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Monday, November 07, 2005

Disaster Scenarios

This article in NY Magazine is beyond scary. It discusses 9 disaster scenarios that can affect NY City. They include:
  • Smallpox Attack
  • Chlorine Release
  • Blackout
  • Dirty Bomb
  • Earthquake
  • Indian Point Explosion
  • Avian-Flu Pandemic
  • Hurricane
  • Nuclear Bomb
Lovely. Though the article is titled Remain Calm, the message I think most readers will take away from reading it is: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

I know that's what I got out of the piece. Fear. And a few additions to my regular shopping list that include:
  • Tamiflu,
  • biohazard masks,
  • lots of soap,
  • flashlights and batteries,
  • duct tape,
  • potassium iodide tablets,
  • a 30-day supply of prescriptions, food and water
  • a full gas tank
  • a $200,000 "safe room"
Do you think I can pick them all up at the local kosher supermarket?

11 Comments:

Blogger respondingtojblogs said...

No firearms?

10:47 PM  
Blogger orthomom said...

Nah. I go to Wal-Mart for those.

10:54 PM  
Blogger respondingtojblogs said...

Ha! You joke, but the last time I visited Five Towns I went to the SportsAuthority near Hofstra to buy .223 ammunition. It felt pretty strange.

11:02 PM  
Blogger orthomom said...

I joke, but I know that Wal-mart carries guns and ammunition because last time I was there I saw their selection. Huge.

11:06 PM  
Blogger respondingtojblogs said...

On a serious note, I think that the recent events in Louisiana (and France) demonstrate the very real possibility of anarchy in the aftermath of a disaster. One of the core principles of Western society is that the state is given a monopoly over violence and police power. But what happens when the state blink out of existence, or is simply unwilling to exercise its mandate?

Excuse my right-wingism, but it's really frustrating to watch the paragon of statism fiddle while their city burns ( Not my reference).

11:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This article is not reassuring, but the fact that the other articles in the issue are all about food is. How dire can it be if theyre talking about food?

1:20 AM  
Blogger Jameel @ The Muqata said...

When you want ideas for planning a safe room, let me know. I'm sitting in ours now, blogging away. It doubles as my wife's office/book room/computer room.

Then again...its also the "armory"...M16, Glock...ammunition...radio equipment, but you don't need advice on that ;-)

1:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bloggs are such a wonderful way to plublish ones thoughts. Thanks for letting me visit and leave a comment. Love the theme of your blog Come by my site some time. It's got avian flu preparation related stuff.

1:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Harry, Dog on the River,

You forgot to mention the fact that the flood waters of the Kensico dam would also force their way along Central Avenue, which begins at the intersection of the Bronx River Parkway and the Westchester County Center. the flooding of Central Ave., a major shopping corridor would also result in catastrophic destruction and fatalities.

11:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Harry, Dog on the River"'s claim about the Kensico Dam is an overexaggeration. Flood waves from dams dissipate in height. This can be modeled by software. Civil Engineers (like myself) use dam break software that can model the flood wave as it would travel downstream. No dam flood wave travels at "400 mile per hour." Sounds like an interesting student project at an engineering college. I would speculate that destroying a dam would take a pretty big explosion because surface blasts are deflected to the open air. It is unlikely that so much firepower would go unnoticed, and more likely for such a large charge to be used on a higher profile, more volunerable target, like a tunnel or bridge.

10:58 PM  
Anonymous buy Cialis said...

I was in a big Earthquake in Asia and I think that it is terrible,also I was in a Hurricane in Orlando, Be careful with the nature.

3:16 PM  

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