I've been receiving Michael Hyatt's superinformative messages for months, but just today checked out the bulletin board at his site. There is a posting there with news from a woman living in the Floyd aftermath that moved me almost to tears. Most of the time I THINK about what Y2K may bring. But this piece brought it to the FEELING level. If you want to check out the difference, go to: http://www.michaelhyatt.com/discuss/ubb/Forum14/HTML/001545.html

-- Shivani Arjuna (SArjuna@aol.com), September 28, 1999

Answers

Thank you for posting this. I haven't heard anything on the news lately about this tragedy. They will be in my prayers.

-- Sharon (sking@drought-ridden.com), September 28, 1999.

Howdy--

Anyone who has been feeling foolish about prepping, or whose enthusiasm and energy has been flagging needs to read this letter. It may be about a flood, but it is terribly on point.

Thanks for posting, Shivani.

Buying more tonight,

-- William in Dallas (bcheek@onramp.net), September 28, 1999.

Thanks Shivani...

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 28, 1999.

I have felt very secure about water because we too, have a well. We are not in a flood plain and live on a hill. But I am sure as heck going to put as much bottled water as I can get my hands on!

Thanks TONS!!

-- winna (??@??.com), September 28, 1999.

I have felt very secure about water because we, too, have a well. We are not in a flood plain and live on a hill. But I am sure as heck going to put as much bottled water as I can get my hands on!

Thanks TONS!!

-- winna (??@??.com), September 28, 1999.

One of my recently "GI'd" friends in NJ just emailed me to tell me that the bottled water and food came in real handy.

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), September 28, 1999.

Wow! Thanks Shivani,

Really touches the heart.

Diane

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/discuss/ubb/Forum14/HTML/ 001545.html

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

posted September 23, 1999 01:01 PM

L was again able to call me this morning from her business, the phones at her home, which had worked during the hurricane, haven't worked since. Their power is sporadic at best. The urgency in her voice has only increased as it has in her pleading with everyone to prepare!

The present situation, which is constantly changing and usually for the worse, is as follows - some rivers have not yet crested, more rain is expected by Monday, new hazards arise each day. Another chemical plant to the west has possibly already leaked some Mercury, it is in danger of being further inundated, the military worked frenziedly to pile more than 8,000 sandbags around it to contain it. EPA is there, no safety from spill if Waccamaw river continues to rise.

They are enduring terrible stench from carcasses of animals and the cries of the animals still stranded are terrible. There are isolated communities, little islands in the midst of flood waters, where people are stranded and running out of all supplies. One lady was able to call a local television station on her cell phone, said there were ten families in this situation, had gathered together and shared all they had, but were now desperate for food and water.

The relief agencies and military have staging areas everywhere and are doing their best to either get people out or take supplies in to them. L, speaks with the military stationed near her house and each day sees them personally more shaken by what they are seeing, they are getting necessary medicines and supplies in to many who are desperate for them.

Her brother is a minister and truckloads of supplies from churches to the west should be able to get through some roads by the weekend, L and her family will be working all weekend at the church unloading and distributing them.

So many other problems, people not able to get mail and not receiving checks, either paychecks or support checks have no money at all on hand.

Stores still low on bottled water, eggs, meat, her store had 12 loaves of bread. Pet food is finally making it in, but still needing more and definitely more supplies for babies. Prices beginning to rise as well. Stores ran out of all bags to bag what was bought, they used up even all their trash bags. She says be prepared to take your own bags to stores, as they do in parts of Eastern Europe.

Owner of local gas station was stranded at their home, picked up and has parked a travel trailer behind station so they can be on site to keep it open.

The fabric of the local community is being stretched to its limit, some looting is taking place, and police forces are being shifted to try and address the worst locations, but most people are working together very well, but "normal" is not in sight for them yet.

She saw a woman crying on a local tv station, saying they had lost everything and that their insurance company had told them they did not need flood insurance, and this is something L wants to stress, the flooding is not of people who built foolishly in places that frequently flood. The areas presently flooded had not been flooded in their recorded history! People didn't think it could happen, but it did!

FEMA and all the relief agencies are so overwhelmed, for those who have lost everything and have no insurance FEMA is writing a check for maximum of $13,600 per family.

