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70 Common Things That Go Wrong During a Disaster

Avatar for Gaye Levy Gaye Levy  |  Updated: July 4, 2019
70 Common Things That Go Wrong During a Disaster

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As recent as four years ago, when someone mentioned disaster preparedness, the nature and scope of the disaster was typically something caused by Mother Nature.  Sure, some consideration was given to man-made disasters and terrorism, but for the most part, it was a freak of nature that worried us the most.

These days, we worry about a whole lot more.  EMPs, solar flares, bioterrorism, pandemics, nuclear war and more dominate the what-if landscape.  Add to that the possibility of a global famine or economic collapse and heck, we could spend all day and all night caught up in fear of the unknown.

70 Common Things That Go Wrong in a Disaster | Backdoor Survival

What this all boils down are three things that every Prepper knows:

1.  Anything can happen at any time.

2.  Being prepared means being ready for the most likely disruptive event we can fathom given our unique location, circumstances, and personal beliefs.

3.  Regardless of how ready and how prepared we are, there is a strong likelihood that something will go wrong and things will not have the expected outcome.

All this brings me to the topic of today’s article: “70 Common Things That Go Wrong During a Disaster”.  I came across this list a while back and while it is not my original work, I felt that it was a list worth sharing.  You will find that some of the go-wrong things are common knowledge, but there are others that are surprising and to be honest, a bit disconcerting.

Most of the 70 items are negative and many go against what we commonly believe will occur as first responders and rescuers come on the scene.  So what is a prepper to do?

Read through the list, remind yourself that trained emergency personnel are human, and that even with the best of training, mistakes will be made.

70 Common Things That Can and Will Go Wrong During a Disaster

1. In an earthquake, there may be violent ground shaking; it will seem to last much longer than it actually does.

2. Fires will occur, caused by electrical shorts, natural gas, fireplaces, stoves, etc.

3. Fires in collapsed buildings will be very difficult to control.

4. The extent of the disaster will be difficult to assess, though this will be necessary to assure proper commitment of resources.

5. Emergency equipment and field units will commit without being dispatched. There will be an air of urgency and more requests for aid than units available to send.

6. Communications will be inadequate; holes will appear in the system and air traffic will be incredibly heavy.

7. Trained personnel will become supervisors because they will be too valuable to perform hands-on tasks.

8. Responding mutual aid units will become lost; they will require maps and guides.

9. Water will be contaminated and unsafe for drinking. Tankers will be needed for fire fighting and for carrying drinking water.

10. Citizens will volunteer but their commitment will usually be short-term.

11. There may be a multitude of hazardous materials incidents.

12. Aircraft will flood the area; law enforcement, fire, media, civilian, commercial and military aircraft will be a major concern.

13. The Command Post and/or EOC will be overrun with non-essential personnel; media, geologists, architects, engineers, representatives from other jurisdictions, etc.

14. Staging will be essential; the flow of personnel, equipment and supplies will be overwhelming.

15. Although it is an EOC function, the Field Command Post will become the temporary seat of government.

16. Electric power will be interrupted or will fail completely.

17. It will be difficult to shut off the gas; valves that are seldom, if ever, used will be difficult to find, and may not work when they are found.

18. Phone service will be erratic or non-existent. Pay phones will be the most reliable.

19. The media will have the best communications available; be prepared to share or impound their resources.

20. Fuel will not be available because there will be no electricity to run the pumps.

21. There will be an epidemic of flat tires; police, fire, and emergency medical vehicles will sustain a multitude of flat tires that will require repair in the field.

22. Fires will need to be investigated; mutual aid should include arson investigators.

23. The primary police department concern will be law enforcement; there will not be sufficient time or manpower to provide miscellaneous services.

24. It will be dark; there will not be enough generators or lights available.

25. Portable toilets will be in demand; there will be no place to go, and if a place is found there will be six photographers there to cover the event.

26. The perimeter will be difficult to control; citizens and media alike will offer good reasons why they should be allowed to enter the restricted area.

27. Search dogs will be needed early in the operation.

28. Documentation will be very important; there will be a multitude of requests for information later.

29. Riveted steel (oil and water storage) tanks may fail.

30. Streets will be impassable in some areas; it will be necessary to clear streets of rubble in order to conduct emergency operations.

31. The same buildings will be searched more than once unless they are clearly marked.

32. In earthquakes, there will be after shocks; they will hamper emergency operations, create new fears among the citizenry and may cause more destruction than the original shock.

33. Many injured people will have to find their own way to medical treatment facilities.

34. Volunteer and reserve personnel may be slow to respond; they will put their own families’ safety first.

35. On-duty public safety personnel will be concerned about their own families, and some may leave their posts to check on them.

