When we think of a disaster striking we think that it is going to be a fireman or some other type of emergency rescuer that is going to save us. However studies have shown that it is not so much the army, navy or your local paramilitary source that is going to step in to save the day. It is more likely to be the neighbor.
A scientist named Daniel Aldrich decided to look into this after his neighbors helped him avert disaster when Hurricane Katrina visited in 2005. A newcomer to the city, Aldrich was encouraged by his neighbors to pack up and leave the area before the hurricane hit. They were inspired to do this because they saw that he had small kids. An evacuation had yet to be ordered but Aldrich trusted his neighbors and drove to Houston. If he had not listened to the advice that his new friends had given him he thinks that he and his family may not have survived the disaster.
Aldrich, a political scientist, did studies on exactly who comes to who’s rescue during a disaster and found that it was mostly neighbors. This is why it is especially important to make friends wherever you go.
Aldrich visited disaster sites all over the world and found that after a disaster that ambulances, fire trucks and government aid did not show up to help first. In fact, the government was rarely the first entity able to clear water or get power back. Restoration of the community is usually spearheaded by local business or industry or by your neighbors. This is because first responders often take far too long to get a scene. This is because land lines are down, cell phones do work and the responders have no way to find you except by GPS. In a mass disaster, like the Japan tsunami this can be a daunting task just simply because there are too many victims over too much of a vast area to find.
After the giant 2004 tsunami in India his studies also found that it was not the villagers with the most money or power who survived. It was those who were most socially connected and had the most friends. Those who knew who to go because they knew the community were the one that had the families that survived.
So what might be your key to survival in the near future? Start holding your own block parties. Get to know your neighbor. In fact holding a block party specifically devoted to being prepared to help each other in an emergency is very important.