The tsunami scare earlier this month should act as a reminder to us all, preparation for disasters is imperative.
When the worst happens, it's easy to say - - "if only..." Experts tell us we can avoid that anguish with just a bit of preparation.
"There are different types of disasters and that includes terrorist activity. We do follow the Homeland Security levels and alerts and going by what the different alerts are will dictate how we plan for emergencies here at the hospital," said Ed Howard of Castle Medical Center security.
Institutions, like families, face the same dilemma when it comes to disasters.
"Having sufficient manpower to have the coverage to provide the medical services, to having the various emergency power and water and all that type of thing so we can sustain ourselves for a minimum at least five days," Howard said.
For some families - or institutions - a power outage may be just as devastating as any other kind of disaster. This may sound like a broken record - but preparation is the key.
"I think the biggest thing is educating yourself and your family, that's probably the biggest thing that you can do so you can be familiar with the different types of disasters that there are and that you can come up with family plans," Howard said.
All the standard cautions apply - but here in Hawaii, especially in light of what happened earlier this month - it's important to know whether or not you live in an inundation zone.
"Coupled with that, you want to make sure that you have your own emergency disaster kits that you make for your family and that includes everything from food, water, clothing, medications and also to have evacuation plans," Howard said.
And Howard says, plans for pets and easy access to important paper work.
