A few lessons learned

08/31/2005

Paul Munnis

Here are some lessons I’m learning from this disaster:

1. When an evacuation is ordered, close the inbound lanes and convert them to outbound lanes thus doubling the flow of evacuees.

2. When an evacuation is declared, commandeer all busses, rail lines, taxis, and herd people onto them for immediate evacuation using box cars, flat cars, ships, barges as well as traditonal means. Speedy evacuation is the name of the game. That means dispersing the means of transportation fairly across population centers.

3. Require all gas stations to have emergency standby generators so that they can pump when the electric is out.

4. Go back to stock piling large amounts of food water, emergency rations and medical supplies at strategic Federal buildings around the country. It looks like porta-potties need to be added to the collection of emergency supplies.

5. Designate in advance where the regional refugee centers are located and work to assure the routes to them are kept open.

6. Change the way we sell guns in America. Instead of putting them in stock at store counters, take orders for their sale and ship them to the buyer.

7. Make evacuation order calls much earlier so there is time for evacuation.

8. Change the way that we handle insurance in America so that people are discouraged from building wihin suicide locations like New Orleans.

9. Refuse to allow rebuilding in disaster prone areas.

10. Establish a “swap a lot” program so that you can swap a house lot in a disaster prone place like Florida for a lot in a place like Omaha using empty federal lands.

11. Evacuation triage systems are needed.

12. These threats from natural disasters are bigger than the threats from al Queda and terrorists. Our Federal and State government needs to get their priorities straight by recognizing that dealing with natural and manmade disasters are related once a disaster happens. Terrorist inspired disaster require an intelligence network that is reliable at forecasting threats and intercepting bad guys in a timely manner before they can wreak havoc.

13. In addition to emergency diaster plans we need to establish for both government and business a set of continuity plans for key sectors of our government and our economy and not allow them to be at long-term risk.

14. I have learned to be more modest in terms of thinking that mankind has control over our environment. We do not and thus we neet to act prudently in recognition of our limitations.