but only 44% had a household plan where to go and and what to do (think like a Moken).

So we keep repeating the message and asking you to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

And now you probably want to hear the song here

Disaster Dave

The headline says it all

This morning Napa and SF were awakened by an Earthquake, and the headline read

"The Bay Area just got hit with its largest earthquake in 25 years".

So why is that important? I often hear people say things like "Earthquakes happen on a longer schedule, it may not happen in my lifetime".  Excuse me, I would like to point out that twice in 25 years is a pretty short life.  So for those of us in a seismic  area, can we all just change our posture a little and understand that it could happen in our lifetime (pretty sure I have at least 25 more years).

And for the rest of America and the world, Hurricanes, Cyclones, Tornadoes, house fires, forest fires, ice storms, power outages (I know I left some out) don't really have a "geological clock " so you need to prepare too.

So where to start, if you aren't a reader of mine here are some links to posts I have written on planning and preparation.

Northwest Quake - where will you be  

Can you find all your important documents...

MITIGATION

and my most recent post   Its about an investment......In your family's well being.

 Don't do everything today, but get started. tick,tick tick.

DisasterDave

 

Its about an investment...

...In your family's well being.

According to the National Priorities Project we have spent somewhere north of $767,000,000,000 on Homeland security since 2001and sadly we really don't know what it has bought us. But this isn't about what we did or did not get, this is about how much have you spent since 2001 (or this year) on making sure your family is ready for The Apocalypse (just kidding). 
But really are you ready for the next storm season? Check here in September for the forecast for this winter.
Do you have an evacuation plan in case there is a forest fire? 
Do you have water stored? Why store water, that's silly, there is water in my tap. Did you see Toledo's water warnings ?

So look at your local grocery and watch for sales on bottled water and stock up on a couple of cases per person (and don't forget Fido he drinks water too)

Put away a few cans of Dinty Moore beef stew & bags of rice

Get trained in Wilderness First Aid    Usually available through REI.

Take some time this summer and prepare just a few steps. You will be glad you did... when something happens and you have made an investment and are prepared. 

Happy dog Days of August 
DisasterDave

Recovery is a Long Road...

Transportation Safety Board of Canada

I came across a story this weekend on the train wreck in Quebec Canada and was struck by two things.  First that it had been a year since that happened, and what a horrible disaster, a town literally  blown off the map.  And the second thing was in the story they mentioned that they were getting ready to commemorate the event but "Many townspeople aren't ready for it."

So in our short attention span world of 30 second sound bite news and expecting your coffee order in seconds, how long do you think it will take you & your community to recover from whatever disaster that could befall it? Whether it is something like a tornado, earthquake or tornado or even a train derailment in the dark of night, how will you recover? And what will you do when the one year anniversary comes and you still aren't whole? 

Some things to think about: 

• When was the last time you reviewed your insurance with your agent? 
• What is his/her name & phone number?
• Where is your policy? Is it some place safe in case your house is affected (that's what the policy is for, right, so why keep it in the house)?
• How will your family reconnect if separated?
• What if you can't reenter your neighborhood for days? Weeks? Ever?
• Does your local government have a plan to help the city recover?

So not a panic point, just take the extra time this weekend to think about these questions.  And please don't dismiss this as "it can't happen here", these communities and others are still in recovery:

Sandy recovery 

Moore Oklahoma recovery

Quebec


Disaster Dave

Its times like this that things look different

For those of us in the Seattle area it has been a long two weeks, with the slide in Oso Washington touching all of us in some way.  But once we step back from the response and take a day off and look at our beautiful area, I tend to take the beauty at face value, but under the beautiful hillside is...    Don't get me wrong your local public servants in emergency management take this personally, we spend our time trying to educate you and our elected officials to the dangers in our beautiful state.
The things that make our state and region beautiful are some of the same things that can in the least make life hard or even kill you.  A fellow emergency manager, Eric Holdeman wrote a great piece this week on why you won't listen entitled Living with Risk: but don't you love the views . You should read it and decide which one you are.
I know there hasn't been a major earthquake here in your life time, but your life time is not the measuring stick of when a quake will strike, but it could end your life.  Sorry I digress.

Lets just assume you fall into one of the categories in Eric's article and be done with it.  So if you  are determined to live on the side of a hill, or a few feet from the ocean, or in a high rise, at least do a few things to up the odds in case you are wrong.