36. Law enforcement and the media will clash; all media representatives should be referred to the Public Information Officer.

37. Very few citizens will utilize evacuation/mass care centers; they will prefer to stay with friends and relatives, or to camp out in their own yards.

38. Structural engineers will be needed to evaluate standing buildings for use as evacuation centers, command posts, information centers, first aid stations.

39. The identification of workers and volunteers will be a problem; it will be difficult to determine who is working where and on what.

40. There will be rumors; people will be listening to their radios and must be given accurate information.

handi-talkie

41. There will not be enough handie-talkies; batteries will soon go dead.

42. Many fire hydrants will be inaccessible (covered or destroyed by rubble) or inoperable.

43. Generators will run out of fuel; jerry cans of fuel must be obtained early to maintain generator powered lighting and communications.

44. Critical facilities will have to be self-sufficient; gas, lights, water and sewage may be out for days.

45. Emergency responders will require rest and must be relieved. Local personnel may be of value as guides for mutual aid responders, or as supervisors for volunteer crews.

46. Equipment will be lost, damaged or stolen, and may never be accounted for.

47. Someone will get the bill; record-keeping and accounting procedures will be important.

48. Traditional non-emergency personnel will want to go home at 5 o’clock; all public employees must be made to realize that they are a part of the emergency response team.

49. People will die and there is nothing that can be done about it. Non-public safety personnel will not understand why everyone cannot be saved. Priorities must be set to save the most lives possible.

50. Dead bodies should not be an initial concern. Rescuing the living should be the first priority.

51. If phones are working, the number of requests for service will be overwhelming. People will have to fend for themselves; it will be difficult for dispatchers to ignore these pleas for help.

52. Some field units will disappear; you will not be able to reach them and will not know where they are or what they are doing.

53. Security will have to be posted at hospitals, clinics, and first-aid stations to control hysterical citizens demanding immediate attention.

54. Representatives from public agencies throughout the United States and many foreign countries will want to come and observe the operations or offer assistance. They will be a significant problem.

55. Department heads (EOC) staff may not have a working knowledge of their assigned areas of responsibility, and will play it by ear.

56. Some citizens and media representatives will question your decisions because they will not recognize that the safety of field responders is paramount.

57. There are no critically injured in a disaster; only those who are dead or alive.

58. Handicapped and disabled persons will probably die unless personal family and friends can care for them and maintain their life-support systems.

59. Management will not be familiar with field response procedures, and may attempt to change standard operating procedures.

60. Emergency responders (public safety and medical alike) will not be adequately trained to respond efficiently.

61. There will be initial chaos; supplies, materials and equipment needed will not be readily available.

62. There will be a general lack of necessary information; coordinators will want to wait for damage/casualty assessment information to establish priorities.

63. Emergency equipment will not be able to reach some locations because of traffic jams. Tow trucks will be at a premium. Parked or abandoned vehicles will block streets, and emergency responders will be the worst offenders.

64. Even though there will not be enough people to initially deal with emergencies, many available personnel will never be identified and never used. After the initial shock, there will be too many volunteers.

65. General information will be offered in response to specific questions because field units cannot verify the requested information.

66. Individual public safety officers will be asked to do the work of squads or companies; they will have to recruit volunteers on the spot to provide assistance to their efforts.

67. The message flow to, from, and within the EOC and Field Command Post will break down and become inefficient and unmanageable.

68. There will be an over critical desire to verify all incoming information. If it is received from a field unit, it should be considered as verified.

69. Some EOC and Command Post personnel will become overloaded; some will not be able to cope with the volume of activity and information they have to deal with, and some will not be able to cope with the noise and distractions.

70. Things will get better some time after they have become considerably worse.

Note:  Credit for list is a July 6, 2006 article by Lt. Dan Blackston, Chula Vista Police Department

The Final Word

As hip as it may sound to talk about zombies, the end of the world and a doomsday apocalypse, the reality is that a disaster is anything but cool and hip.  As we look back in modern history, we will find countless instances where a disaster, whether man-made or an act of nature, has wreaked unexpected havoc, destruction, and panic.  The recovery process is long, and the level of organization and dedication required to successfully mobilize resources is huge.

As you read through this list of 70 things that can go wrong following a disaster, realize that while many of these things may not happen each and every time there is an emergency, many of them will indeed occur.  And it is true.  Things will get better – eventually – but they may also get a lot worse than you can imagine before the road to recovery begins.

