Found this interesting article and I figured I'd pass it on. Discuss among yourselves. For nearly four years - steadily, seriously, and with the unsentimental rigor for which we love them - civil engineers have been studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is: Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have access to better information than officials do. Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman's terms, that's who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) It's an eloquent document, in many ways. The report confirms a chilling fact that was widely covered in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After both buildings were burning, many calls to 911 resulted in advice to stay put and wait for rescue. Also, occupants of the towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case of evacuation. Fortunately, this advice was mostly ignored. According to the engineers, use of elevators in the early phase of the evacuation, along with the decision to not stay put, saved roughly 2,500 lives. This disobedience had nothing to do with panic. The report documents how evacuees stopped to help the injured and assist the mobility-impaired, even to give emotional comfort. Not panic but what disaster experts call reasoned flight ruled the day. In fact, the people inside the towers were better informed and far more knowledgeable than emergency operators far from the scene. While walking down the stairs, they answered their cell phones and glanced at their BlackBerries, learning from friends that there had been a terrorist attack and that the Pentagon had also been hit. News of what was happening passed by word of mouth, and fellow workers pressed hesitating colleagues to continue their exit. We know that US borders are porous, that major targets are largely undefended, and that the multicolor threat alert scheme known affectionately as "the rainbow of doom" is a national joke. Anybody who has been paying attention probably suspects that if we rely on orders from above to protect us, we'll be in terrible shape. But in a networked era, we have increasing opportunities to help ourselves. This is the real source of homeland security: not authoritarian schemes of surveillance and punishment, but multichannel networks of advice, information, and mutual aid. - Gary Wolf Source - Wired Magazine
I figured that out a long time ago. In the event of a major earthquake in So Cal the plan was to immediately shut off the gas & electricity, fill the tubs and sinks with water if there's pressure & then load up the Norinco and the Mossberg to keep looters at bay (including the ones wearing uniforms; re Hurricane Andrew experience) and secure fresh water from a local pond. If I was in a building that was NOT in an urban canyon, the first thing I'd do is bolt for a door jamb close to the exterior exit % maybe clear the building entirely. Never mind that cowering under your desk crap...I'll turn on the news-battery powered TVs are cheap enough and I can always find a high place to survey any fires, wind direction, ruptured gas mains, busted water mains etc etc. Cell phone networks may or may not be running so cell phones are not part of the core plan. The LA riots of 92 were instructive as well. Lotta good the LAPD or the rent-a-cops did. Lotta better those Korean liquor store owners with their Glocks & 1911A1s did. Between the news copters and climbing up on top of the house to see if any fires were nearby, we got the information we needed. All the "authorities" will do in many cases is cover your fly-infested corpse so it doesn't gross out the viewers on CNN. The "authorities" are too rigid, too pre-programmed and top-down in their mentality and may have other interests then my own at heart. They may be able to help, but most it'd be easy to die waiting for them. It all speaks to personal responsibility and self-sufficiency when need be.
