Emergency Preparedness; Disaster Scenarios; The Burden of Perspective

   It is to be assumed that individuals having interest in the subject of emergency preparedness are motivated to survive. This means they have some type of emergency or disaster in mind; something they have seen or heard about. Any given disaster scenario creates perspective; the greater scope of the disaster, the larger the potential perspective (granted, no matter the scope, one can iris down the focus to individual or family efforts to survive, but looking at the recovery period brings the focus back out to 'society' (such as it is or may be in the post-disaster period).
   What I refer to as 'The Burden of Perspective' is the incredible weight that one feels when seeing a neighborhood as it is now; and then overlaid with the contemplated disaster. What is going to happen to the people, the animals, the plants, the water, the ecosystem itself? How will they survive? How will they recover? What skills and activities will be needed? What will things look like? The spirit is heavy, contemplating such a subject.
   As I drove home through Connecticut yesterday, having attended a workshop entitled 'Awakening the Dream' (see awakeningthedreamer.org), such thoughts were passing through my mind. (No reflection on Connecticut; I have been driven by this type of perspective for years; see my write up under 'Emergency Preparedness; my personal history'.)
   Our workshop had emphasized the personal focus on change; when I look at neighborhoods, the weight is much heavier. But I had 2 thoughts.
   The first was the realization that, come what may, each neighborhood will be evolving their own response. I know of no higher-level planning that takes this into account, but it is a reality. We will respond as a nation, but we will respond as 'tribes'- families, gangs, neighborhoods; humans are hard-wired for this and will find it a useful tool in the arsenal.
   The second thought was a synthesis of recent things. I had been writing a section about Caves in 'Dwelling Space'; as well as working on the section in 'Permaculture' discussing Sepp Holzer. I looked at the contours of the land in Connecticut; many places with up-sweeping hills, some with housing developments built on successive terraces on the hill. And I recalled the description of ancient cave developments in Europe and Asia. Here are excerpts (some from the 'Dwelling Space' page)

From http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/apr2/trogs.htm ;
'...In the caves of Cappadocia, networks of passageways link family rooms with communal spaces. Most of these underground cities are no longer in use, and can be visited by tourists. These include Derinkuyu, which is the largest and has eight levels that people can view (though it is thought that there are twelve more levels that have not yet been excavated). It is estimated that there are some six hundred doors to this underground city, hidden in surface dwellings and courtyards. It is also thought that Derinkuyu is linked to Kaymak, another underground city just nine kilometers away.'

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_Underground_City ;
'...The underground city at Derinkuyu could be closed from the inside with large stone doors. The complex has a total 11 floors, though many floors have not been excavated. Each floor could be closed off separately.
'...The city could accommodate between 35,000 and 50,000 people and had all the usual amenities found in other underground complexes across Cappadocia, such as wine and oil presses, stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, and chapels. Unique to the Derinkuyu complex and located on the second floor is a spacious room with a barrel vaulted ceiling. It has been reported that this room was used as a religious school and the rooms to the left were studies.
'...Between the third and fourth levels is a vertical staircase. This passage way leads to a cruciform church on the lowest level.
'...The large 55 m ventilation shaft appears to have been used as a well. The shaft also provided water to both the villagers above and, if the outside world was not accessible, to those in hiding.'

http://www.escapeartist.com/OREQ11/Cave_Houses.html
'...Here cave buildings do not, as might be expected, exist inside natural rock formations, like at Capadoccia in Turkey or the Tarn Gorge in France. Instead, they are intentional dwelling spaces carved out of hard clay and earth. Buying, refurbishing, or creating a new cave house represents the ultimate in efficient and sustainable living--though please be advised that we would not suggest building a cave house outside of regions where it is common practice and the structural integrity of the earth is well known.'

So there you have it; prehistoric bomb shelters, tornado shelters, having stood the test of time since about the 7th century BC. If it floods or there is an earthquake, you may choose to stay out of the cave. For tornado or wartime, go into the cave. The entrance to the cave is your back door- just go into the hill.
   But pay attention to the last cautionary note- check the 'structural integrity of the earth'; you don't want a landslide. And make sure there is an exit tunnel.
   In a sense, Nature is affording us an opportunity- in communities devastated by natural disasters- to try some novel rebuilding strategies.

This write up is not to suggest a glib glossing over of tragedy; or the formidable task of survival. I am just saying that as I drove along, I 'saw' these images overlying the land scape. If one were to attempt addressing the question of practicality more seriously, one might look at the characteristics of 'karst' as a geological material. It seems that many of the primordial (and continuing) cave habitations have been in this type of rock stratum.

Wikipedia on karst;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karst

Wikipedia on areas of the world where karst is found; 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_notable_karst_areas