Look for things you can do to minimize danger.
You live on or under a hillside:

• Pay attention to the weather - more rain = more chance of a slide
• Get involved in the community make sure the politicians are aware that you are aware
• Seek a professional on putting plants that will hold the ground and drink water
• do some internet research on your home area

You live on the ocean/sound:

• Have an emergency radio turned on and turned up loud
• Learn about Tsunamis and what your danger level is
• Pay attention to King Tides tables

 You live on a river:

• Have an emergency radio turned on and turned up loud
• Learn about the threat to your home
• Search for your county name flood warning and save that site

Because it can happen here
prayers for those lost in Oso and their families
disaster_dave 

Three Years since 3-11

I have written a couple of posts, and done several presentations on lessons learned from my time spent responding to Typhoon Yolonda in the Philippines; there were some good reinforced learning points for us. If you want to see a disaster (and recovery) that is more in line with what we in the Northwest will experience you need to look no further than the Earthquake and Tsunami Japan suffered just three years ago.

This morning the Seattle Times ran a good piece on where Japan is three years after the Tsunami.  Why just the Tsunami, because the quake really didn't on its own do much damage, the Tsunami on the other hand caught their planners off guard, and many perished, and many more were displaced as their homes near the water were destroyed.  Read the article in the hyperlink above, I'll wait for you here!

So what have we done here? Lots of planning, exercises and thought has gone into what we will have to deal with. And much more needs to happen, but the bigger question is what have you as individuals done to prepare?  If you have read any of my other blog posts you know I believe in the individual being prepared. 

Recovery WILL take a long time. I talk a lot about the things we take for granted in our daily life, look HERE to see how long it will take to get basic utilities back.  Seriously, 1-3 years for our major roadways.

The problem we in Emergency Management have selling this as a REAL event to the general public is, well ...apathy coupled "with it hasn't happened since 1700 and it won't happen".  But what if it does and you haven't done anything? Not only will you feel stupid, you may also cause you or your family to suffer more than they had to.

How big was the Tsunami compared to say "The Hammering Man" 

disaster_dave

CREW - a great site for resources and explanations 

What if your disaster gets out classed (or people forget)

What happens if you are in the process of recovering from your disaster and a larger (more sexy) disaster occurs?

I was in the Philippines recently deployed as a volunteer response team member  for ShelterBox.  I was assigned a mission to do follow up from the Bohol 7.1 earthquake, which got upstaged by Typhoon Yolanda. The Philippines largest Earthquake in 23 years upstaged by the strongest Typhoon ever.
Many of the people of Bohol that I talked with felt that after only three weeks the aid agencies left for the bigger (sexier) disaster. 

In defense of the aid agencies the death toll was 200 vs 6000+ dead and they didn't leave, they moved appropriate (in most cases) assets to the bigger event.

So how do you keep the focus on your disaster? Maybe you can't; but you can prepare to do what you can.

Have a plan before it happens, have the players ready to begin recovery as soon as something happens.
Have the political players in the loop early to keep the focus on your event.
Have your Public Affairs folks working to keep getting the message out, covering the local response angle.

Try this test. Write down places and events that are disasters right now.  Then go to one of the international aid groups and see where they are? What are they doing? Did you realize that happened? Was on going? People were suffering?

Now imagine that is your disaster and most people have forgotten about it?

DisasterDave

Life goes on around you

Destroyed home in Loon, Bohol

I returned from the Philippines last Saturday and have been thinking about what to share,
and there are a couple of things of interest for this blog. 

My past disaster experiences have been in the immediate aftermath of the event.  But for this deployment we are two months on from the event and in a different case 3 months on. 

When I arrived in Cebu it was apparent that this was not a disaster area.  I left and went to Bohol Island with my partner to do follow up on the 7.1 Earthquake in October(3 months on).  We checked into our hotel in the main city, no cracks, no damage to see.  

But 1.5 hours up the road it was a different story. Buildings down, bridges down, large landslides, it was a mess.  As we worked through the disaster area verifying there were still people in need, I kept seeing people along the main road digging a trench by hand.  Finally I asked someone what part of the recovery that was; oddly enough it was a project to bring high speed Internet to Loon (city we worked in) that had started before the quake.  

This popped up again when I was working in the port to clear our containers through customs and the port.  They were back to business as usual; we were still in disaster mode.  All around us life was getting back to normal.

So what happens when you are still working on your disaster and life 10-40 miles away is normal? Some things to think about:

• Don’t let them forget you are still working on recovery, don’t rub their face in it, but do let them know things aren’t back to normal

• Do ask for help; I did at the port I told the people helping me I was bring in aid for their countrymen, it did move things along (I still had to pay, but it moved along).

• Report out on what has been done and what is left to do. (If you are following ShelterBox you will see we do that on a regular basis.  We plan to be working in the Philippines until April on this disaster, we need to remind people it happened and 6,000 + people lost heir lives and millions lost homes and businesses).

That’s all for now

It’s not over till you say it is

Disasterdave