Citizens Take Safety into Own Hands as Gulf Spill Mismanagement Proves
Government's Lack of Emergency Preparedness
Public concern over the federal government's inefficient, bureaucratic process for disaster
preparedness is galvanizing many individuals to stockpile their own supplies and draft local
emergency response plans.
Lima, Peru (PRWEB) June 15, 2010 -- With hurricane season on the horizon and the efficacy of the federal
government's emergency preparedness being questioned in the headlines, many citizens are choosing to take their
personal safety into their own hands. "As we've learned from recent catastrophic events, it can take the federal
government days, even weeks to respond to emergencies," says David Michaud with Survival-Goods.com, an
online emergency preparedness store. "You are going to need food, water and first aid supplies for those critical
first few hours or days when it's just you and your family."
Individuals and community leaders are showing an increased interest in filling the gaps between the needs of
local victims and the ability of the federal agencies to quickly and efficiently deploy emergency water, food and
other aid. Much of this lack of confidence stems from the perceived bureaucratic red tape that hinders a timely
response. According to a May 2010 poll conducted by Gallup and USA Today, 60 percent of the public believes
that the federal government is doing a poor or very poor job of managing the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials and industry experts have also publicly voiced their frustration. The Press Register reported this month
that the government had failed to follow up on a 1994 response plan designed specifically for an incident such as
the Deepwater Horizon spill which started over 48 days ago. The"In-Situ Burn" plan called for immediate use of
fire booms, which, if deployed as planned, could have contained up to 95 percent of the oil spill. However, the
federal government did not have a single fire boom on hand when the spill occurred. After scramb