On today’s Personal Safety, Bob Boilard from Defensive Strategies, joined Lori to talk about crime safety during natural disasters. They started off talking about past natural disasters, like Hurricane’s Katrina and Sandy. They told us how disasters bring out the best or worst in people. They also shared about rescue efforts for Hurricane Harvey, and how some criminals are taking advantage of people who are in a vulnerable situation.
Next, they brought up the criminal mentality of preying on people in an emotional state. They told us about the continuing efforts to bring people to safety who have been displaced. On the other hand, they found looters, burglaries, even price gauging from businesses, that are taking advantage of desperate people.
This lead to a conversation about the importance of preparing for disasters. Being trained by FEMA, Bob highlighted how things went wrong in past disasters, and how people died due to poor planning. Bob continued to warn us about people who try to scam us out of money to help with relief efforts, when actually, the money doesn’t go to them. He encouraged us to stick to giving to the larger organizations that are known to be legitimate. They also encouraged us to check who is reputable with the town or state, who usually have a registry.
Bob told us about Good Samaritans who were bringing boats from Alabama, and were inevitably shot at while trying to save people. They acknowledge how important faith and a belief in a higher power, and to be praying for recovery efforts. Bob challenged us to think, “What do you do when the world as you know it stops?” Finally, he highlighted the laws that prosecute criminals, the people who prepared and and stayed home, the inevitable rise in gas prices, and how to encourage loved ones to stay safe in disaster. Listen in and hear more about it!