Crisis Project - The Cast

The City is Joplin, Mo. and the tornado hits. House is destroyed, Daycare is without power or roof but only two fatalities, a social worker and an administrative assistant. Phone lines are down, cell towers destroyed, no power, highways are blocked by trees, power lines, and debris. Nothing escapes damage.

 

How far from home and daycare do they work?

 

It goes without saying that getting to ones children or loved ones would be foremost in anyones mind. I endured a similiar instance several years back, decades actually when a tornado went thru Xenia, Ohio. In the aftermath, the power was out, either having been ripped down with live lines here and there and then being shut down by the power company for safety until repairs could be effected. State and County police had shut down all roads into town. My best friends Mother lived alone in this town, near or directly in the path of the major damage. We lived an hour away and were not thus residents with documentation to prove we lived in the City. The LEOs were instructed to absolutely turn away all potential looter, non residents, and to strongly suggest returning residents be discouraged from entering the area if possible but be allowed entry at their own risk if adament. License numbers were called in on all non residents and were centrally recorded at the time of turn back with a warning that a second attempt at entry would most likely result in arrest. My friend was firm in that he was making entry one way or another to find his mother (who also happened to be a paid nanny or babysitter for me when I was little and my parents both worked). He gave them his and her name and address and said we would be hiking in if not allowed to pass with the vehicle. I only stated what was in the quotes above, and said, I am with him all the way. We were detained and all this was called in. After about a half hour we were told to take our vehicle and go back the way we had come for at least a half mile and find a landowner along the way who would allow us to park our vehicle on the private property, not the roadway easement, and return to this checkpoint where we would be allowed to enter on foot. We did, hiked in and found her alive and well in her undamaged house without power or water. She had camping gear, a pantry with goods not requiring refrigeration, a neighbor with a well and generator. She wasn't up to hiking out. Her car was fine but their was damage pretty much all around her and at that time didn't want to try to drive out until things were cleared better. She planned to go to her sisters at that point and would call us. There was a group of neighbors around her who had banded together, (this was pre neighborhood watch as an organization) and was pretty safe. We met a few of these people and were relatively impressed with her safety, and at her insistence left and hiked back out. Her house was intact, she had firearms on the premises and planned to stay and ride it out. There were houses totally destroyed within 100 to 150 yards of her house. We went home and back to work. This was back in the 70's no fema no dhs. Our names also were called in from our drivers licenses prior to our foray on foot beyond the checkpoint. We were not detained or challenged by Leos beyond the checkpoint where initially stopped. I have no idea how all this would have played out in todays environment. Our hike round trip was 8 or 10 miles.

 

If they are aware that their home is/might be destroyed once the kids are picked upa note would need to be left for the second parent to know the final destination of the parent and kids... probably on a wall or door .... a discussion on where they would meet if the had a home crisis plan would simplify the situation... probably friends or family on a nintey degree azimuth from the path of distruction....

 

i would def leave a note at home for anyone stopping in
tell them i was enroute to the kids and to stay put
and set for an alternate meeting place if home was unsafe
nothing nor anyone could stop me getting to my kids
id find a way there

 

good point, thanks

 

Or, be cryptic about it. I have the kids, will meet you at your mothers younger brothers house. Means plenty to the two of you, but little to others. jmho
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a durress code word or phrase is always good also. If used in any message or phone call, it immediately lets the other know something is seriously wrong.

 

Well, the "shoulda-coulda" don't count here. The Shite has hit the fan and they were not prepared. Now we have to decide how they can deal with it. OP-Sec is beyond their comprehension; these are ordinary suburbanites that love their children, have a mortgage on a house that is now somewhere in Oz, and no plans or preps. How the hell do we save them? They don't own guns, they own socker-mom mobiles and wear those funny spandex shorts and bicycle helmets. Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

 

the best they can do is try
yes its too late to be prepped, they wont have any alt locs set up
they wont have code words
chances are if the rescue crews dont save them they are gone

are we setting up what shoulda been or how to react post fact?

 

Their only chance is to deal with this directly as the crisis it is. Damage control must take priority. An evaluation of their circumstance is essential.
Survival elements do not change, only circumstances change. Food. Clothing, and shelter are the first priority. Is the storm over? Will there be another in the immediate or near wake? There are no more 7-11s...oh my god! We can't travel...soccermom mobile can't cross downed trees, debris, and electric lines....emergency personnel are all busy locating injured and dead....not much help here...We are not people to these folks! We are categorized...injured...walking wounded...refugee....we are their job and they are overwhelmed....there are some distribution centers with clean water, blanket, and first aid...get there....no time for anyone not grievously injured...looters are being shot and all we have is on our person...there are no street lights....cell towers are gone....it is eight miles to the daycare and our only option is to walk....it is also eight miles to our parents home but in the opposite direction....they have a storm cellar....police have checkpoints everywhere...it is getting dark and there is gunfire more often....it is unbelievable hot and there is lightening in the sky again...please god...not another storm....have to find the children...!

 

The FEMA folks, Red Cross, and National Guard have arrived with potable water, emergency tent shelters and Aid Stations. They are dealing with the crisis as a planned response and do not have time/space allocations for individual problems. Every Trioge is treated, fed, watered, and assigned an area. Armed patrols to insure curfew violations and looting are suppressed are getting shot at by looters and have begun returning fire. .GOV sends in BlackWater to augment security and unofficial policy to disarm everyone is mandated. The News cameras focus on the amazing outpour of humanity as Volunteers and National Guard face tremendous problems dealing with people as a group rather than as individuals. Back on the Ranch, we send money to the Red Cross and initiate Clothing Drives to help those poor people.
The children are still unaccounted for, nobody to help....curfew....shooting violators...eight miles to travel by foot through a minefield of debris, broken trees, leveled houses, downed powerlines, .....
what do we have?
1. Small firstaid kit from glovebox of SUV, just bandaids and a tube of neosporin and a pair of tweezers.
2. Two road flares
3. Tire Iron and jack
4. Car Seat
5. pen knife on keychain
6. LED keychain light shaped like a porpoise
7. Two bottles of Avian and a small box of apple juice, the ones with the little straw
8. $161.33 in cash, several credit cards, and a leather purse filled mostly with makeup, bill reciepts, and pictures
9. A Small bottle of hand sanitizer
10. Two bottles of Merlot, a bottle of Capers, and a round of Brie
11. A box of Pampers
12. two sanitary napkins and a small box of tampons
13. a small bottle of Mydol and two chewable Pepto Bismol tablets.
14. a partial pack of Doublemint chewing gum

 

anything usable in the vehicle (8 miles away) wont be there when they get back
somebody else needed it