Our experience from the tsunami is that first you see acute care problems as people are wounded or hurt. Four months later, with poor living conditions, overcrowding, and many people in close contact with one another, you see the emergence of infectious diseases. Tuberculosis is the poster child for this type of disease, for which risks greatly increase in these conditions.
Medscape: What are the risks of spread of communicable diseases to other regions as the evacuees migrate, and what can be done to minimize these risks?
Dr. Henderson: This does not necessarily pose as much of a danger as you might first think. ...
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The CDC guidelines for responders are HERE...
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And here are a lot of gadgets you can buy for yourself...if you think an Ipod mini is more important than a gallon of drinking water...
But of course, I'm cynical: Because in hurricanes, you can plan, but tornadoes and earthquakes, the gadgets might be destroyed along with the rest of your house...
Ah, but you can always run down to WALMART and buy the stuff you need...(Instapundit comments HERE)
....If you mention the Red Cross or FEMA to people in Slidell, you hear rants about help that didn't arrive and phone lines that are always busy. If you mention state or national politicians, you hear obscenities.
But if you visit the Wal-Mart and the Sam's Club stores here, you hear shoppers who have been without power for weeks marveling that there are still generators in stock (and priced at $304.04). You hear about the trucks that rolled in right after the hurricane and the stuff the stores gave away: chain saws and boots for rescue workers, sheets and clothes for shelters, water and ice for the public.
"This was the only place we could find water those first days," said Rashan Smith, who was shopping with her three children at Wal-Mart on Saturday. "I still haven't managed to get through to FEMA. It's hard to say, but you get more justice at Wal-Mart."...
Sam Walton, call your office...