Personally, her family is doing well, even though they have two wells that are testing safe, they use the water only for cooking, bathing and cleaning. She had thought herself crazy for storing as much bottled water as she had, with two wells, why am I storing bottled water, she asked herself! So glad she did, it is all you want to drink she says, the pollution is all around and they are being warned to disinfect anything that touches it!

WATER, WATER, WATER she shouts at me, tell people it is so critical, more important than food, she says have as much water as you possibly can store and go to your local water department and shout in their faces about their contingency plans for Y2K problems!!!

She says there are no distinctions among people now, no rich or poor, no one color or another, no religion or another, no educated or uneducated, no I work for this company or none, the only distinctions are between those who were prepared to take care for themselves and those who weren't!

Many are having accidents due to using equipment they are not used to using, chain saws, generators, and one thing she again shouted was under stress you cannot learn anything, you react to everything, so learn now how to do things you may have to do in an emergency so it will be second nature to you!

Her children and grandchildren are still at her house and are coping very well, but she says tell them exactly what is happening, they can handle it and are better able to if they know what is going on. Her grandchildren are very secure in knowing they have her supplies there for them. Her grandson came to her yesterday and said, "Nana, can we have some of the Dak hams stored for Y2K?" and it was her delight to say sure, let's go get some!

That is what she wants everyone to ask themselves, can you look in the face of someone you love and explain to them why you didn't prepare for an emergency?

A doctor she knows says they are seeing so many people who are dangerously depressed, the emotions of surviving the storm are stressed to the breaking point by all they are dealing with in the aftermath of it. And one of the overwhelming feelings being expressed by everyone is their anger over how the government lied to them!

The government told them - the dams would hold, they didn't. The roads they had constructed wouldn't be flooded and they are. The areas where they built their houses and homes were safe from flooding and they weren't. The chemical plants presented no danger, and they are one of the biggest hazards right now, along with the hog farms and waste lagoons the communities fought against building. They were assured they presented no health risks, and now may be the biggest! They are angry at themselves for taking those assurances and not assessing the risks they presented and acting accordingly.

And the isolated nature of the disaster, if you go in one direction everything looks fine and a few miles in another direction there is nothing left but misery. So when you are advised that problems may be "isolated" during and after Y2K, think what you will do if you are in one of those isolated areas! And remember that even if the tragedy isn't happening to you, seeing it happen to others nearby is about as difficult to endure.

She ended by expressing her thanks, her heartfelt thanks to all who are praying for them and to all who convinced her to prepare and for telling her how!

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 28, 1999.

Thanks so much for posting this here.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), September 28, 1999.

Thanks Diane for posting the text of the story....

My heart goes out to those folks as I've seen that type of depair and anguish in peoples faces before. Once you've seen it anyone with a heart will vow to do what they can so that others don't have to go through the same type of hell...which is what it is.

I work disaster services here in Sonoma County, floods, landslides and fires in general. While my usual assignment is communications, once the event hits you do whatever is necessary. As part of the Russian River response team I usually end up working with the Red Cross in their evacuation center in Gurneville. The local RC folks are kind of burnt out on serving Gurneville (locally well know for the many "street people" who live there) which has had 5 100-year floods in the past 12 years. The last time we had a flood (it was barely a flood) they sent some flake out who had about as much compassion in his soul for the poor folks there as I have for Saddam. Truely disgusting. I'm sure there are many caring and compassionate folks in RC but this jerk wasn't one of them. This is my rationale for carrying around 6 cases of food in my van at all times, extra blankets, water and a big first aid kit. Last time when someone came to the evac center saying they'd lost everything in their home/trailer/etc. all Mr. Jerk would do is tell them that a bus was coming in 2 hours that would take them to the Red Cross shelter in Santa Rosa where they'd probably be able to get something to eat. Grrr....I'd look into the faces of these hungry cold and miserable people who wilted when they heard what Mr. Jerk had to say and it was heart wrenching. I felt like he was intentionally baiting some of them and now wish I hadn't kept two people from pounding Mr. Jerk into the ground.

Now I mention this because I feel response to a "normal" disaster is one thing and response to Y2K is something entirely different (not to pat myself on the back). Come Y2K the skys may be blue, the breeze mild and the birds happily singing in the trees. IF there are disruptions it won't be some poor soul who's house trailer was flooded who shows up hungry. I expect it to be Joe Average who laughed at Y2K and instead of putting some food by, went and bet on the ponys or bought a wide screen TV instead. Odd as it may sound I expect I'll have little compassion for them. Then too it's one thing for me to feed a couple dozen people for a few days and something else to try and feed thousands of folks who didn't even make the most basic of preps and refused to take any responsibility for their own well being.

