Being Prepared - Before it is too late

An article by me, published in the Forum page of The Straits Times in Sep 2005. This article subsequently made its way into some civil defence handbook.

"Hurricane Katrina taught us one thing, that it is never too late to be prepared. The Indian Ocean tsunami caught people off guard, without warning. But Katrina gave lots of warning before she hit land. Yet Katrina still managed to cause damage and loss of lives. One of the reasons could be due to civil defence, or the lack of it.

The United States has, or had, a civil defence programme. For a nation that was faced with possible nuclear war against the USSR, civil defence was taught and practised. But over the years, with no nuclear wars or major disasters hitting the US, people grew lax in civil defence. September 11 might have been a wake-up call, but with the focus on the intelligence failure and the subsequent military action, it never brought back the right attitude about civil defence. Katrina is the American's wake-up call for civil defence.

Civil defence teaches us that defence is our responsibility too. We must be prepared to do our parts, no matter how small, when disaster strikes, be it war or hurricane or earthquake. To this end, we have drills in which we practice what to do when the civil defence siren sounds, queuing for food with coupons in hand, tuning in to the radio to listen to announcements, etc. These little actions on our part will go a long way when disaster strikes.

We must continue to take civil defence seriously. Katrina, and the tsunami of Boxing Day 2004, only reminds us of the consequences should we let down our guard. Only by maintaining the right attitude towards civil defence, will we be able to ensure that we stand the best chance against any disaster that hits our island nation.

Do you know what to do when the civil defence siren sounds? Do you know where the nearest air raid shelter is? Do you keep a portable radio at home with batteries? Is your kitchen cabinet stocked with an adequate amount of canned food? If not, maybe it is time to start thinking, for who knows when disaster will strike?"