MAKING SENSE OF EVOLVING NEEDS DURING A DISASTER: Avery Co Airport

Some say, "SEND SUPPLIES!" and others say, "DON'T SEND SUPPLIES; WE HAVE ENOUGH!" How does this make sense? It is an evolving need that changes from day to day, minute to minute, and person to person.

Oct 16, 2024

It is with great pleasure that I bring you a “middle ground” that helps make sense of what the needs are for people suffering after Hurricane Helene in West North Carolina (WNC).

I speak from my experience as an ER doctor at Ft. Irwin’s ER NTC, from being at Los Angeles County hospital doing trauma, and from being an ICU doctor and faculty at the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Surgery and Traumatology.

We have heard two stories: SEND SUPPLIES and DON’T SEND SUPPLIES.

It’s as if SOMEONE IS LYING and SOMEONE IS TELLING THE TRUTH. But is that really so? During a disaster such as has happened, one person may know something that another doesn’t know. And the right hand doesn’t have time or opportunity to talk to the left hand, so they both are being truthful from their perspective.

It could be that NEITHER ONE IS LYING.

Here are some examples that provide a perspective that makes sense:

1. Revolving Doors

The door keeps moving and changing. One day it is a certain way, and the next day, it’s different - and this can change by the hour.

EXAMPLE: NEBULIZERS

“We Need Nebulizers.” One day, a doctor in a field hospital asks for NEBULIZERS to give breathing treatments to those with asthma or pneumonia. The need is great!
“We don’t need nebulizers.” Literally the next day, the hospital RECEIVES 200 NEBULIZERS! The response was GREAT! They DON’T need nebulizers today!
This is a testimony to America! America IS responding with many items, and with the cold moving in to the entire east coast (AND with the mountains being at a high elevation), people WILL FREEZE to death if they don’t have HEAT!
Get your REQUEST LIST from the most reliable source.

EXAMPLE: POWER SOURCES

We need generators! With the first frost closing in, you bet people will need heat sources for the coming months. And without them, you bet people will die. In Avery, they DO have access to gas and diesel.
AND people are living in CAMPERS, RVs, and TENTS!
It’s one thing to visit the mountains while camping (and to be prepared for freezing weather), but it is another to be in a situation where you are completely unprepared. As the cold moves in, there will be more deaths, and that is a fact.
Since power in Avery is not available in all locations, AND some people are sleeping in campers and TENTS, all different sources of power are needed: large, gas-powered generators like those shown above, and smaller charging stations for cell phones - as well as solar-powered, portable generators.
Here are some good generator selections at My Patriot Supply. My nonprofit gets a small commission, and all sales will go to Avery.
This is a larger model that is much smaller than a gas or deisel generator, and you can see that you can plug in a laptop AND an electric blanket for warmth while you charge a few cell phones at the same time.
If you order one today, you can see they are backlogged for just 6 days:

Below, these can power your cell phone (if you have WiFi or a StarLink) via solar power:

Here is a wonderful indoor space heater AND stove - again, backlogged until October 21st, which is just in 6 days:

And who wouldn’t want a 100-hour candle in the COLD? These are ready to ship. Read below for further information, and consider getting some 100-hour candles for yourself, as well as donating some. See below for product information to consider.

Long-Lasting, Reliable, and Stealthy
InstaFire 6-Hour Canned Heat+: Propane stoves and fire starters are great—but they’re not safe for indoor cooking, and that’s where most people spend their time during an emergency.
It’s why every household needs a BIG supply of indoor cooking fuel. And for that, there is nothing better than our InstaFire 6-Hour Canned Heat (EIGHT 3-packs). Preppers swear by it for a reason:
Proven safe for indoor use – It burns clean with nontoxic fumes.
Spill-safe – Spilled glycol does not ignite. Try to light it... it will not catch fire without a wick.
Six-hour burn time – It's also super long lasting: approximately six hours of burn time per can allows you to prepare several meals.
Keeps working as the years go by– lasts indefinitely. Use some now and save the rest for later; it will not affect shelf life.
Resealable – Leftover fuel can be re-used.
Easy fit for bug-out bags, drawers, etc. – 3.25 “circumference x 2.75” height.
Sized for folding camp stoves – Slides right into a camp stove for cooking over pots and pans.
Large pack for any emergency – Always be prepared with our Eight 3-pack case. Split between your bug-out bag, emergency stash, and more.
Each package contains three 7.11 oz (210 g) cans of high-purity diethylene glycol which has a flashpoint of around 265°F. There are eight 3-packs in this bundle.

It looks like this one ships right away!

2. The Left Hand Doesn’t Talk to the Right Hand

The ER Doctors and Nurses. They know what they need NOW. That’s because they live there for days, doing 24 hour shifts that extend to 48 and 72 hours. The doctors may go home for a day or two, especially if they still have a private practice they need to manage.
When they go home, they don’t know the current ER needs. When they go back, there may be brand new needs that weren’t there before, or a past need may be on the front burner again - no one knows!
The Secretary who Answers the Phone. If you call, always get the person’s NAME AND TITLE. He or she has never stepped foot in the Airport field hospital, and wouldn’t know the medical needs. They also say what they are told to say, right? They don’t know. They just answer the phone. Any administrative supervisor would be lacking in hands-on ER work, unless they take time out of their daily schedule to check on the field hospital, which they are not apt to do due to administrative work. You can even ask them if they have been to the hospital today.

3. Physican-Only Information

Doctors know Doctors. They talk to one another and keep one another informed of physician-related things relevant to their work. Whether it is about security detail, avoidance of practicing a certain way, or the death toll, they will ALWAYS know things that the public doesn’t know. Period. They will know things that no administrator knows.
Confidentiality. Some things will never be said, others may be public statements. One thing is certain: a doctor who IS “boots on the ground” is always the authority I believe before any administrator sitting in a heated office.
Misconstrued Information. Some social media posts may refer to an occurrence no particular place. But a viral message may IMPLY that something happened at a certain location, when it was never said. There is lots of room for information to be misconstrued.

Evolving Needs: The Bottom Line

A natural disaster is just that: a disaster. Very few cities are prepared for something like what happened with Hurricane Helene and Milton. Expect conflicting stories, be versatile, give professionals a wide girth, and do the best you can to help.

And most of all, anticipate that the needs will change.

The needs will vary, person to person. The stories won’t always jive. That doesn’t mean that one person is lying and one person is telling the truth - it means that a situation is fluid and changing.

My Dad would say, “Exercise patients and fortitude.”

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