6/24/2013
Are we prepared for a haze emergency?
This has been the question in everyone’s mind. And the answer is obviously no. There was no standing committee on standby for such an eventuality. The only committee to deal with a haze crisis is still in the pipeline with Eng Hen being appointed to look into it. The distribution of N95 masks in the stockpile is another piece of evidence that even this is an issue. They are still distributing the masks after one week. If it is a deadly epidemic, a few days are all it takes to take down a big portion of the population. Perhaps no one sees this as a crisis. The crossing of the 400 PSI was still treated as normal. And to minimize the concern, the people were told to look at 24 hours average than the real PSI at the moment. And many have pointed this out as a major flaw and mistake in thinking that an average reading is more relevant than the actual situation. Unbelieveable, really!
So, how proactive are we in tackling such a national crisis? There was no emergency procedures on hand and everyone was looking at one another second guessing what should be done next.
On the other hand there could be some emergency procedures in hand but not realized or understood. Everyone was looking for a haze emergency procedure. What about the SARS emergency procedure? Could not this be activated? The similarities are there and the procedures and steps needed to be taken can be quite similar with some modifications or omissions.
But Singaporean thinking is such that they are looking for a specific sign, like a U Turn sign to make a U Turn. So if the emergency procedure does not have the word haze on it, and worst, if it is stated clearly for SARS, then it cannot be applied to a haze problem.
The way the masks were distributed, it makes people wonder whether it is a new procedure that was worked out in the morning or was is an emergency procedure that has been thought through and planned well in advance. The execution was slow and inefficient in every sense. It was a few army boys trying to do some logistic delivery tasks.
The obvious is that all the medical and grassroot institutions could be mobilized into a distribution network. The CCs, RCs and the Neighbourhood Police Posts, NTUC FairPrice or even Seven Eleven could make reaching out to the people more penetrating and extensive.
And why are the men from the Civil Defence not activated? This is a job cut out for them. And the air raid siren would definitely come in very useful to sound the alarm when the PSI hits 300 or 400, to tell the people to go indoors. The tricky part is whether it should blare at 3 am in the morning to wake everyone up from their sleep.
Maybe all this will take shape after a haze emergency task force is formed and the details worked out. For the moment we shall thank God that we had a near miss, a lucky escape. We are given a second chance to sort things out, to get things right and to protect our backside safely the next time round.
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18 comments:
You cannot totally rely on the government to protect you.
If you do, you are the bloody fool.
I can't believe that so many "smart" people were caught unaware and not have personal stocks of N95 masks, especially after SARs, or high strength personal insect repellant for the recent dengue outbreak -- will full knowledge that dengue cases are common in that part of the world.
All too busy eating, shopping and watching shit local TV.
What happened to "kiasu kiasi"? when come to money, cars and condos got kiasu kiasi. When come to matters of health and security for self and family no kiasu kiasi -- "let the govt take care of it" attitude.
Go figure.
P.S. "Preparation for emergency" cannot be left to the government lah. You have to be prepared yourself. Make sure you have plans, saved resources and that the whole family is aware.
Otherwise your life becomes a mess.
Trust government?
Good luck with that :-)
The Sheeple get the government cock up they deserve!
What to you want to hear? Hourly PSI, 3 hourly PSI or 24 hourly PSI?
Why should we, the people, accept a minister's interpretation of what is safe or healthy for us when we know that a 24 hour PSI is very dangerous? It hides the truth and danger of the very moment when the air is deadly and very harmful to health.
People may be misled to go out thinking it was ok, 24 hr PSI says 200 when the current PSI could be way above 400.
Desensitizing the population is easier than doing what they are paid for. Luckily people in NEA die die want to publish PPM2.5 to show the complete picture
When PSI hit 400, it was a great opportunity for the CD to deploy its men and put into practice all the civil defence drills it has been planning for a real crisis situation.
What happens?
The way the MIW handle the current suitation and previous major events really disappoint me personally...simple matter like availability of essential item like masks also cannot plan ahead.
Letting citizens to fight over themselves or find solution...haiz
final words..don't ever count on the govt.. be prepared ourselves
This haze problem has been with us for so many donkey years that it is incredulous that we were so unprepared.
