Lessons Learned from the Earthquake in Haiti

The earthquake that struck the Republic of Haiti on January 12th was a disaster and a tragedy. For anyone unaware, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck close to the capitol of Port-au-Prince. Thousands are thought to be dead; historical buildings, hospitals, and what infrastructure they had was demolished. My hat goes off to all the people going down there to help, and countries around the world pitching in to help them in this time of need.

But let this be a wake up call to all Americans. A lot of us are near major fault lines, including one here in Kentucky (New Madrid Fault Line), and a major earthquake could happen at a moments notice. This goes to show that Americans need to realize the threat of disasters that are out of our control, and get prepared for them. Food storage, emergency kits, and supplies you would need in the event of widespread power outages and service failures are so important.  How much better off would the people in New Orleans after Katrina, or the people of Haiti be if they all were equipped with a 72 hour emergency kit?

We can't expect anyone to come to our rescue, and we must be prepared to help ourselves and our families in the event of a disaster. Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges Americans to create a plan, stock up on supplies, and get prepared. If the disaster in Haiti doesn't prove the point, then look at what happened in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. We're all at risk, and we all need to be prepared. One old sayin' that comes to mind is "better to be safe, than sorry."