Can we survive as Singaporean...

It was reported in AsiaOne that when Singaporean Leong Ming En, was told to flee his house in the West End suburb of Brisbane on Tuesday, he headed to a supermarket nearby, only to find the food items almost sold out He managed to buy only a pack of unflavoured biscuits. On that Tuesday night, he headed to a friend's hilltop home - he took with him only his laptop, camera and passport, and he has been wearing the same T-shirt since Tuesday. He had, it seems, do not grasp the imminent danger and under estimate the fury of Mother Nature that had taken at least 20 lives and suburbs were filled with water, apartment blocks stood like islands in a brown sea and left everyone waiting for the water to go down .Only then will the worst of the damage be know. Nevertheless, he is now safe in a friend's home, I can't help but ponder over the importance of his laptop, camera and passport in an emergency evacuation like this. Having gone through the aftermaths of two big earthquakes in the Solomon Islands(1978) and Rabaul (1994), I always have an emergency kit in my house ever since. Believe me, those three items carried by Ming En in the news report are not in my emergency kit, instead I have the following items:

1. First aid kit and essential medications.
2. Canned food and can opener
3. At least 10 litres of water per person
4. Protective clothing, raincoat, and bedding or sleeping bags
5. Battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries.

For most Overseas Singaporeans, who are living in places where natural disaster can occur anytime, I am pretty sure that you have already prepared one at home.But just remember to replace or check the batteries. To those who are complacent (boh chap) or new arrivals, please start one today.Remember this is only our basic emergency for my own family and but if you have young ones or elderly as family members, please include special items such as diapers, toys, etc to cater for their needs in the event of an emergency.