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Not So Common Sense: the Amazing Story of a Hurricane Survivor

Adam Graham of Adam's Blog has this guest post. I wonder what makes this man different from the rest of the survirvors? Survival instinct? Sure, but I would suspect there is a lot more to this man than a desire to survive.

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MSNBC has the amazing story of a hurricane survivor:

Day after day, for more than two weeks, the 76-year-old man sat trapped and alone in his attic, sipping from a dwindling supply of water until it ran out. No food. No way out of a house ringed by foul floodwaters.

Without ever leaving home, Gerald Martin lived out one of the most remarkable survival stories of Hurricane Katrina. Rescuers who found him Friday, as they searched his neighborhood by boat, were astounded at his good spirits and resiliency after 18 days without food or human contact.
This is an amazing story, but it wasn't by chance that he survived. He lived to be 76 and continue to survive through common sense which isn't too common.

The man had a water supply that last him 17 days. Now, not having food wasn't a good idea, but you can survive for 40 days without food if you've got a good supply of water. What killed so many in Louisiana wasn't necessarily slow response time by the government, but the lack
of a plan. Now, his plan wasn't perfect but he's alive because he had a supply of water.

We have to be focused on being prepared in case of another disaster. The Department of Homeland Security has some pretty solid suggestions for an Emergency kit:
    1. A change of clothes
    2. Sleeping bags
    3. Food and water.
    4. A gallon of water per person per day should be enough.
    5. Canned and dried foods are easy to store and prepare.
Now the question is how many days to plan for. That's going to depend on your area, but being prepared could save your life.

-Adam Graham of Adam's Blog (http://www.adamsweb.us/blog)

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