[preparedness, Katrina] Learning to Be Your Own Best Defense in a Disaster - NYTimes.com
While most discussions of disaster preparedness focus on community resources, the most important variable in an emergency is your own behavior. Much of what we know about surviving disasters comes from people who have been through them. Their stories are collected in a fascinating and useful new book, “The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — and Why” (Crown), by Amanda Ripley, a journalist who has covered floods, fires and plane crashes for Time magazine. “There are people walking around who have been through disasters and emergencies and have learned really interesting things,” Ms. Ripley said. “I’m always amazed by their stories, but that’s not part of our national conversation about emergency preparedness and homeland security.”
