Acts of God. When things go wrong, and they will go wrong from time to time, the blame has to be placed some place.

The US suffers time to time from natural disasters. And when there is a need to be able to contact a lot of people in a short amount of time. In short, there is a need for an Emergency Management Plan.

13 US Natural Disasters in My Lifetime

1. Freeze  – In 2013-14, a cold wave claimed 21 lives in the eastern US. But it didn’t keep the cheese heads from going to the football game.
2. Blizzard – In November of 2014 the US north east was hit by a massive snow storm. Even Buffalo noticed! There were 24 fatalities. A couple of months before FROZEN climbed to number 5 all-time in ticket sales.
3. Hurricane – In 2012, hurricane Sandy (clever name that it is we can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl) racked up $75 billion in damages and claimed 147 lives
4. Tornado – In 2013 a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma claimed 24 lives and whipped up $2 billion worth of damages that somebody had to pay for.
5. Earthquake – Los Angeles  suffered from an earthquake. There were 57 fatalities and $23 billion in damages, mostly in one Hollywood neighborhood.
6. Flood – in 2011 a Mississippi River Valley flood claimed 20 lives and cost $2-4 billion to clean up. Huck Finn would not have enjoyed his trip nearly as much.
7. Mudslide – In March 2014 a major mudslide occurred east of Oso, Washington. There were 43 fatalities.
8. Wild Fire – Yarnell, AZ lost 19 people in 2013 to a wildfire.
9. Heat Wave – In 1999 there 271 people died in the Midwest and Northeast . In 1995, 739 people died in Chicago.
10. Tsunami – It’s been a while but in 1964 Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and California suffered the Good Friday Earthquake. The original Good Friday wasn’t that good either.
11. Avalanche – Wellington, Washington lost 96 people in 1910. None of them were on a snowboard.
12. Landslide – 1998-1999 Kelso, Washington suffered $70 million in losses in Aldercrest-Banyon.
13. Volcano – In 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption claimed 57 deaths and made all the geologists revise their thinking on how old the Earth might be.

The time to plan for a disaster is BEFORE it happens. Not after. Not during.

We are getting better at predicting when we might be hit. The question is, why haven’t we become better at preparing for them.

I am old enough to remember shelters to protect from possible nuclear attacks. I remember being taught to have an emergency evacuation plan. Now you see them pasted to walls in schools and hospitals and the like.

It’s time for everyone to have an emergency management plan. Do you have yours?