Disaster Central.
| Types Of Disasters |
| Pandemics |
| Man-Made |
| Natural Disasters |
| Personal |
| War / Crime / Terrorism |
| Economic |
I wouldn’t want to tally up the ways in which the world can kill you and your family. We would be here for hours! Some of the ways in which you can die result from simple accidents in nature while other doors to death can be the complication of something more sinister in nature. The bottom line however is rather simple, dead is dead and if you are reading this your overall objective is obviously to avoid or postponed death for is long as possible.
I believe disaster situations can be divided into 6 broad categories and all 6 have the possibility of creating a societal breakdown and a new set of issues as well. The 6 types of disasters are as follows: Pandemics, Man-made, natural Disasters, Personal, War/Crime/Terror & Economic.
The root cause of each disaster may be different but the overall outcome is usually the same. loss of electricity, food shortages, water contamination, large evacuations & mass casualties.
1. Natural disasters
Paso Robles Earthquake
Natural disasters are instances of the ever changing, dynamic makeup of the world. We know the world and everything in it is evolving and changing, sometimes at a grand scale in stature just to let us know who is in control.
The 4 largest culprits of natural disaster include floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes. A full list of common natural disasters are as follows: Floods, Tsunamis, Blizzards, Cyclonic storms, Droughts, Hail storms, Heat waves, Tornadoes and Fires.
They can cause extreme property damage as well as a large body count. Take a quick look at some of the natural disasters over the last few generations as it may put the possibility of such disasters into better perspective. The numbers alone are rather intimidating and they should be for good reason. If you think you are exempt from the possibility of disaster because you live in a specific part of the globe I suggest a thorough reexamination.
Tsunamis & Earthquakes
| Location | Date | Death Toll |
|---|---|---|
| Tangshan, China | July 1976 | 242,000 dead |
| Hati | January 2010 | 230,000 dead |
| Sumatran Coast | December 2004 | 225,000 dead |
| Kashmir, Pakistan | October 2005 | 80,000 dead 3 Million homeless |
| Sichuan, China | May 2008 | 70,000 dead, 18,000 missing |
| Peru | May 1970 | 66,000 dead |
| Manjil-Rudbar, Iran | June 1990 | 40,000 dead. 60,000 injured, 500,000 homeless |
| Bam, Iran | December 2003 | 31,000 dead |
Volcanic Eruptions
| Location | Date | Death Toll |
| Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia | November 1985 | 25,000 dead |
| El Chichon, Mexico | April 1982 | 2,000 dead |
| Mount Pinatubo, Philippines | July 1991 | 800 dead, 290 square miles covered with ash |
| Mount Saint Helens, Washington | May 1980 | 57 dead, Largest Volcanic Eruption in America, ash deposits over 11 states. |
Droughts & Floods
| Location | Date | Death Toll |
| India | 1965-1967 | 1.5 million dead |
| Ethiopia | 1984-1985 | 1 million+ dead |
| North Korea | mid-1990s | 600,000 dead |
| Uganda | 1980 | 50,000 dead (21% of the population) |
Hurricanes, Floods & Cyclones
| Location & Event | Date | Death Toll |
| Bhola Cyclone, Bangladesh | November 1970 | 500,000 to 1 million dead |
| Hurricane Mitch, Honduras & Nicaragua | October – November 1998 | 19,325 dead 2.4 million homeless |
| Floods, Hanoi, Vietnam | November 1970 | 100,000 dead |
| Cyclone Nargis, Burmese Peninsula | May 2008 | 100,000 dead |
| Floods, Yangtze River, China | August 1975 | 85,000 dead widespread famine |
| Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Coast | August 2005 | 1,800 dead, Massive coastal destruction |
In this very brief rundown you can clearly see that grand scale natural disasters causing large losses of life are far from uncommon events.
Please keep in mind these are only some of the major events to take place over the last few generations. The tally of countless smaller scale incidents as well as their body counts are not listed. Regardless of where in the globe you live be it from Florida hurricanes, Colorado snowfall, or Missouri tornadoes you should respect and prepare for all disaster scenarios to safeguard your family.
2. Pandemic
Influenza Pandemic: Masked Typist
What is a pandemic? A disease or illness that spreads like wildfire touching an entire nation or even the world. For as long as I can remember people have been predicting some sort of “super virus” that will eventually destroy mankind or at least set us back a few ages.
With the news networks constantly informing us of a large scale bug every couple of years such as, Swine Flu, h1n1 AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Marbug, Avian Flu, H5n1 and others it is clear to see why others would make such bold predictions.
Could you imagine if Aids were airborne in the 80s? It may be radical thinking but god forbid, would you be prepared? As I write this I am far from it. But as we learn from history there is nothing wrong with being proactive.
3. Man made
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 2011
The blunder of man. Man Made disasters almost always come from things malfunctioning or human error in our technological Society. They include but are not limited to, industrial chemical releases, water contamination, Air Pollution, hazardous material spills, blackouts, house fires, etc cetera. Oil spill anyone?
People make mistakes or are careless. A massive example caused an oil tanker to leak oil into the ocean in 2010. Somewhere between 90-180 million gallons of oil has been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 BP oil spill.
They are usually good for robbing us of modern day luxuries that we normally take for granted. But in a larger scale they can impact an entire ecosystem. Another great example is the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear power plant accident.
The Chernobyl disaster (Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа, Chornobylska Katastrofa – Chornobyl Catastrophe) was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe.
The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011).[1] The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles.[2] The official Soviet casualty count of 31 deaths has been disputed, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for.
The above quote from the English Wikipedia.
4. War / crime / terror
When disasters are the product of evil intent they are usually also the most horrifying because their impact can grow as far as the perpetrators readily available resources and his or her knowledge. Terrorism & terrorist usually all have at least one common goal to and that is to destroy parts of the planet. While our emphasis on fighting Terror has of upped our level of security, the threat is still prevalent and it grows as technology advances.
5. Personal
A personal disaster can be just as devastating as any of the earlier mentioned disasters just in a smaller scale. The loss of a job, illness, unexpected financial burden, or hardship can be just as devastating as anything else and be as equally as powerful at disrupting your life. You should also prepare for instances such as these.
6. Economic
Greece
Economic disaster. Its happening as you read this. Its not some hyped up event with a specific date on the calendar. Its been in the works. Things are happening in real time that greatly affect us. Over the past 4 decades the US and Europe have piled up the greatest pile of debt in the history of the world. Our nations economy has been deteriorating badly our populace becoming more and more dependent on its government.
Just as we see there are various levels of disasters there are various levels of prepping. You need to know what you are preparing for. If you think you can prep for everything you will be sadly mistaken. Try to figure out what your greatest threat may be to your family and focus on that first. You don’t need to focus on the end of the world (EOTW) so long as you focus on what has the best odds (in your opinion) of directly affecting you and your family. You’re starting out somewhere, and that’s what matters most.
In chapter 2 I intend on focusing on the fundamental “Anchors” to Survival.