Survive!: Prepare for Tomorrow's Disasters Today

By Ron Collins MAed

Survive! is written to help you survive major cataclysms occurring along the Front Range of the Colorado and Wyoming Rocky Mountains, including fires, earthquakes, and war. This short book is a beginner’s guide to preparing for catastrophic natural and human-caused events. Remember, it is not “if it happens,” it is “when it happens!” Be prepared today for tomorrow’s disaster!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532087363

Ron Collins MAed

Ron Collins has maintained an interest in disaster preparedness since his childhood “duck and cover” days of elementary school. A native of Georgia he attended high school in Atlanta where the parents of many of his friends were survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. After high school, he attended The Military College of Georgia (North Georgia College) and Valdosta State University with concentrations in Political Science and History. Additionally, he earned a Master of Arts in social science education at the University of Phoenix, and a Certificate of Graduate Studies in American History from American Military University. He retired from a career in investment management in 2003 and was based in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center for five years prior to the attack. He has been a Certified Financial Planner (CFP©) since 1988. After retirement from his corporate career, he taught high school in Colorado for eleven years. Currently, he is an Instructor and Program Manager for his local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in Colorado. This is his first book.

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Copyright © 2019 Ron Collins, MAed.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-8735-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-8736-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019917802

iUniverse rev. date:  10/30/2019

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1:    Disaster Risk And The Basics

•     Basic Preparation

•     Stay or Go?

•     Evacuation

•     Transportation

Chapter 2:    Natural Disasters

•     Floods

•     Fires

•     Pandemic

Chapter 3:    Man-Made Disasters

•     Hazardous Materials

•     War

•     Hawaii

•     EMPs

•     Cyberattack

•     Civil Collapse

Chapter 4:    Tools

•     Communications

•     Money

•     Self-Defense

Chapter 5:    Final Thoughts

Appendix 1: The Bare-Bones Home Emergency Kit

Appendix 2: The Expanded Home Emergency Kit

Appendix 3: The Home First Aid Kit

Appendix 4: The Everyday Carry Kit

Appendix 5: The Vehicle Emergency Kit

Appendix 6: Additional Resources For Preparedness Education

INTRODUCTION

H umans are intrinsically optimistic. We tend to see the most positive aspect of any activity regardless of the circumstances that surround us. As children, we imagine we are the hero of the game, hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth; the princess who saves her kingdom from evil forces; or even the president who saves the world. However, as adults, we learn reality is vastly different from these childhood fantasies.

We’re not always the heroes of the game, and we are not always the survivors of catastrophes. Surviving a catastrophe requires preparation—just as we practice and prepare to hit a home run or save the kingdom. This short book will help you prepare for—and survive—most catastrophic natural or man-made disasters along Colorado’s Front Range. There are many risks in living, but we can prepare for most of these dangers without undue obsession. Floods, blizzards, chemical emergencies, fires, earthquakes, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), pandemics, and wars are the topics of this manual.

I hope you find this work helpful. It is intended as an introduction to emergency preparation for people living along the Front Range, but it should also be helpful to those who live on the Western Slope.

Good luck!

Ronald T. Collins

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CHAPTER 1

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DISASTER RISK AND THE BASICS

T here is a saying among emergency professionals that it’s not a matter of ‘if’; it’s a matter of when. This adage reflects the reason every person should prepare for the unexpected and the unlikely. Ask your friends what types of disasters they have experienced or have narrowly missed. I suspect you will hear stories of floods, fires, explosions, tornadoes, and numerous other near misses. You don’t think it can happen here? Read on.

According to the Colorado Geological Survey website, there have been more than seven hundred large tremors in the state since 1867! The largest known earthquake occurred near Fort Collins in 1882 with an approximate magnitude of 6.6. The most economically destructive quake in Colorado history occurred in the Denver area in 1967. Even as I write these words, a magnitude 3.6 quake is being reported east of Salida! Imagine today’s destructive consequences of another 6.6 earthquake centered in the Front Range population corridor along I-25. How long might you have to wait to receive water, food, shelter, or first aid?

Not worried about earthquakes? How about tornadoes? Weld County has experienced at least 268 tornadoes since 1950. Do you remember the Windsor tornado of 2008? In addition, floods are another persistent problem in Colorado and across the nation. In the 2013 floods, the affected area stretched from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins and caused the deaths of at least eight people and more than a billion dollars of damage! Think it cannot happen again? That is wishful thinking!

How about disasters caused by people? Do you really believe they cannot happen to you? Are you close to a railroad where hazardous materials are transported? In 2013, a freight train in Canada exploded in a small Quebec town. Forty-two people died, and the explosion destroyed half the downtown center. Most populated areas along the Front Range are close to rail lines. Of course, hazardous materials disasters are usually unintentional. However, people—and nations—sometimes cause intentional disasters.