Where are the first responders?
Why are kits called 72 hour kits? Generally, the recommendation has been for people to store 72 hours or 3 days worth of food and water because that is generally how long it will take relief agencies like the Red Cross to access disaster areas. But after Hurricane Katrina, we realized that 3 days is no guarantee.
People were stranded for days on roofs trying to escape from flood waters and others were stranded in the Superdome which was supposed to be a shelter, but had next to no supplies for all those who sought refuge. After Hurricane Katrina, some organizations encouraged people to focus on keeping supplies for a full week instead of only 3 days. The amount of time it takes first responders like firefighters and police officers is effected by several factors. I live in a relatively small city with only 15 officers on our city police force. Most of them do not live in the city limits and an average of 2 officers are on duty at any time. Statistics are not in our favor that during an emergency, all of our police officers would be in the city and immediately available to assist citizens.
Geography and the severity of the disaster play a part in the time it takes for first responders to reach you. I live in a city where we are surrounded by a lake as well as a river, so in the event of a major earthquake, if bridges went down, our city would essentially be cut off from the rest of the county with boats the only way to access us. A minor disaster that leads to roads still being able to be used has a much faster response time for police and firefighters to reach people while a major disaster that disrupts roads can lead to extreme delays in response time. Talk to your city and local officials about what emergency plans are in place for your area and what you can do to assist them in helping those people who need assistance after a disaster.
