Historically, it’s never been a primary function of a government to swoop in and save everyone in the event of a disaster scenario (unless it’s caused by an invading army). Governments across the globe are admitting that they’re not equipped to deal with catastrophic events. India is thinking about disaster preparedness these days, following a couple of major industrial accidents.
J R Bharadwaj, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (I guess that’s like India’s version of FEMA) tells IndianExpress.com:
“Most companies hire consultants for paper work. However, they never practice what is expected of them.”
The article goes on to state that Bharadwaj believes “a lot is known about crisis management but there is little awareness about preparedness.”
That’s refreshingly honest. The fact is, governments are not equipped to “rescue” everyone on short notice when disaster strikes. It takes time to gather resources and supplies and mount a rescue effort, communications get snarled, and all manner of mistakes happen. There used to be a time when people were more self-sufficient for times when an emergency comes along.
If you haven’t seen the writing on the wall yet, maybe it’s time to start getting your family prepared. Here’s a nice first step: Get to know your neighbors. After that, come up with your own emergency plans. If a worst-case-scenario happens, you’ll be ready to help yourself and the people around you. Don’t count on help showing up at your front door, because that could take days or even weeks.
Source:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/focus-on-preparedness-to-avoid-disasters-ndma/548285/