Earthquake Survival

If you think about it, earthquakes wouldn't kill anyone if there were no buildings. only the unfortunate who were in a cave would die. it still amazes me that less than 1,000 people were killed in Chile's 8.8 earthquake. They have much better engineers and building codes there. Too bad Chile won't receive much international aid. Alot of people already gave money to Haiti, and their death toll was above 100,000. People aren't as sympathetic when they see death toll of only like 750 in Chile. Once again, I feel almost non-sympathetic and it saddens me. But not all is lost, I still think about preparations for earthquakes.

Let me share with you a part of next Sunday's Gospel (thanks to Jon, who told us last HT meeting in preparation for next week's TCL):

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”


According to what Jesus said, the people who die in unfortunate events are just like you and me. No better, no worse. We need to use these examples as repentance. God always tells us the world will come to an end and we need to be ready for judgment. I've come to the decision that these events aren't necessarily unfair, God never told us when the end of the world would be, only just to be ready. For these unfortunate people, the end of the world had come for them. It can come for us anytime also. If you die tomorrow by something random like a sniper, it will be an occurrence that God set in motion to call you home. Unfair? nope... well not really.... okay maybe... but still. be prepared for anything.

However not all hope is lost. Mary tells us that if we devote ourselves to God and the rosary, we will be blessed with a peaceful death. Did you know Japanese Jesuits were praying the rosary when their building was untouched by the Hiroshima nuke that blew up less than half a mile away. So what can we do in case the big earthquake hits LA? Double up on prayer and because WE WILL SURVIVE, double up on water.

From reading The Zombie Survival Guide (yes i know zombies don't exist, but to prepare for zombies is to prepare for both natural disasters and civil disorder), a person should have a gallon of water a day, with half a gallon being a minimum. You can survive a month without food, just make sure you have water. So for a 4 person household, you want at least 15 gallons of water to hold out for a week. If the big earthquake hits LA County and the OC, we are ****ed. Thinking about going to the local Walmart for supplies? Not if you want to run into thousands of looters. So stock up on some water... better to have it and not need it than vice versa. Also you won't be able to drive your car anywhere. Have you realized how bad traffic is in SoCal during rush hour on Fridays? Well this would be 10x worse. I think all the roads will be packed, and people are probably driving on opposite sides of the freeway. National Guard will probably have to airlift supplies in. Water and gas pipelines will break everywhere. If you are lucky enough to still have some running water, plug your bathtubs and fill with water immediately. You can sterilize it by boiling it (which is why you need a few propane/camping stoves). Good luck to us all.

Mac

4 comments:

Willy Bob said...

Great piece. Definitely a reality check for me.

J.Frosty said...

LOL: "If you die by a sniper tomorrow, it will be a random occurrence that God set in motion to call you home."

Oh you know how i like it lol. And I has plenty of water to go around. Shake and Bake party at my house when it hits.

vinster said...

good luck

i will be flying on my paper plane to mars, or just free-load off the general.

anyways, time to focus on the present!

CP said...

I feel like a follow up post on the topic of defending from looters is needed... That AR from turners sure looks good right now.. haha