Richard Duarte - Surviving Doomsday: A Guide for Surviving an Urban Disaster

Surviving Doomsday

Copyright 2012 by Richard Duarte

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ISBN: 1-4802-7066-0

ISBN-13: 9781480270664

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012921443

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,

North Charleston, SC

Surviving Doomsday

A Guide for Surviving an Urban Disaster

Richard Duarte

Contents

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those people, who when faced with death, destruction and overwhelmingly desperate situations somehow still manage to find the good in humanity, to stay positive and to overcome adversity.

Acknowledgments

My special thanks to all those very special people who have supported my every endeavor; no matter how unrealistic or impractical those endeavors may have seemed at the time.

Introduction

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.

-Thomas Jefferson

Why You Should Read This Book

We live in a very dangerous and unpredictable world. We are often exposed to hazardous events and circumstances. Some of these events are natural, others are manmade; but all have the potential to change our lives in a single moment; usually for the worse. Within all the uncertainty, however, we all have choices. If you are taking the time to read this book, then you are already off to a very good start - you are taking responsibility and making an effort to obtain the skills necessary for survival. While life holds no guarantees for anyone, we can often increase our chances for surviving a crisis, or public emergency, simply by having a plan, thinking ahead and by making some basic preparations. Conversely, time and again, everyday people are caught completely off-guard and find themselves at the mercy of whatever crisis has come their way. Fortunately, more and more responsible people are preparing to survive, and refusing to become victims.

In just the last twenty years, there have been numerous disasters claiming many lives and causing billions of dollars in property damage. The typical disaster aftermath includes the potential for shortages of food, water, medical supplies; and in severe circumstances even social breakdown and violence. Once the downward slide begins just about anything is possible. In this book we call such events a Worst Case Scenario (WCS). A WCS is any natural or man-made event that puts people at great risk of severe physical harm or loss of life. A WCS can often lead to disruptions of our social and economic infrastructure. Examples of a WCS include, but arent limited to, hurricanes, storms, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, acts of terrorism, war and/or civil unrest, prolonged interruptions of the supply chain or transportation systems and public services/utilities, serious economic, social or political disruptions, cyber attacks, etc. (Familiar examples include the 2011 Japanese Tsunami, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and the 1992 L.A. Riots recent history contains many more such events.) Sometimes these events hit very close to home.

For many people in South Florida, 1992 was a life-changing year. In the early morning hours of August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew, at the time the second most powerful and destructive hurricane in U.S. history, struck South Florida. Andrew, a category five hurricane, slammed into Miami at more than 160 miles per hour destroying nearly everything in its path. Andrews full force and fury would eventually affect the North Western Bahamas, South Central Louisiana, and South Florida. A total of 65 people lost their lives, countless others were injured, and the storm caused $26.5 billion in property damage (in 1992 dollars), most of the damage was in South Florida.

At that time, I knew absolutely nothing about disaster/crisis planning. In fact, I knew less than nothing, because what little I thought I knew was mostly all wrong. I had heard the news coverage about the approaching storm, but I made no plans for leaving the area, and I made no serious preparations to secure my house. In hindsight, my biggest mistake, besides my total lack of any planning or preparation, was that I completely underestimated the seriousness of the situation. I did not realize it at the time, but I was in denial, and I would pay a very steep price for my complacency.

Before it was all over, Andrew had completely destroyed my home. At dawn, the full extent of the destruction became apparent; my neighborhood was in complete ruins. Long before any first responders began arriving, looters, and other miscreants were already looking for targets of opportunity; very scary and very sad. For me, Andrew represented an incredibly loud wake-up call. My young family and I survived by hiding in a small closet for what seemed an eternity. The experience left me shaken, but with a strong sense of determination. I knew that things could have very easily been a whole lot worse. I alone was responsible for my family, and I had failed them miserably. By not planning or preparing, I had inadvertently exposed my loved ones to tremendous risks; there was no excuse for my failure. In the aftermath, I swore I would never again be caught unprepared. Andrew had taken almost everything from me. But it had also given me something very significant a second chance. We were all alive and healthy, and I emerged from the pile of rubble, that was once our home, with a steadfast commitment to learn everything that I could about urban survival and disaster preparedness. My brush with death had put it all in perspective; going forward I understood that it was all on me, and always would be. Its no different today, some twenty years later.