Next year will certainly be interesting......DCK

-- Don Kulha (dkulha@vom.com), September 28, 1999.

Uh, Don,

Sound's like you're a "love" but... Y2K happens "on top of" the dead of winter, and whatever else Mother Nature tosses our way. What happens if it rains horribly up the Russian river... that weekend?

(Then of course, there are the possible cyber and non-digital kinds of man-inflicted "events" that just may pile the Y2K equation... higher and deeper.. for starters).

Not a good time to "expect" blue skies. Plan for the grey ones, and appreciate the blue if that's what you receive... locally.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 28, 1999.

Quoting Diane:

"Y2K happens "on top of" the dead of winter, and whatever else Mother Nature tosses our way. What happens if it rains horribly up the Russian river... that weekend?"

Three years ago I spent New Years Eve sleeping (or trying to) in my van across from the Gurneville fire station (where our unit commander had assigned me to be), watching the flashes from falling power lines and listening to the wind howling by at 60 mph. The river was 10 feet over flood stage at that point and still rising and R/C had about 15 people sheltered in the library nextdoor. Not exactly a "fun" New Years that year. I'm not a pessimist but I always try to be prepared for the worst and to respond to it.

"(Then of course, there are the possible cyber and non-digital kinds of man-inflicted "events" that just may pile the Y2K equation... higher and deeper.. for starters)."

Possible...Sadly true. I'm currently doing a crash "self study" course on epidemiology, virology and control/containment measures in case it becomes necessary to respond to such worst case incidents. There are no real local resources for dealing with such. Not that I think I could make a large difference but, have to try....

"Not a good time to "expect" blue skies. Plan for the grey ones, and appreciate the blue if that's what you receive... locally."

I'll hope they're blue but prepare and plan for "otherwise". Come New Years eve I'll be up here on the hill with friends having a party and hoping for the best. I'll keep it down to a dull roar (maybe two glasses of champagne), the fuel tanks on the van will be topped off, response gear loaded, the scanner and radios will be on. Hope New Years day is a pleasant one, everyones doing okay and my pager doesn't go off :@).

DCK

-- Don Kulha (dkulha@vom.com), September 29, 1999.

What! Don... You mean youre NOT going to party in The City?

Cops making plans for New Year's Eve
By Ryan Kim
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Thursday, September 30, 1999
)1999 San Francisco Examiner

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/30/newyears.dtl

Police and city officials unveiled a broad array of contingency plans meant to ensure a safe New Year's Eve celebration, but their words were tempered with uncertainty and a little apprehension about what will actually unfold that night.

With as many as 1.5 million people expected to be in The City to usher in the new millennium, officials said Wednesday they are using the last 93 days of the year to prepare for the worst. ...

[snip]

Although its possible that phone lines and other forms of communications will be knocked out by the Y2K bug, police will have everything from radios and cell phones to old street call boxes to keep in contact with each other.

[snip--ro end]

*Sigh*

Who knows? It might be "an adventure." Or not.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 30, 1999.

Just testing.....

Link

-- rookie (Firstdat@school.gov), September 30, 1999.

> What! Don... You mean youre NOT going to party in The City?

Absolutely Freaking Not!

Hey, have had major fun in S.F. over the years, even lived there (20th and Geary) for a while. Loved the Cafe Minerva down on Eddy St. (Ouzo, greek food and dancing) and spent a lot of time at the Buena Vista, at the Filmore and at Winterland. It's a fun place but this boy has learned when to protect his neck like a turtle and Dec. #31 seems like a good time to do this. Nope, will be hanging out close to home and maybe shoot off a bunch of fireworks with my son (Alex, age 10) if it's wet enough 'round here by then.

I used to take risks for fun but not anymore with a small person depending on me. Now 12/31/2000, the start of the millenium, if things are calm that I may go for. Irish coffee?

DCK

-- Don Kulha (dkulha@vom.com), September 30, 1999.

Been away a week, scanned the forum, and found this! What a great thread--emphasizes the most important point: you can never have enough bottled water.

-- Spidey (in@jam.cold), October 04, 1999.