How do you get to higher ground when there is nothing higher than where you are standing?...We are seeing this in central America right now where flooding/mudslides has taken the lives of over 9000 people and more missing. I was contemplating this horror and re-surveying our preparations, not just for y2k but for any emergency which might come up. Higher ground is a place of safety from any storm, whether technical or physical and we need to look at all fallback plans, to find that which is "custom-made" for us. We see people say they will be OK in the city if they have their food, water and heat, but who has planned for a weather emergency which might force them from their home? Where do you go if water/sewer backs into your basement and makes it unliveable - uphill is not a good answer. What do you take with you, and how do you get it there? People who live in the country may encounter a trainwreck and gas leak, natural gas explosion, flooding or fire. Where is "higher ground" and how do you reach it.

Just really feeling so helpless watching those poor (literally) people on TV with their possessions in plastic bags if they have them, wading through waist-deep water. This is in a country where most of their food can be grown all year round - but there won't be a harvest this year, or soil to grow it in, or a house to put it on. I know our church will be almost first in on the ground and they will already be working there with their people, but what about a world-wide catastrophe all at once, with resources stretched to the limit and unknown weather happenings. I don't think we have to be gloomy/doomy all the time, but as events happen to others, maybe put ourselves in their shoes (or bare feet) and see how it relates to the safety of our loved ones. And maybe gratefully send a cheque to Red Cross or your church to help those who can't help themselves.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), November 04, 1998

Answers

Doom and gloom is now a way of life. One catastrophe after another. We have become immune to the news of death and don't pay that much attention to other people's sufferings because it has never happened to us...yet. I remember back 3 years ago when we had severe flooding in California. People were sending in money to the Red Cross for disaster relief, but the money never got here. Churches and shelters can only do so much. It is predicted that Y2K will be a national disaster with the average severity of being 7. How will churches and communities cope with feeding, clothing and sheltering thousands of people? And for how long will they be able to keep doing it? What about water? How will people bath and use the toilet if there's no water? How will garbage be disposed of? How will meals be cooked if there's no electricity or natural gas? How and what method will be used to keep tempers in check? I wish I had something positive to say about the coming disaster. About the only thing I recommend is get ready for yourself and don't depend on a church or government agency to take care of you. The thousands that died in the flood and mudslide was an act of nature, Y2K is man made, there is a difference.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), November 05, 1998.