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Health & Fitness

After the Derecho: Thinking the Unthinkable

In the aftermath of Friday night's violent storm, called a derecho, we need to be aware of disaster preparedness.

Why don't people know what to do when the traffic lights are out at a busy intersection?

Treat it as a four-way stop and no one will have a problem. But everyone must know the rule and follow it. If one driver of one vehicle doesn't know what to do, the whole thing breaks down.

"Most Americans aren't well prepared for an emergency," said retired Air Force Col. Randall Larsen, president of the Institute for Homeland Security, in a June 30 telephone interview. "Many don't have emergency supplies at home. Many want government to do more but aren't prepared to exercise personal responsibility and discipline."

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When the violent storm known as a derecho swept through the Washington, D.C. area on the night of June 29-30, at least two people were killed, fallen trees were everywhere and hundreds of thousands were left without electricity. The few places of business that weren't shuttered were packed with crowds.

A local Dunkin' Donuts had doughnuts but no coffee. A nearby 7-Eleven sold nothing that required electricity. Larsen recalls seeing a woman searching for a place to purchase drinking water.

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"Here it is, just a few hours after the storm and she doesn't have any water," Larsen said. "Why wasn't her household prepared?"

A former Army helicopter pilot who flew in combat in Vietnam and later an Air Force transport pilot who was once stationed at nearby Andrews Air Force Base, Larsen is the author of "Our Own Worst Enemy," a book about homeland security. When the derecho hit, said Larsen, "a lot of folks in our neighborhood were their own worst enemies."

Larsen has spent years trying to educate the public on preparedness and on the dangers of a nuclear, biological, chemical or cyber attack. He believes a rogue nation or terrorist group could gain access to weaponized smallpox, created by Soviet scientists during the Cold War, despite the official line that all samples have been accounted for. He believes the United States is more vulnerable than any other nation to a cyber atack that would cripple our networks. "I can picture a situation where you wouldn't be able to purchase drinking water at a store for weeks," Larsen said.

Larsen wants government, particularly local government, and the private sector to be better prepared but he also wants more Americans to act on their own to be equipped if the worst should happen.

According to Joseph H. Fives, an author and analyst who studies disaster preparedness, the United States experienced 32 natural disasters in 2011 that inflicted damage of more than $1 billion including four where the damage exceeded $10 billion. "There has been a steady increase over many years," said Fives in a June 30 telephone interview. "Some of it is due to overcrowding, overbuilding and concentration of population centers."

"Everyone should have a kit containing basic supplies such as drinking water, some food basics and flashlights," Fives said. "If you wait to get these things until the disaster arrives, you'll be too late."

Larsen and Fives both stressed the importance of education: People simply need to learn more.

Where I live in Oakton, Fairfax County authorities were warning people not to use gasoline-powered generators indoors. The authorities issued a warning not to leave burning candles untended. Traffic crossings remained snarled because people who'd had to pass a test to get a driver's license didn't know what to do when they came to a malfunctioning signal. When roads were not yet clear and emergency vehicles were everywhere, people were out rubbernecking instead of remaining safely at home.

"We have a lot to learn," Larsen said.

About me: I'm an author of books, magazine articles and newspaper columns written in my office at home in Oakton, Virginia. I've written extensively about the need to prepare for emergencies, especially a biological disaster, but I also write about World War II. My current book is "Mission to Berlin," about B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crews in the war against Germany.

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