This previous week I drove from FL to Memphis, ideal by way of a number of the neighborhoods outside Birmingham hit hard by the tornadoes. It was really devastating. The very first sign that something was not right was seeing cars parallel parked along the sides of a four-lane highway. Then the neighborhoods came into view, entirely flattened by the tornadoes. All that remained were piles of splintered wood, twisted debris, and the broken tops of trees. No roads remained, so there was no access for those vehicles lined up along the key road. It was totally shocking and also the photos are imprinted in my thoughts and my heart.
One passed by way of the day soon after the disaster plus the people today walking around seemed stunned and dazed. Through the couple hours I spent traveling through Alabama I listened to a speak radio show which was devoting the whole day to updates on areas hit by the storms, what neighborhood sources have been out there to help, and what resources from outside the area had been coming in to help. I share with you several of the lessons that even I who write about disasters had not totally viewed as.
One with the universities in Huntsville was shut down and the students were sent home to get a week considering the fact that there was no electricity on the campus. Sounds straightforward till I heard that the students who didn’t have enough gas in their automobiles weren’t going anyplace since gas stations don’t function when there is certainly no electricity. Prior to a storm hits, fill up your gas tank.
People today with healthcare conditions whose remedy depended on electricity for instance dialysis, really need to have precise plans in location as to how they are going to continue getting the remedy. Prior to a disaster they must know of a place with generators that may be accessible or they will need plans to become transported out from the region.
A woman came on the radio show and described how an elderly woman who was Wheelchairs Birmingham Alabama bound was discovered hours later sitting alone within the middle of what was as soon as her residence. She had no household within the region and nobody had thought to verify on her. The woman around the show was Stair Lifts Huntsville Alabama that as a community we’ve got to appear out for one another, particularly people that are elderly or disabled. Her suggestion was that a network of community help be established via the regional churches as well as other nonprofits. For those people inside the neighborhood who usually do not have household nearby and need support, some support will be essential.