Planning For The Worst When You Live In Fort Collins is Best
Fort Collins, Colorado is no stranger to natural disasters. The town has experienced everything from floods to tornados. Adverse weather events can cause untold destruction, the best thing you can do is prepare for them.
According to USA, Fort Collins is a hotspot for extreme weather. From 1950 to 2010, Fort Collins has experienced 2,294 natural disasters, it should be noted that many of the events included in the statistic didn’t impact heavily impact Fort Collins.
Fort Collins has experienced devastating floods, deadly hail storms, disastrous tornados, and cataclysmic wildfires. While in the midst of a pandemic in 2020, Fort Collins also had to deal with the largest wildfire in Colorado history: the Cameron Peak Fire.
Ignited on Aug. 13, 2020, the Cameron Peak Fire burned over 200,000 acres of land. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed by the fire, and thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes. People were not prepared for the devastating event that occurred. But they should have been.
Charlie Henry at NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration recounts his time during Hurricane Gustov and how planning in advance would have greatly helped him and his wife.
“I remember a time in 2008, after Hurricane Gustov when our roof was severely damaged and we were without power for nearly six weeks. About a week after the storm passed, my wife and daughter went through the National Guard assistance line to get a big, blue FEMA tarp to help keep the rain out”, said Henry.
Henry and his family were starved and dehydrated for a while before they were able to find relief. If they had planned for the hurricane in advance, as we all should, they wouldn’t have had to face such dire straits.
When you are in a situation that can have grim effects you need to be aware of how deadly the possible end result of the situation can be. You can only be aware if you have planned for all possible outcomes.
Some may say that natural disasters do not occur frequently enough in Fort Collins to warrant such preparedness. The American Institute of CPA’s reports that nearly a little more than a quarter of Americans (27%) have not taken any steps at all to prepare for a natural disaster.
Some also argue that it is our politician duties to plan for disasters for us. The Berkeley Political Review notes that we vote for politicians because of their responses to natural disasters. Politicians are incentivized to prioritize disaster relief over preparedness, which is far less effective at preventing deaths. If we rely on politicians to prepare us for the worst, we cannot be sure that they will do what is in the best interests of their constituents, not just themselves. You must plan and prepare for the worst because you cannot be sure that anyone else is looking out for you.
You should be aware that living in Fort Collins means that a natural disaster could be a part of your life. Natural disasters just happen — whether we want them to or not. They are not controlled by our calendars, and they don’t care about our wants or our needs. You might not know it, but natural hazards are relatively common.
A quick look at the National Weather Service’s daily briefing will generally indicate multiple events across Colorado and in Fort Collins. Of course, not all of these are events are devastating enough to be considered a disaster. But it would do you well to plan in advance just in case one of these is.
CNN details how you should plan in advance you can prepare for a natural disaster. You should stack up on non-perishable food, water and medicine. Prepare your house and have a first aid kit ready. Store all of your important documents, have extra gas canisters for your car and don’t use tap water.
For more information on what to pack when packing a survival kit visit The Red Cross, Ready.gov, and Montemlife.
Failure to recognize a threat, failure to have effective community, personal, and family emergency plans and supplies, and a failure to act often contribute to the very real human impact of a disaster. Don’t be another statistic.
