Again, more inputs from the media on why every household needs to have a robust water storage/filtering/purification capability:
**************************************
Drinking Water Scarce As Floods Swamp Iowa Town
WCBS-TV New York Sat, 14 Jun 2008 6:49 AM PDT
Hospital patients in wheelchairs and on stretchers were evacuated in the middle of the night as the biggest flood Cedar Rapids has ever seen swamped more than 400 blocks Friday and all but cut off the supply of clean drinking water in the Iowa city of 120,000.
********************************************
Interestingly, after an earlier blog post on the situation in Iowa, a reader left a comment to that effect that it was very sad that we were using other folks' tragedy to help our eBay sales.
- Momentarily piqued...I deleted the comment. Wish I hadn't, because upon further reflection, I realized that reader's comment had amply illustrated a great gulf between the thinking of those who believe we all should wait for the government to do things for us...versus the folks who believe in being self-reliant, in preparing for the future, in planning ahead.
That reader is, of course, welcome to their own opinion.
Much more tragic than anything we at RMHS could do or say about the Iowa floods, is the fact that there are now about 120,000 people in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that don't have clean drinking water. Tragic, would be the illnesses or diseases some of those folks catch if they are forced to drink impure water. Catatrophically tragic would be if some of those folks die from those illnesses or diseases.
- Certainly, government assistance is on the way to many of those folks.
- But, even our own goverments (federal, state & local) tell folks not to expect disaster relief, rescue or assistance for at least 72 hours. In other words, the governments acknowledge they can't rescue/relieve everyone, everywhere, immediately.
- Those that are able and have the resources can, should and must expect to be self-sufficient during those 72 hours. And being self-sufficient longer, I argue, would be even better.
We're in the business of helping people be prepared for emergencies and disasters--of mitigating the impacts of those emergencies and disasters on folks' lives.
Benefiting from others' tragedies?? I'm quite sure we won't get a dime from anyone in the flooded areas in Iowa--their transportation networks temporarily are shot, deliveries of many goods are being delayed, and nothing we sell would get to them in time to make a difference.
- One of the main themes of news coverage about the Iowa floods is that many folks in that region, particularly Cedar Rapids, had come to believe that one of these big floods could never happen in their home town.
- That didn't prove to be a good assumption.
We're much more interested in helping other folks, in other parts of the country, prepare for the NEXT tragedy, wherever that might be.
- Hurricanes in coastal areas?
- We had friends lose their home in Hurricane Andrew. The impact of Katrina is still fresh in most folks' minds.
- Tornados in the heartland?
- My childhood home was damaged by a tornado in the 90s...with my mother still in the home. She was lucky compared to most--
- Earthquakes?
- I was in the '89 San Francisco earthquake--extremely scary.
- Terrorist attacks?
- My friend of 32 years watched the second plane fly into the Towers on 9/11.
- I counseled with a grieving troop whose uncle died in one of the towers.
- Wildfires? I had warm ashes from the Hayman, CO fire, land on my cars in safe, suburban Colorado Springs...which suddenly didn't seem quite so safe.
- Blizzards? We've been in quite a few over the years, living where we do. But the worst was actually in the D.C. area in January 1996. Remember that one, folks??? The area pretty much shut down for a week.
- Those of us that had stored food and emergency heating alternatives, were pretty comfortable.
- So, we were able to go about helping those who were as fortunate as we. (and yes, that included at least a few folks living in very expensive homes, with very expensive cars in the driveway--but were very happy to have us show up with a backpack full of food. They had the resources to prepare in advance...why didn't they???)
- Floods?
- One of my earliest memories is going through my father's scrapbook of the 1937 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky floods.
- I saw pictures where flood waters had gone over the roofs of some of the very same businesses and homes I visited during my youth. It was an eerie thought.
And we haven't led a particularly dangerous or exciting life!! Fortunately, most of the time tragedies are limited to relatively limited areas--though it doesn't feel that way to those affected.
- Aid is always rushed to those in need. Yet, I can't help but be proud of the folks who have prepared, such that they don't have to automatically become a ward of the state when a disaster does strike.
- And, we will clearly state what should be obvious: it very well CAN happen to you, your city, your town, your region, your state.
- We most definitely SHOULD learn from the tragedies of others. To do otherwise is simply unwise.
We're on the side of those folks who prefer to be prepared for emergencies and disasters, to the extent possible. No, we're not survival nuts. We're just simple folks who take common-sense precautions to minimize and mitigate impacts, in advance, rather than rushing to the grocery store to help empty the shelves hours before the need.
I would guess the reader who left the acerbic comment has at least a couple of life insurance policies. Automobile, home, perhaps renter's insurance.
- Are those companies profiting from the tragedies of others?
- Or, are they helping to minimize and mitigate the impact of unfortunate circumstances, when they occur?
We're just selling insurance of a different type. Our insurance is much cheaper, and literally can save lives, not just pay off after the damage has been done. We're pretty proud to be in this business, and try to do our best at it.
-
Truth is, we could make a heck of a lot more money selling electronics and toys.
-
We like this better. And yes, we'll keep raising the voice of warning. We hope the Iowa floods will get folks' attention...not because it will be good for our sales, but because it will be good for them!!
Wishing the best to all of you--may you always be prepared for the worst, yet never actually have to endure it.
RMHS
) 
) 
