I've just finished reading one of the best books on preparedness and emergency planning that I've ever encountered. Find it and put it on your reading list - it is a must have!
Written by a physician with active experience in disaster preparedness and response, it brings to the table a refreshingly genuine call to action that it unmarred by political aspirations or partisanship.
In a unique turn, Dr. Redlener does not focus on stashing a room full of rice and beans or getting off the grid. Instead, he focuses primarily on mega-disasters (think Hurricane Katrina or 9/11) and uses them as a framework to address both large and small-scale challenges and opportunities, from a crumbling national infrastructure to the psychology behind Americans' wide-spread failure to have basics like three days of food and a flashlight with working batteries on hand in their homes.
Although it does contain some solutions and suggestions, this is not a how-to book. Instead, it speaks to the need for Americans to understand how vulnerable and unequipped our nation really is and why.
Especially enlightening were his disaster scenarios, all real-to-life, demonstrating the far-reaching impacts of a mega-disaster and the limitations of our current response capabilities. We assume that in an emergency help will come and someone who knows what they're doing will take over, despite the demonstration many times that real life often doesn't work that way. Each of Redlener's scenarios illuminates the many facets of emergency planning that daily go overlooked or unconsidered and brings to light ways we can act as individuals and communities to improve our standing before we find ourselves in such an untenable position.
This is a reader-friendly but high-impact read. Please check it out!
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