Earlier in the Photos thread, I wrote about my experience Saturday maneuvering through the storm. It's now Monday and my town and most of Bergen County, NJ are experiencing power outages due to the alarming # of fallen trees on houses, streets, and electrical wiring. Many schools in Westchester and Northern NJ are still closed and may reopen in a couple of days. The devastation in my particular area is quite bad. I had to drive to the next town to get gas and do my laundry because our washing machine broke down.
With the aftermath of this storm (more like a hurricane to me), I feel a disquieting sense of alarm. I realize now without any contingency plan, my family will be vulnerable in times of disaster. What if our cell phones stopped working. How would I be able to reach my kids or contact my parents & sister. Where would we go if there was power outage for a week in the dead of winter or God forbid, an strong earthquake in NYC and vicinity. It happened already in the mid 80's w/the epicenter in Westchester County which in itself is alarming because, Indian Point, the nuclear reactor plant is located there and is built on top of a fault. I know this because I used to work as a teacher on the the outskirts of Indian Point.
When 9/11 happened, my sister and I were seriously thinking of leaving the country for awhile to keep my young kids safe. The aftermath of 9/11 scared the sh*T out of us. We even thought of just driving up north to Novia Scotia to take refuge in case another attack took place. It was a bad time for all of us. yet, it also shook us out of our complacency. To this day I'm always on alert is something strange or fishy is going on. Yet, I think I should be more proactive and formalize escape routes for me and my family.
Do any of you folks have any disaster contingency plans for your family?