Would we cope?

[haveabeer]

How would the citizens of the UK fare with a natural disaster like the storm in the Philippines
If I was to guess not very well would be my answer
We panic buy when shops are shut for a day
Lecky goes out and we can't cope
Hint that there's a fuel shortage long queue at pumps
I am sure there would be civil unrest
Let's just hope it never happens

[Stephen]

Funny you should mention this, as I was saying the same thing to the good lady while watching the news this morning.

We wouldn't last five minutes. It would be everyone for them self. There would be uproar that the satellite and mobile signal has gone down, the internet is dead and some thieving s*d has pinched me lawn mower.

[haveabeer]

Funny you should mention this, as I was saying the same thing to the good lady while watching the news this morning.

We wouldn't last five minutes. It would be everyone for them self. There would be uproar that the satellite and mobile signal has gone down, the internet is dead and some thieving s*d has pinched me lawn mower.

I watched it as well although total devastation no food or water they still queued in a civilised manor waiting there turn

[Holiday Planner]

Situations like this bring out the best and the worst in human nature. As always, there would be great examples of heroism and self sacrifice. There would also be selfishness and even exploitation. No-one really knows how they would behave until they are truly tested.

[emjay45]

I remember the bread shortage in the 70's. I went into a supermarket hoping to buy a loaf. Unfortunately there was a woman who obviously had a very large freezer. She had taken every single loaf of the shelf and had her trolley piled up high. The store didn't have a policy in place to sell only one loaf to each customer and allowed her to do this. No sadly, I think it would be survival of the fittest.

[david63]

A lot would depend on the nature of the disaster.

Unlike this country many countries know that there are possibilities of natural disasters, although they obviously do not know when and how severe they will be. In these countries they have some form of contingency plan in place - admittedly these plans can vary from highly detailed where everyone knows what should happen to very sketchy where it is only an idea of what could happen.

I think that countries where natural disasters are a way of life then their contingency plans must be robust and tested in order to give the people the best chance possible. The one thing that we can never predict with any degree of certainty is the severity of the disaster.

The other situation is an unexpected disaster and I agree with HP on that.

One thing that I do know is that with all our knowledge, expertise and technology we are no match for nature.

[Kendhni]

I am inclined to agree with HP ... initially there would be a major split along the lines of selfishness and unselfishness .. maybe total anarchy for a while but then most will realise that we are far better and stronger working together. There will always be the bully boy types who rely on threats and no moral fibre.

That assumes that we can get through all the whining and people complaining that their benefits cheque hasn't arrived this week

[Manoverboard]

We wouldn't cope at all because we are raised to think only of ourselves or at best our immediate family whereas the peoples in this region tend to think about their Community as a whole and rarely about themselves as individuals ... we witnessed this first hand with the disaster that arose in Indonesia following the Tsunami.

They cope but are helpless because they need to be told what to do in the face of such devastation, I hope the wealthy Countries provide that help in a timely manner.

[qbman1]

I see we are sending them £10,000,000 and most of what's left of our navy so I presume the rest of the developed world will want to be seen to be doing their bit

[Boris+]

If there was a disaster in an area which I was in - I would do what I could. If it means rolling up my sleeves and getting out a shovel (or something similar) then count me in.

However, there has been a warning and I have made preparations and other people have been too lazy to do the same I don't think I would be prepared to share my preparations; but if someone had done their preparations and these had been destroyed - that's quite a different story, then I would share and share alike.

I would not be prepared to help scroungers or lazy people.

Em

[haveabeer]

I would hope to help anyone that needed help I just could not walk past a person who was suffering just because they where lazy or scrounged they are still human

[Gill W]

Who knows how we would react until it happens to you.

There'll be people who'll rise to the challenge, others will crumble. Some will be selfless - some will try and make a quick buck out of the disaster.

It's not a nationality thing - it's a people thing

[Onelife]

We’d all be in it together, some would fare better than others but we would cope.

[david63]

If you stop for a minute and think about it then we, as individuals, would not be able to do anything to help anyone else as there would be so many breaches of H&S rules and everyone looking over their shoulders in case they were to be sued for compensation.

And no I am not being sarcastic.

[haveabeer]

If you stop for a minute and think about it then we, as individuals, would not be able to do anything to help anyone else as there would be so many breaches of H&S rules and everyone looking over their shoulders in case they were to be sued for compensation.

And no I am not being sarcastic.

Sad but true
i could not see any one suffering knowing i could help if that breaks H&S so be it

[Dark Knight]

we wouldn't last 5 minutes, we are soft ,selfish nation, who have no concept of community or of doing anything for nothing
it would be everyone for themselves and all morality would go out of the window

we cant cope with 5 inches of snow or a bit of rain without calling it a disaster

[haveabeer]

DK
We think so alike
As my dad used to say s.d you I'm all right jack

[Dark Knight]

Sadly HAB it is the way this country has gone
we are no longer a caring community , just selfish and lazy

[Admiral of the Humber]

Speak for yourself DK.

I think that we are, on the whole, a morally strong and caring nation. I believe that if I was to become embroiled in a disaster such as the one sadly affecting the Philippines I would do the "right" thing, whatever that was. I think I can confidently say that most of my circle of family and friends would do the same, including a sarcastic ba***rd in East Hull who seems to take great delight at the moment in posting for effect.

There is a lot wrong with this nation of ours but there is a hell of a lot more that is right.

Regards
Rob aka AOTH

[Dark Knight]

on reflection and trying not to post for effect

DON'T PANIC
DON'T PANIC

[Gill W]

Sadly HAB it is the way this country has gone
we are no longer a caring community , just selfish and lazy

I don't agree

I work in the charity sector, and earlier this week, the phone system was literally in meltdown due to the amount of people that were calling to transfer money to the DEC appeal for the Phillipines.

Selfish and lazy people don't do that

[Manoverboard]

" Selfish and lazy people don't do that " ... are you sure about that ?

Giving money is easy, no effort is involved and the conscience is clear ... try going out there in person and building a tin shack / bamboo house or six else caring for the sick and dying or building an Internet Cafe for them to communicate with the outside World once the electrics are up and running again.

Like I said giving money is the easy way out but I concede that it helps.

[Dark Knight]

to be honest Charity donations don't cut much ice with me
they are a salve for the conscience without investing anything

[haveabeer]

Gill yes its easy to easy to donate but the question is how would we cope in this country should it happen here
Would we all pull together ,help our fellow humans ,share resources, stand in an orderly queue waiting our turn
We all see the pictures and want to help as much as possible we donate and hope that it helps but thats not the same standing in there shoes.
i have been amazed at there patience one week on and they still waiting for relief to kick in yes there has been looting but sure we understand that they are starving and most of the food is contaminated anyway
Would we be so patient under those conditions

[Felix2]

Wow DK what an opinion!!

I wonder how affected staff on board cruise ships are being helped/comforted. Also is money being raised on the ships to give to DEC?