THE POOR TOWN NEWS ~~~~~~~~
This Week's Story
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NUKED ~ OR THINGS TO REMEMBER
The following essay, consisting of useful evacuation pointers, was written in the early 1980s by unnamed employees of an unnamed Raleigh NC newspaper, and reissued in the lingering glow of the destruction of Chernobyl. It recently occurred to us that some of this information might be of value to current US citizens in our era of Saddams, Kim Jongs, Ayatollahs etc., and other religious or irreligious fanatics (possibly even including an Arafat or a German or Frenchman or two). Maybe it would allow all of us to focus on the realities and the concrete things that we can do instead of just milling around confused and in a perpetual state of unease, waiting for the horn that signals a "dirty bomb" or other evil. So it is republished here as a public service, solely with a soothing intent. ~~~
EVACUATION CHECKLIST A LIST OF THINGS you may want to remember and things you may want to do if told to leave your property in the Shearon Harris zone of radioactivity. (Keep this list in a handy place and use the back of the sheet to write reminders of the other personal actions you may want to take.)
REMEMBER: Shearon Harris is not a Russian nuclear plant and this is not Russia. If we have a release of radioactivity from Shearon Harris (and be assured there is practically no chance of this), it probably will not be as severe as a Russian mishap and probably will not kill or injure as many people as theirs would. By the same token, since this is not Russia (where people are not allowed to own property), you cannot be perfunctorily ordered by the government to leave and abandon your property without first taking some well-considered protective steps.
DON'T PANIC: If radioactivity already has been released, then you probably already have been exposed to radiation, and frantic flight is going to be of little help. An hour or two additional exposure (unless you are in the immediate vicinity of the source of the radiation) is not going to make any difference. You will probably feel fine ~ it quite possibly may be several hours or several days before you suffer nausea, blisters, falling hair or other symptoms of radiation poisoning from the accident (or event). In the meantime, there will be no hurry to leave once the radiation has been released and you have been exposed. (If you can find it, put a little extra cash in the back of your wallet as reserve in the event that the physicians you later visit, for bone marrow transplants or such, decide not to honor your Blue Cross card.)
YOUR CHILDREN: Do not abandon your children to the care of others. In the excitement, school and day-care personnel may be preoccupied with their own worries and unable to give youngsters needed individual attention. Once you leave the area, you may not be allowed to return if you later are not able to locate your children at evacuation centers. It would be best for you and your family to postpone your own flight until you have your children with you. And if evacuation comes before lunch period at school, make certain the little ones remember to bring along their lunch money. (Cash in any amount may come in handy in unforeseen circumstances.)
AILING FAMILY MEMBERS should get special attention. Those in nursing homes and hospitals ahould not be left to the care of staff members or others. If they are, they may not get any care at all in the probable rush to flee. Wheelchairs and walkers should be secured and carried for those who need them, and medicine kits should be kept ready and carried during the evacuation for all who need special medication, such as diabetics etc. Wallets, cash etc. should not be left in or on bedside tables at hospitals and nursing homes.
YOUR PETS should not be left to fend for themselves. In the event of nuclear contamination, with most of the people in full flight and no chance of an early return, pets in urban areas will quickly be on the verge of starvation and will turn semi-wild in an effort to sustain themselves. Also, when you carry your pets with you, be sure to carry sufficient supplies of pet food as it may not be readily available at your evacuation center. If you can't carry a supply of food, be sure to carry some extra cash to purchase such supplies.
CASH AND CLOTHING should be taken with you in sufficient quantities to sustain you and your family until you are able to return home or to be permanently resettled elsewhere. Bank accounts and credit cards may not be of much use, particularly if you leave the checkbooks at home and your place of employment is lost in the radioactive zone. In all probability, evacuees will face cancellation of their credit for some time and cashing a check through a radioactive bank may not be easy. It would be best when evacuated to carry with you all the available currency you can get your hands on. And after several days at an evacuation center, you will certainly need a change of underwear, at least.
VEHICLES, TRAILERS, BOATS etc: If you have any of these other than the family car, make arrangements to have other family members or friends drive them away from the radioactive zone when you go. When you are on the roads, try to stay together to be available to render assistance in case of breakdowns or other problems such as empty gas tanks. Carry a siphon tube to allow you to transfer gas between vehicles, and a little extra cash to purchase fuel in the event all your wheeled goods run empty. The reason you should make this extra effort to move all your vehicles is that the area possibly could be declared a nuclear vault and sealed off for 20,000 or so years, and you would not want your autos, trucks, boats etc. to sit around to be vandalized by future generations in a situation that very likely would not be covered by your insurance.
SINCE INSURANCE will not cover loss to your residence and its contents because of nuclear contamination, before you take flight you should secure your home or apartment to the best of your ability. Don't leave any valuable papers or loose cash. Do everything you can think of to frustrate possible intruders, such as nailing up windows and doors as well as locking them. (Duct tape might be helpful here.) If you are skilled at it, you could set up boobytraps with tripwires at main entrances. Be aware however that in some instances this may be illegal, even though there probably will be no one left in the radioactive zone to enforce such laws. Do not go to such extremes as poisoning abandoned foodstuffs, clothing etc.
LOOTERS very likely will move in as soon as the general population moves out. There will be no way to avoid this as most military and police personnel in the area will be too busy with problems of their own to report for duty, and in any case probably would refuse to serve in the nuclear-dusted sections. Inmates of such places as Central Prison and the other area jails will not remain locked up long once their guardians go, and in the interest of humanity it would be best if they were freed anyway. These people, along with the urban subculture of street people ~ already hardened by the lives they have led and lacking a lot of vehicular transportation ~ undoubtedly will make their way through the area in a more leisurely fashion than those of the first flight. Possibly in these circumstances, we could hope they will be on a little better behavior than their norm. But don't leave anything around to tempt them, such as loose cash. If the weather is chilly at evacuation time, it might be best to carry away matches, cigarette lighters, cans of gasoline and any other loose flammables, as some of these people have been known at times to adopt novel means of keeping warm.
AND MOST IMPORTANT: Before you leave, find out where you are going, and how much cash you will need. Go to your area Disaster Manager and request a map showing your evacuation center and the best route for you to take to get there. (They will be glad to take whatever time is necessary to help you.) And don't worry too much about the property and other valuables you have to leave behind. Even though your insurance will not help, you will quickly be surrounded by displaced attorneys who will be glad to assist you in filing legal claims against Carolina Power & Light or anyone else who might possibly be held responsible. We mention again, however, that since something like this might require a little time, you should carry all the cash, and everything else that you can, with you when you go.
AGAIN: This is an eventuality that almost certainly will never occur, according to those knowledgeable of nuclear-power plants, so don't lose any sleep about it until it does. But if the horn does blow, and you do have to go, do it with a smile and give the V-sign to those you encounter along the way, as they did in the great London Blitz. A cheery attitude will help keep up everyone's spirits and make the event a much more enjoyable occasion for all. And remember that those material possessions you might be leaving behind are not everything, and can easily be replaced if you take along enough cash.
(Once again it is stated with emphasis here that FOOE, Folks Organized for an Orderly Exodus, is not an affiliate of and has no connection with CASH, Citizens Against Shearon Harris.)
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Pictures and Short Stories from the PoorTown Books
© 2003 James D. Pearce and Rebecca P. Pearce
Evacuation Edition
WHEN THE HORN BLOWS
Prepared for your use by the Committee of Folks
Organized for an Orderly Exodus (FOOE)
Please note in advance that FOOE is not affiliated in any way
with CASH (Citizens Against Shearon Harris)
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