A recent study
noted that the majority of people have enough food in their pantries
to feed their household for about three days and that seemingly
stable societies are really just nine
meals from anarchy. With most of us dependent
on just-in-time transportation systems to always be available,
few ever consider the worst case scenario.
For tens of
thousands of east coast residents that worst case scenario is now
playing out in real-time. No longer are images of starving people
waiting for government handouts restricted to just the third-world.
In the midst
of crisis, once civilized societies will very rapidly descend into
chaos when essential infrastructure systems collapse.
Though the
National Guard was deployed before the storm even hit, there is
simply no way for the government to coordinate a response requiring
millions of servings of food, water and medical supplies
Many east coast
residents who failed to evacuate or prepare reserve supplies ahead
of the storm are being forced to fend for themselves.
Frustration
and anger have taken hold, as residents have no means of acquiring
food or gas and thousands of trucks across the region remain stuck
in limbo.
Limited electricity
has made it possible for some to share their experiences:
Via Twitter:
I was
in chaos tonite tryin to get groceries…lines for shuttle
buses, only to get to the no food left & closing early (link)
I’m
not sure what has shocked me more, all the communities around
me destroyed, or the 5 hour lines for gas and food. (link)
Haven’t
slept or ate well in a few days. Hope things start getting better
around here soon (link)
These
days a lot of people are impatient because they’re used
to fast things. Fast food, fast internet, fast lines and fast
shipping etc. (link)
Glad Obama
is off to Vegas after his 90 minute visit. Gas lines are miles
long.. Running out of food and water. Great Job (link)
Went to
the Grocery store and lines were crazy but nail salon was empty
so I’ve got a new gel manicure and some Korean junk food
(link)
So f*cking
devastated right now. Smell burning houses. People fighting
for food. Pitch darkness. I may spend the night in rockaway
to help (link)
Things are
starting to become horrific
for the unprepared, as food lines stretch for miles and Meals-Ready-To-Eat
are in short supply:
With
mass transit out of service and no gas, residents have no choice
but to commute by foot. Survival
Blog founder James Rawles has referred to the masses of starving
people who will roam the streets in a post-collapse world as the
Golden
Horde – here’s a small taste of what that will look
like:
The
situation has become so desperate that some have been forced to
resort to rummaging through the garbage for food:
Video:
“We’ve
seen everyone here from the elderly, to families with children…”
The vast majority
of those waiting in mile-long long food lines, rummaging through
the trash, and criticizing
their government officials for a slow and insufficient response
have no one to blame but themselves.
This may be
harsh – but it’s true.
We wish all
those having a difficult time dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane
Sandy the best going forward. Perhaps it will be a wake-up call
for the rest of the nation.
Hurricane Sandy,
while disastrous, is not nearly as bad as it could have been.