The secondary disasters that follow

[RosieTR]

I was thinking about Spartana's comments on the recent smallish earthquake in SoCal, regarding disasters that happen after and because of the primary disaster. Might be good to incorporate into planning when possible. So, for example, drought begets fire. Usually if you're clued-in then you'd know it was a drought and use that as a motivation to update your emergency planning as well as take preventative steps with the landscape. Fire begets flood so preparing for that, oxymoronic though it might sound in a drought, is also wise. Sadly, parts of SoCal have seen this recently, for example. But even a more unexpected disaster that your area is prone to shows that planning for the "secondary" disaster might be just as useful. Tornadoes are often accompanied or followed by flooding rains, so maybe having all your stocks in the basement is less wise than diversifying to a higher floor, in case the house survives tornado but not heavy thunderstorms. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[happystuff]

Very good point. I never really thought of a disaster as having a secondary disaster. I'll have to ponder this.

[iris lily]

This is an interesting idea. But living as I do in tornado land, the tornado is the Big Thing. Any rains that come with it, and usually there are some, are quickly over. It's just rain.

If one's house is flattened I can't think of a safe place to keep food stores other than the basement, and really, that doesn't matter much. When houses are flattened by tornado no one is going to starve. Tornados do not take out entire cities like some of the other disasters we talk about. My point is that feeding the citizens in a tornado ravaged place is easily do-able.

[RosieTR]

Yes, that is a valid point with tornadoes, Iris. I think I was thinking of individuals, and more of like records and sentimental items (like birth certificates, photos or a computer drive with photos) for example. And recently didn't part of Alabama have tornadoes followed by flooding? Seemed like a possibility even if not a certainty.

I was thinking of this the other day because many disasters seem to have secondary things that throw salt on the wound. For example, after an ice storm a friend of mine in PA was without power for quite some time this past winter, and all I could think of was what would happen if her pipes freeze? Then she has a (localized but still potentially damaging) flood. I can't remember what she did in the end but they were OK. Even small more-annoyance-than-disasters can lead to other issues that become emergencies, but if planned for could be no big deal. In her case, she may want to check her homeowners insurance to see if they cover stuff like that, or if she can get a rider in case. We rarely lose power for days here in the winter, but it might be a good idea for us, because in the case where a transformer blows when it's -5F then I'm not sure what we'd do. Alternatively we could put our furnace (gas powered) or pellet stove on an off-grid thermostat/starter system and not worry about that. Then figure how many years of paying the insurance rider would cover the solar panel or whatever for the thermostat power, and we have a backup system plus peace of mind. It's that type of thing I wanted to bring up, though obviously in different disasters things would be different.

[ToomuchStuff]

Tornados do not take out entire cities like some of the other disasters we talk about. My point is that feeding the citizens in a tornado ravaged place is easily do-able.

http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-...towns-20130321
Those are the ones that didn't rebuild, then there are those like Joplin or http://www.tldm.org/News10/Tornadoes...urg,Kansas.htm that do/did. Uhm, don't take out????

[iris lilies]

http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-...towns-20130321
Those are the ones that didn't rebuild, then there are those like Joplin or http://www.tldm.org/News10/Tornadoes...urg,Kansas.htm that do/did. Uhm, don't take out????

tornadoes don't take out towns of size. Sure they wipe out wide spots in the road.

A monster tornado hit my Victorian neighborhood in 1896 and that started its decline. The fashionable people moved west. Some houses here were not restored, some were only partially restored. You can see the ones that lost their 3rd stories.

[ToomuchStuff]

Get specific, "towns of size", what size?
Flat out saying something doesn't hapeen, is just putting your head in the sand, and wrong IMHO.

[Spartana]

Yeah I can think of a lot of secondary disasters that follow a big disaster. Heck I can think of how even a small short term local disaster can cause a larger more devastating longer term disaster. Everything from roads being down long term and no supplies getting (or having to be airlifted in) na dpeople unable to get out, long term power and water outages, polluted homes and food and water sources (lakes, rivers, creeks) if flooding or hurricane that caused sewage or toxic or radioactive wastes to be released from overflowing or damaged treatment plants, homes, factories, farms, hospitals and research facilities, gas stations and oil plants, etc.... The list is long and it can take months or years to clean up a place and make it habitable again. Lots more I can think of that can cause a short disaster (like a tornado) that knocks out a chemical factory and pollutes the nearby river or ocean where drinking water comes from, causing massive fish die-offs, toxic clouds, toxic mudflows into homes and business, killing off live stock and farms, and then working it's way down stream to continue doing the same to all towns on the river or waterway. I can go on and on about this but you get my point. Just call me Little Mary Sunshine :-)!