We've all seen them on the news: those people who have either taken to the fetal position or have become criminals of opportunity in the face of an emergency. Looters, violent protesters, and gangs tend to only add more tragedy to tragedy. The unprepared, in essence, do the same. Both groups make recovery operations much harder for everyone, themselves included.
We always talk of having your supplies ready and knowing how to use them so I'll spare your eyes that trouble for now. Just note that being wise with your supplies doesn't always mean hoarding them away to only be used by you and your family.
Witnessed in infamous incidents such as Hurricane Katrina and Ferguson, Missouri are the opportunists. These predators seek to gain benefit from a disaster instead of using their time and energy to help get through it. I hope I'm preaching to the choir when I talk of this, but the concept that a confusion in law and order is a green-light to commit crimes is WRONG! This behavior makes it more dangerous and time-consuming for emergency crews to enter affected areas and perform their much-needed jobs to restore order and livability for citizens like you and I. On the other side of this coin, it would not be wise or helpful to go out into the streets as an armed vigilante to try and do the "peacekeeping" by yourself either.
If you want to go a step beyond not becoming part of the problem the next logical step is to become part of the solution. Check with your local government to see about becoming part of their Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The training from this program teaches you how to handle basic emergency equipment and different things you can do to aid emergency crews, such as going door to door and marking homes for wounded and casualties.
It's your choice where you want to stand on this spectrum, but make up your mind ahead of time, because fence-sitters don't help either!
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