Results: This survey is about disasters that impact our lives and how we respond to them. Reactions might differ from one person to the next, one state or province to the next, or one country to the next. Other factors may also affect how we react in a crisis.
It might take just one natural or man made disaster to destroy a lifestyle, a comfortable home, years of personal mementos, damage our mental well-being and ruin our financial security. On the other hand a similar disaster can teach us how to work together, how to share, how to be resilient, how to react in a crisis, how to be self reliant and many other positives when surrounded by negatives. Here are some challenges I or my community have faced over the years. You may have shared experiences. What did we (or can we) learn from them?.
1.
1.
The Edmonton F4 tornado of 1987 ripped through the eastern parts of the city on Friday, July 31, It was very destructive with 27 fatalities and hundreds injured. It was on the ground for 90 minutes for 19.1 miles and was up to a mile wide. Edmonton is not known for this type of weather so the response was part spontaneous and part procedure. In the absence of emergency response measures such as FEMA, a more organic pulling together of citizens was required. Here are some responses we were proud of. If this had happened where you live, how would you have reacted? For more info. check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_tornado
People lined up to donate blood at the Red Cross Blood Bank
14%
•
284 votes
People lined up to donate money for relief efforts
15%
•
320 votes
People lined up at various agencies to offer their expertise, job skills, equipment, transportation, and muscle power to help in any way they could.
16%
•
335 votes
More than 200 homes in the path of the tornado were destroyed. People opened their own homes to the displaced families for weeks after the disaster.
14%
•
297 votes
People did NOT line up at government offices or insurance companies looking for help. The thought didn't even cross our minds. Many insurance policies at the time didn't cover natural disasters on this scale. We just rolled up our sleeves and got to work.
8%
•
162 votes
I have never faced such a disaster and am totally unprepared for such an event.
36%
•
754 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
29 votes
Not Applicable
35%
•
730 votes
- We flooded in 2008 only help we got was from friends and family. Fema was worthless
- No
- Some flooding in Vegas. But nothing horrible, thankfully.
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.64% | 14 | |
| Only disaster we had was groundhog gal in 1975.We had no power,all phone lines down,high winds.trees down.Roads blocked.all our pipes burst in house it was so cold.We were shipped out to relatives all over the place for awhile.It was horrible. | 0.05% | 1 |
| We recently experienced a hurricane (Helene) and tornados (10 to be exact). My family was very lucky as we did not experience the worst of this disaster. But, we have donated everything that we can think of to help those in need. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I'm prepared for disaster though, thank God, I've never been in one yet. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I've not faced a disaster, but I am as prepared as possible. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Been through ice storms and forest fires, that was plenty for me. Nobody helped or replaced anything else, no line ups etc. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I Hope the rescue team and survivors are okay or getting better. | 0.05% | 1 |
| If I were spared and my home was still in good shape I would take people in. I was 17 in 1987 and already had non family living with my family, it's what we do. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Hurricane Hazel was ugly in my tiny town when I was not quite 8 years old. We barely have enough people to form a line, but people helped each other. | 0.05% | 1 |
| a littl of it all | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have weathered more than 10 Hurricanes here in Florida in the last 20 years. I empathize with the people . Prayer is always fundamental in calling for protection from these demonic air disturbances ! Just pray and thank God in the name of our Lord. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Hurricane Irene August 28, 2011. We lived in VT at the time. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Flood | 0.05% | 1 |
| Biden Says No More Federal Resources for Hurricane Helene Disaster #hurricane https://youtube.com/shorts/DVU7XY 3LpQ?si=qC5S5PIJwdbCTtKz | 0.05% | 1 |
| Give food, water, bleach, disaster essentials. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I live in a large apartment house and tornadoes wouldn't affect us. | 0.05% | 1 |
2.
2.
A more man made disaster was the natural gas pipeline leak of Feb 1979. A construction crew cut the line and 228,000 gallons of propane created an unpredictable, moving bomb underneath the neighbourhood. It blew off toilet lids and manholes as the pressure built and lead to one of the largest peacetime evacuations in Canada driving residents from their homes at midnight..It started flowing through the storm sewer toward other neighbourhoods and some houses blew up. Here are some reactions during and after the event. Which of them do you think would happen in similar circumstances?
Fire crews struggled to determine who owned the leaking pipe, and how to flush the sewer. Now all pipelines are clearly labelled with emergency contact information.
15%
•
318 votes
A propane line was nicked by a contractor 2 weeks earlier. It created a pond of gas. While cold, the gas hugged the ground but that morning, the sun caused the propane vapour to rise and easily ignite. Now there is Alberta First Call or "Call Before You Dig" to locate and flag all utility lines on property.
17%
•
352 votes
When we evacuated we went to a drive in movie to kill time and the drive in stayed open in the middle of winter just for evacuees. It became a party of sorts.
8%
•
167 votes
Rather than stay in a hotel, we went to my office and slept on the nice thick carpet that had been recently installed. The experience was surprisingly enjoyable. The security guard (I had forgotten about him) just about had a heart attack when his flashlight woke us up in the middle of the night.
8%
•
160 votes
This incident lead to the setting up of a specialized hazmat team which predicts how toxic gases and other dangerous material will react on any emergency call.
12%
•
246 votes
We now have a "culture" of learning how to turn our gas furnaces off and on if it has a pilot light. Most don't these days. (comment if yours does). People who didn't know how to do this had their houses blow up (or risked it).
9%
•
180 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
12 votes
Not Applicable
63%
•
1333 votes
The young guy whose truck ignited the fire, suffered 30% burns and was hospitalized for 9 months. He went on to dedicate his life to burn victims, starting the Alberta Burn Rehabilitation Society and lobbied for better standards for fire resistant clothing. Many victims had injuries that could have been prevented with better clothing - something that has been rectified in the aftermath of the explosion.
