Living in Illinois, I have no fear of huricanes, earthquakes, floods, mudslides or most other disaster scenarios. Tornados hit, but usually not in my town. I didn't make any emergency preparations for Y2K. I read articles about emergency kits, but I have trouble envisioning needing most of the items. I tried to think of scenarios where I'd need a stockpile of food, water, medical supplies. It seems overkill for where I live.
You know what has me freaked? Avian flu. It doesn't help that this information on the CDC website was last updated in August. I've only just found this flu wiki and need to read more, but it is disturbing:
"Once the virus spreads easily from human to human and becomes a pandemic (many disease experts say when, not if), we will be confronting a worldwide public health emergency with hundreds of millions of people infected."
"In the case of a pandemic, as many as 30% of your neighbors and co-workers may become ill (yes, that many), so you need to plan accordingly. If you’re used to having low inventories of perishable goods or daily deliveries at your home, you may need to adjust your routine (the delivery service may become unavailable for example)."
Maybe I'm freaking out a little because of Doomsday, an excellent book by Connie Willis set partly at the beginning of the Black Plague in the 14th century. Anyway, I plan to read as much as I can on this potential pandemic. My family would say I'm overreacting, but I think it's clear we can't rely on the government protect us or even know what to do.
I'm not saying I'm going to start stockpiling, but I think it's important to know as much as I can about this potential threat and what to do if it comes to pass.
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