For starters, we know that the fires and the resultant haze are mostly from central Sumatra. We also know that the haze comes around during the dry hot season which is about now. Having all these facts before us, why is it such a herculean task to notify the Indon counterparts and form an expeditionary team together with the Indon Enforcement department and get to ground zero to monitor, counsel and warn the offenders against starting fires or clearing land in the manner that they are doing now BEFORE THE DRY BURNING SEASON. If the Indons are sincere about enforcement, they would most definitely co-operate. Get the UN involved as well. What is the point of sending a reporting team by the Shitty Times to ground zero now when we are already dying for breath now in Sinkingpoor? This suggestion which I have described would be the work of our Environmental Ministry. As always, anticipate and pre-empt. Do not wait until the problem is upon us before doing something. On the same breath, I would like those who are in charge of flooding problems to anticipate it now before the wet season comes along and not get caught wrong footed again. The flood comes once in 50 years but the haze comes every year. So where is the excuse?
Do not be lulled into complacency now that we have a brief respite from the haze. This may be merely temporary. Once the wind direction changes back to a south westerly course, we will be in the dark ages again.
The Indons should also accept our help with aircraft and men from the SCDF to put out the fires. They readily accepted our help with the tsunami which didn't affect us. Why is it that they are nonchalant about our assistance when it comes to putting out fires that put us in harm's way.
I see, Matilah is a Doomsday Prepper
When I heard the oft-heard pronouncement that the Government is prepared for any worsening haze, I was highly surprised that such an assertion should come out just yesterday. And I asked myself: Is the preparedness only just came to mind last week or since the time when the haze started troubling us two decades ago?
And is this proclamation going to be like the assurances that the Government is prepared for floods meaning that we are 'prepared' to have 'more' frequent floods?
I just can't stomache any more of the PAP leaders spouting intelligible nonsense and expecting Singaporeans to take them as assurances that the Government is trying to solve the problem.
As it is, I can see a pattern adopted by the PAP emerging from all this. When things go wrong they will first try deflecting. Then they will find a scapegoat, do some cosmetic changes and in the meantime slowly change their tone from one of listening and finding solutions, to degenerating into telling Singaporeans with a sneer to just stop complaining and live with it.
SM Goh's comments that babies should learn to adapt and live with the haze is one such remark, while PM Lee is telling us to learn to tolerate the expected prolonged haze situation.
In other words, do not expect solutions. It will never come.
"In other words, do not expect solutions. It will never come."
The haze first made it's appearance in 1997.
It's now 2013. Sixteen years later.
You must be patient.
It takes time for PAPigs to understand that they are expected to solve the problem.
"There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.
There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know. ”
—United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld
--------------
In response to all the complaining in redbean's blog, Singaporean PeeAm Lee has decided to set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to compile a list of unknown unknowns.
Unknown unknowns are things that the PAP government is responsible for; but is as yet unknown to the PAP government.
All this assurance of being prepared is just, well, after the happening, not before hor!
Wait till the haze reaches 700, then we know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about whether 'being prepared is what being prepared is supposed to be'.
By then, they will tell you that being prepared means just having enough masks to go on sale, nothing more, nothing less.
The only way is to pray very hard for the wind to blow other directions. Really nothing much can be done now. If PSI reached 1000 in your sleep, you may never wake up to know what is happening.
In order to get prepared for a haze emergency is to get use to it.
In order to get use to it is to put Sinkie in a smoke house for 1 hour daily for a period to qualify them calling themselves Sinkie.
Encourage one to smoke or be a second hand smoker so that they will get use to it and will never kpkb.
Those smokers and those selling Bak Kwa,satay...excuse.,cos they never complain.
I support Agongkia's idea.
You see, we have too many 'no smoking areas' all over the island and Sinkies are now finding it difficult to breath when faced with a lot of smoke, after becoming used to breathing 'smoke free air' throughout the year.
Another way to train Sinkies to be prepared for further haze is to train them to hold their breath and what better way than to tap their second nature, which is to 'sink' them in water for a period of time. They are called Sinkies' not for nothing hor!
Agongkia idea will turn this land into sicky land. When china was introduced to opium by uk, so many were addicted to it and making china very weak. Smoking your enemy is the first step to any invasion. Sinkies only need to have enough stock of the right masks and using a calm approach to overcome this haze situation. It is still better than floods, earthquake and tornados.
@The 1046:
>> I see, Matilah is a Doomsday Prepper
Not to the point I walk around with a tin foil hat on my head, I assure you ;-)
But I have learnt alot from my many epic failures, from which I thankfully managed to stay alive. If you live in a hostile environment like Australia for awhile, you'd better be prepared, or you will soon learn the hard way. I learnt the hard way. I have scars to prove it ;-)
The Nooze, Weather report from Jakarta
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