Cyber-Shockwave underscored disabled issues during emergency
A war game was played out about a week ago where the United States was attacked through the Internet and the electrical grid crashed causing immeasureable problems across the country. The game was re-broadcast by CNN and it was a chilling realization that not only were the able bodied in big trouble, but the disabled community was going to see serious casualties as nurses were unable to get to patients in homes, medication that required refrigeration went bad and hospitals were beyond overload with car accidents and crime waves that hit neighborhoods because the police could not respond. The actual war game did not take into account the disabled community or how they were going to be helped, but one could easily see that without electricity people in condominiums are stuck there with wheelchairs that slowly stopped without a way to recharge them. Even if you could get out stores were closed and you could not get to grocery stores, gas stations, or anywhere else that people go to for basic needs. Even with the national guard called in to restore order, those on ventilators were going to find themselves in deep trouble as their batteries ran out and there was no way of calling an ambulance and get them to the building before they died. This looked like Hurricane Katrina, except happening all over the country at once and the local and federal government was not set up to handle such a major loss of infrastructure. What this showed is why it is so important that individuals set up their own emergency plan which includes water, food, flashlights, radios, battery run televisions and telephones that either do not require power or get a UPS that can keep your cell phone charged for a month. Hopefully it woke up a few of those people but it was something that the whole country should have been watching. We are all just a few steps away from not being able to feed ourselves or family because of no preparations and hoping that our government will come in and save us with door to door food and water for free. (Source: Washington Post – Cyber Crisis)
It is not surprising that we are ill prepared to handle a serious attack from the Internet. In the scenario Wall Street was closed down for a week while the power was turned back on. It would be impossible to calculate the tremendous damage to our economy that would happen if no one could trade on the stock exchange for a week. There would be runs on companies, mutual funds, and probably banks. How many companies would be wiped out when things first started up again? How many workers would find themselves unemployed and their bank accounts emptied because of bank failures. People would have to figure out how to stay alive for months while the feds figured how to pay for all the accounts in banks that were insured. If you do get a check, where do you cash it? What other bank do you truest to open up a new account? Does the postal system even work? There are substantial documents that are super secret that outline COG, or continance of government. These papers outline what to do in the case of a nuclear attack where the federal government is substantially damaged. There are outlines for who is responsible for what and how to ring the economy back on line. Many aspects of that document would have to be implemented if we were to get our country back off the ground again.
How would the disabled fare in this environment? If you are in a hospital situation then you are probably the safest of anyone. Major hospitals would be the first to get power and supplies. But if you are either at home or at a shelter then things are going to get ugly quickly. Everyone saw what happened in Hurricane Katrina at the Superdome where basic supplies were gone and people were living without clean water or sanitary conditions. The government has shown that it is not prepared to deal with a large emergency and that it takes time for groups like the military to get involved and get assets to the area. During that time everyone, especially the disabled must be able to fend for themselves for the better part of a week. Hoping that someone from state or federal government is going to come knocking on your door with food, water and medical supplies is a pipe dream. Those folks that need a nurse to get going in the morning need to make arrangements to have someone stay with them during the storm so that when roads are blocked, power is out and there is no gasoline your nurse is already in the house and can help you immediately. If you require drugs that have to be refrigerated then get a small refrigerator and a few uninterruptible power supplies or a generator to keep the fridge running. Make a spot in your home that can hold food, water and other supplies for a week for each person in your household, including your helpers. That will give you enough time for emergency crews to get power back up and police and fire crews to get things back under control.
How well you fare in an emergency is directly tied to how well you prepared. Those that have generators or UPS systems will find that life without power is more of an inconvenience. Food and water are the most important things you can have and things can get ugly if you run out of either. It is easy to stock up before an emergency and to keep track of dates so things do not go bad. Make sure that you also include manual can openers to open cans of soup. Since electricity may be an issue you should also include a couple of battery powered flashlights and a radio. If you have the budget for it get a battery powered digital television so that you can pick up local stations. This is a good place to start to set up an emergency kit to help you in times of bad weather or national emergency. Either way you should be able to stay at home for 7 to 10 days without food or water to make sure you don’t run out of supplies before emergency crews get a handle on the situation.
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Great write up indeed! You touched on points that most of us don’t even consider. I have dealt with many students that are beginning to make the change from high school to college. It’s really an amazing time in their lives, but they must be prepared as you mentioned. Keep up the fantastic blog, and God bless.