[metmom]

This idea that you (society) can prepare for every possible natural catastrophe is a recipe for a bankrupt society.

I don't think that anyone is claiming to be prepared for every natural disaster.

It's foolishness for us to prep for hurricanes, tornadoes, or flooding. The risk of other natural disasters of other kinds is very low.

We are prepped for snow, ice, and power outages. We get those regularly, but should something like an earthquake happen, the same prepping we do for snow and ice would work as well. So you don't need *special* preps for each individual kind of disaster.

By discouraging people from prepping as you are, you are only exacerbating the problems of recovery when they do happen because the government cannot and will not be able to bail everyone out in the manner they expect.

[Pontiac]

Ultimately disasters are a societal failure, the UNDRR concludes, before adding words of its own wisdom, cautioning “Next time you hear that phrase – ‘natural disaster’ – step up to the mark and correct the speaker: ‘There is no such thing as a natural disaster.’”

I am not discouraging anyone from being prepared for disasters.

For decades FEMA has told people to have at least 3 days of food and water for your family so that you can make till the Feds arrive. The FEMA website has a list of things you should have store to make it till help arrives.

That is a minimum.

My point is that the government can't and should not try to be the savior of every individual.

If the local governments keep a store of emergency supplies how can they be sure that those stored supplies will not be destroyed by the disaster or that may become inaccessible by the disaster. Also such stores need to be replaced periodically. Governments can't be trusted to do these things.

People have to be responsible for their own survival.

Many of course will not and will be recipients of the Darwin Award if a disaster strikes.