As a layman citizen, think about your own needs now and how they might be impacted in an emergency.  Recognize and acknowledge up front that if things can go wrong, they will.  Go back and re-visit your most basic prepping skills and supplies by reviewing 12 Months of Prepping – The First Year.  And of course, continue to stow away extra food, water and especially tools that will help get you through if a disaster occurs in your community. Couple these with some basic survival skills and a bit of faith and you will have done your best to prepare.

Yes, it is a cliché, but I will say it once again.  Be prepared, not scared.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

If you enjoyed this article, consider voting for me daily at Top Prepper Websites!  In addition, SUBSCRIBE to email updates and receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-book The Emergency Food Buyer’s Guide.

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Dorcy LED Wireless Motion Sensor Flood Lite: This light is awesome. I use mine downstairs as well as on my stairway and when I get up in the middle of the night, they come on automatically. They are quite unobtrusive (I have the black one) and give off a ton of light.  Runs for a year on 3 D size batteries.

Uniden Handheld Scanner – Black (BC75XLT) A hand scanner with ham band for less than $100. I was impressed enough by the specs to order one for myself.  What I like is that is pre-set that should make it easy to monitor law enforcement, fire/emergency, aircraft, ham, marine, and weather bands plus no license is required.

Tecsun PL-660 Portable AM/FM/LW/Air Shortwave Radio:  This is a world band receiver with a comprehensive frequency coverage including AM/FM, longwave, shortwave, single sideband, and the aviation band.  As add-ons, my friend George Ure (a radio guru and enthusiast) suggests the Kaito AN-200 Tunable Passive AM Antenna and the Sangean ANT-60 Short Wave Antenna.

Holding Your Ground: Preparing for Defense if it All Falls Apart: This is a really good book from Joe Nobody – a book you should read if you want to learn more about defending your homestead.

Sabre Family Home & Property Protection Pepper Spray:  This small fire extinguisher-style pepper spray delivers a strong blast covering an entire doorway. Offering extremely practical protection, SABRE provides distance from your threat with its 30-foot range.  I like that it includes a wall mount.

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12 Responses to “70 Common Things That Go Wrong During a Disaster”

  1. Northern California just went through major firestorms caused by high winds blowing down power lines and then spreading the sparks & embers around. The smoke was terrible where I am. Fortunately it rained last night which hopefully helped the firefighters and relieved some of the smoke.

  2. Some of this information is dated. Was just asking my daughter where she would find a public phone. The only one she could recall is 7 miles away and she wasn’t sure it was working anymore.
    Also, as to the handicapped or disAbled. Boy O boy, it that dated and stereotyped. Yes there will be those who fit that view, but many of us, while possibly not as capable as some, are very able to do many things. Ask some of our returning vets. 🙂 There will be jobs available for many things if one keeps an open mind to them.
    Now, Gaye along with anyone else in the PNW, don’t believe when the BIG ONE comes it’s just going to be shaking. That will only be for seconds. It’s when the undulating rolls over the land, that’s when those buildings still standing may not hold up. Let alone with any aftershocks.
    LOL As to Murphy, expect the worst and it just might happen. 😉 If it does……you’re prepared. 🙂

  3. Fire… and WIND.
    Can you imagine strong WIND… mixed with ANY weather conditions?
    You can run… but will you be able to hide from it in safety?

    • The combination of fire and high winds are what made the Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Peshtigo Fire the same day so devastating. Temperatures may have exceeded 2000 degrees. The Peshtigo Fire went up both sides of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and according to Wikipedia burned an area twice the size of Rhode Island Somewhere between 1200 and 2500 people died.

      More: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire

    • Northern California just went through major firestorms caused by high winds blowing down power lines and then spreading the sparks & embers around. The smoke was terrible where I am. Fortunately it rained last night which hopefully helped the firefighters and relieved some of the smoke.

  4. Murphy never takes a day off, and is very active during an emergency!
    “If it can go wrong, it will. And in the worst possible way.”

    Expect it and don’t be surprised when it happens. Just be greatfull for all that go right.

  5. There are MANY things you left off the list. I am referring to TEOTWAWKI / SHTF type scenario’s, not a natural disaster. In that situation, you would not be working WITH Government agencies, but the opposite, as they ARE the problem then. There will be racial violence, looters/marauders, house to house raids, supplies from external sources would be non-existent, etc. I won’t enumerate them here in open communication, but a diligent Google search yields a wealth of information. To adequately envision the scenario I described, combine aspects from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Vietnam War, Race Riots,Mad Max, and Enemy of the State … You’ll get the picture then!

  6. Seems to me to be a good idea to have some preps stored somewhere besides your home. In case your home is inaccessable. Also store fuel and food seperately so your food does not burn up too in a fire.

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