Are You Ready?

I have several of these books. They can be pretty funny and possibly even helpful (in certain situations). But since I live in NYC the whole "Worst Case Scenario" thing does have a pretty significant dark side to it.

I think Katrina served as a wake-up call that the government isn't all powerful and won't necessarily be able to save our butts in big moments of crisis. So I started to think about how prepared I was for a "major" event here in New York. I am not really prepared that well. Last week I read this article in my "New York Magazine" called, Remain Calm. It looked at real worst case scenarios for the city and what would be done, what we (as citizens) should expect, and how to protect ourselves. Let me just say that if a nuke went off in mid-town that would pretty much be it. You can imagine the relief I feel at the excellent job the Bush administration is doing at keeping nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists!

Anyway, I was looking at the emergency preparedness kit recommendations on the Department of Homeland Security's website and it's clear I have a lot of shopping to do. I know "they" have been telling us for years to have one of these kits, but who wants to be that fatalistic right? After Katrina I started to think about how upset I would be at myself if I were in a situation where the local, state, and federal government collapsed in providing aid during a catastrophic event, and I was looking at Allison and Levi and trying to figure out how to get them some clean water to drink.

In reality the city most threatened by terrorists who wish to have mass casualties and make big statements is New York. However, New York is the city that is the most prepared to handle the sorts of attacks or events that keep safety officials awake at night. Pubilc safety officials drill, plan, re-plan, and imagine all sorts of things happening to the city and how they should respond. That gives me some level of comfort, but I can't just be a bump on a log and expect them to bring me some Poland Springs water if a dirty bomb goes off at the Zoo in Cenral Park.

If you are brave enough to read the article I referenced above you will ask yourself how prepared you think your city is, which ultimately will lead you to examining how prepared you really are.

Do any of you have one of those preparedness kits, and are you fearful about any sort of attack, weather phenomena, or other catastrophic event visiting you or your community?

Side Note:
NYC is great and any fears I might have about living here aren't remotely strong enough to make us want to move. It's more dangerous on I-635 in Dallas than riding the Subway that's for sure even with the risk of a bomb going off in the subway car next to me. And besides, the suburbs have their own sets of problems.