[EAS] Preparedness and Survival Generalities

[Rod Zeigler]

Watching, hearing, and reading everything about the Hurricane Harvey 
event is supporting something I have believed for a long time. People 
are individually responsible for their own safety and whatever action it 
takes to secure that.
We, the EAS community, go to extraordinary means to get information out 
and available, but we can't turn TV's and radios on for people and make 
them take the information in. We sure can't force them to react in the 
fashion we expect them to. Government cannot, and should not, be 
expected to care for each and every individual at all times. Government 
is set up to make decisions that effect groups of people, not 
individuals. If a storm is coming do not sit back and wait for 
Government to tell you what to do and when to do it. Have your own plans 
made and your own supplies purchased and in hand.
Sadly many elected politicians have made careers of convincing people 
that they are going to make life wonderful, no matter what happens. When 
it doesn't happen the blame game begins and some poor schlep ends up 
being the goat.
People should know what happens in the area that they live. In the 
midwest we have severe storms with tornado's and blizzards, occasionally 
at the same time. We don't have storm surge, or tsunami's. We do have 
floods and flood plains. We know where they are, and the enlightened 
avoid them. The rest of the country should have the same mindset. Yes, 
the weather might be great most of the time, but is that really worth 
taking the chance of loosing your life in an unusual, but not 
unexpected, event?? I think many of us are getting tired of putting out 
the effort and taxes to pay for people who make bad decisions and then 
expect us to make them whole again.
Will  I stop or slow down what I do for local, State, and National 
alerting and preparedness? ABSOLUTEY not! If anything it prods me into 
doing more. I will no longer have high expectations for outcomes, but 
will be able to sleep at night knowing that I did all I could. What 
others do with the information I help disseminate is not my problem. It 
can't be.
Rod

-- 
R. V. Zeigler, Dir. of Eng.
Nebraska Rural Radio Assn.
KRVN-KTIC-KNEB-KAMI