8%
•
168 votes
- no
- No
- no
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.44% | 7 | |
| unsure | 0.06% | 1 |
| GOD Bless you, survivor. | 0.06% | 1 |
| I can not fathom. | 0.06% | 1 |
| survey is much too long for the small amt of points--- | 0.06% | 1 |
| PGE gas pipeline explosion | 0.06% | 1 |
3.
3.
My next adventure was the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Ixtapa Mexico on March 20th 2014. We were on vacation there. I was having breakfast and my wife was getting oiled up for a day of sunshine. I didn't realize it was an earthquake at first. It felt more like a freight train was going by. If you have ever been in a severe earthquake, did you experience anything like the following?
The hotel staff panicked and ran out yelling "Seismo, seismo" That was the only thing that seemed coordinated. Throughout the hotel, staff literally dropped everything and exited the building. They knew that aftershocks were often more dangerous.
6%
•
123 votes
I finished my breakfast and went up to my room where my wife was calmly reading her book while sitting as far away from mirrors and the patio door as she could in case they shattered. We were amused by the panic and the dropped items in the hallways.
7%
•
153 votes
The hotel was built into the side of a cliff. The entire east wing of the hotel moved 6 inches to the west leaving a gap between our building and the rest of the hotel. The next day, staff had already filled in the gap and painted it over. There was no sign we had even had an earthquake.
6%
•
121 votes
After several major disasters caused by earthquakes, the Mexicans have become adept at making nice looking buildings out of strong concrete with lots of re-bar. Sitting at my table in the middle of a 7.4 earthquake did not feel dangerous. If the huge concrete beam above had collapsed on me, I may have regretted my confidence in Mexican architecture. My experience was quite exhilarating.
6%
•
135 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
25 votes
Not Applicable
79%
•
1663 votes
- Thank God NO
- I have in Vegas but it wasn't too bad.
- slight in 2014 WV/Va area
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 1.80% | 10 | |
| slight quake in 2014 knocked my water battle off my desk | 0.18% | 1 |
| unsure | 0.18% | 1 |
| Been into 3 large earthquakes, all inside my house | 0.18% | 1 |
| 5.1 Earthquake San Francisco Aug 8 1989, my bed went back and forth across the room | 0.18% | 1 |
| was in the shower in Guam when we were hit with a 7 earthquake | 0.18% | 1 |
| I knew what was happening and ran to stand in a well supported commercial doorway until it stopped. I did yell for others to follow too. | 0.18% | 1 |
| Quake from the South hit Connecticut. Felt the ground waves. It was surreal. | 0.18% | 1 |
| oil fracking causes earthquakes here in Oklahoma, laws passed to decrease fracking | 0.18% | 1 |
| Things falling from shelves only | 0.18% | 1 |
| Left the house until it was over. | 0.18% | 1 |
| 5.4, Orange Cty, Ca: Was at work, 8th floor when bldg started swaying. We were asked to leave the bldg via stairway...plaster was falling all over the stairway, few of us were hit by plaster but nothing serious. We were sent home for the day. | 0.18% | 1 |
| had pictures rocked off the wall. Surivived the early 1990's LA earthquake hiding under a small table in our living room. | 0.18% | 1 |
| I finished my dinner and the house started moving so I called my son to come up from the basement.. I was a very scary cetuation | 0.18% | 1 |
| I think almost daily earthquakes in Bay Area. We don't even notice anything less than 4-5 on the Richter | 0.18% | 1 |
| I was flying in a plane somewhere over Mexico and people were screaming and praying. | 0.18% | 1 |
4.
4.
The motivation or inspiration for this survey was the very recent arson fire that burned down a townhouse complex under construction and then burned down the row of townhouses that had been completed the previous year. One of the families living there was that of Henry my maintenance man who, like me is an immigrant. He and his family had to escape the burning building at 4am and lost virtually everything in the flames. Arson is a major problem where I live since so many homes are made of wood and few are fire protected. If there was a fire that risked your property, how prepared are you?
I have my important documents in a protected container (or off site) and can retrieve them in seconds if need be.
17%
•
352 votes
There is an uncluttered path between my bed and the way out of the building in case of an emergency.
21%
•
432 votes
We have a sprinkler system. Our stuff may get wet if there is a fire but it won't get burned.
6%
•
135 votes
If a friend gets burned out of their house, I have spare stuff I can given them to help them out and a list of other places they can go. When something like this happens it is tough to think straight so I try to help. I have friends who would do the same for me.
14%
•
295 votes
If I have a cooking or electrical fire I have thought about it ahead of time and know what to do. I know not to add water to an electrical fire but first turn off the breaker. I know not to add water to a cooking oil fire but instead smother it with a pot lid.
16%
•
332 votes
If I am in a hotel or a plane I make note of where the exits are rather than look for them in an emergency.
13%
•
279 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
16 votes
Not Applicable
54%
•
1135 votes
- Thankfully, no1
- no
- no
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.43% | 8 | |
| unsure | 0.05% | 1 |
| Fire extinguishers are kept handy | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have fire extinguishers in key locations in the house. | 0.05% | 1 |
| see below | 0.05% | 1 |
| Have FOUR "go bags" full of essential stuff including food and cooking means. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I live in California I have a go bag packed at all times. All things needed for 7 days. Meds, Money and fire blankets. | 0.05% | 1 |
| no big deal | 0.05% | 1 |
| Walz's wife opened windows to enjoy smelling the burning destruction of MN during BLM's "peaceful protests" | 0.05% | 1 |
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