[Abandoned] Natural Disaster Prepardness

[New Gren Artle]

I would love suggestions as to what cartegory this proposal would go under if I were to submit it to the General Assembly, as well as some suggestions to make this proposal better.
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The World Assembly:

Understanding the demanding need for natural disaster preparedness, this act is designed to prepare everyone for a natural disaster in all member nations.

Natural Disasters include but are not limited to: hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and flash floods.

The easiest way to save as many lives as possible is to require every member nation to be prepared for any natural disasters.

To meet international standards for natural disaster preparedness, member nations must:

1. Have above-ground shelters which are made out of strong materials (concrete is recommended) with no windows. These shelters are only required in communities with a population greater than 500 people. Every community with a population less than 500 are advised to go to the closest shelter, or to remain in their homes.

2. Have first-aid stations available throughout the nation.

3. Have safety regulations for buildings which will protect it from natural disasters.

4. Have a government appointed meteorologist that will broadcast information about possibilies of upcoming natural disasters to the whole nation.

5. In the unlikely event of there being not enough room in the shelters, take the children first.

6. Not deny anyone access to shelter based on their skin colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.

7. Provide therapists or psychologists at the nation's discretion.

8. If natural disaster persists for more than 12 hours, provide a place for people to sleep in the shelters.

The World Assembly advises member nations to also set aside money to fund task force teams.

[Essu Beti]

((OOC: As a suggestion, if I were you I'd pick one proposal to develop, instead of making lots and hoping one sticks. Proposals take a lot of time to perfect- it's a marathon, not a sprint.))

IC:

"It strikes me that having an underground shelter for floods is a terrible idea," says Iksana. "It seems like that could lead to people being trapped in the shelter, and if its airtight they suffocate and if it isn't they drown. Not very fun. Also, why mothers and children first? Children, I understand, but why mothers? Are we going to orphan a child whose only caretaker is their single father? What if our nation has a distinct lack of therapists and psychologists?"

[Imperial Polk County]

"Oh, bless your heart, where should I begin," says Ambassador Drane, adjusting his glasses as he reads.

"Underground shelters is impossible in my nation, where the water table is high and the soil is sandy. We already have problems with sinkholes, and trying to build a basement under every house is only going to make it worse. First aid stations, well, let's think about this for a minute. In a hurricane or other weather event, people need to have well-stocked first aid kits at home, inside the home, not at some 'station' around the corner where they can't get to it. Although, having first aid stations at every public shelter, that would be a decent idea. Clause 4, we have the weather folks at our television stations, is that enough? Remember, smaller nations like ours don't have weather satellites or advanced computer... techno... mumbo jumbo, so we rely on forecasts from larger nations, who are all too eager to share meteorological data publicly. Clause 5, that's a terrible idea. What about single fathers, should they be separated from their children? What about elderly men? And what about existing international laws that state we cannot discriminate based on gender? This is the wrong way to go about it; build more shelters, or enable more public buildings like schools to be converted into shelters, that's the answer. Clearly our goal should be to turn no one away from a shelter for any reason. Clause 6, again, discrimination is already covered in other resolutions, no need to repeat it here, though I find it... interesting, that you think it's permissible to discriminate against males in clause 5 but not on the basis of gender identity in clause 6. Clause 7, well, that's just not practical, we don't have near enough psychologists in our nation to minister to every single person affected by a disaster, and besides, support groups and the clergy can do just as well for some folks. We can set up hotlines to enable victims to seek out help, that should suffice. Clause 8, well, isn't... that... what a shelter is? A place for people to sleep when disaster strikes?"

Drane takes another read through the proposal. "Okay, clause 3, that's very good advice, something we learned the hard way many years ago, but the rest of this, ambassador, it needs a lot of work. Thank you for hearing my comments."

[The New California Republic]

All replies OOC.

1. Have underground shelters that lock in the event of a flood, with room for everyone in the area, and equipped with sufficient food and water, throughout the nation.

Underground shelters to protect from flooding? That lock? Are you trying to save people or to kill them? What happens when a leak occurs (it is almost impossible to guarantee a completely watertight seal in a large area such as a shelter), and the place starts flooding. The doors are locked. No escape. The entire shelter becomes a flooded-out tomb.

3. Have safety regulations for buildings which will protect it from natural disasters.

To guarantee protection from all natural disasters, nothing short of a heavily reinforced concrete structure would be suitable, with no windows, and a hermetically sealed door that is several feet thick. It would be impossible to guarantee protection from natural disasters for existing buildings. Completely impossible. The only way to do it would be to encase them in acrylic polymer blocks. But then the building would be unusable.

4. Have meteorological services in every community to predict when natural disasters will happen.

In every community? Really? You do realize that some villages and hamlets have less than a dozen people in them, and yet you expect them to have their own meteorological station?

5. In the unlikely hood of there being not enough room in the shelters, take the children first.

I don't know what an "unlikely hood" is, but it sounds bad, I do not want to wear one.

[New Gren Artle]

All replies OOC.

1. Have underground shelters that lock in the event of a flood, with room for everyone in the area, and equipped with sufficient food and water, throughout the nation.

Underground shelters to protect from flooding? That lock? Are you trying to save people or to kill them? What happens when a leak occurs (it is almost impossible to guarantee a completely watertight seal in a large area such as a shelter), and the place starts flooding. The doors are locked. No escape. The entire shelter becomes a flooded-out tomb.

3. Have safety regulations for buildings which will protect it from natural disasters.

To guarantee protection from all natural disasters, nothing short of a heavily reinforced concrete structure would be suitable, with no windows, and a hermetically sealed door that is several feet thick. It would be impossible to guarantee protection from natural disasters for existing buildings. Completely impossible. The only way to do it would be to encase them in acrylic polymer blocks. But then the building would be unusable.

4. Have meteorological services in every community to predict when natural disasters will happen.

In every community? Really? You do realize that some villages and hamlets have less than a dozen people in them, and yet you expect them to have their own meteorological station?

5. In the unlikely hood of there being not enough room in the shelters, take the children first.

I don't know what an "unlikely hood" is, but it sounds bad, I do not want to wear one.

Thanks for your suggestions, I made some improvements.

[Frisbeeteria]

Thanks for your suggestions, I made some improvements.

The best improvement you could make would be to abandon this "one size fits nobody" proposal. Specific details almost never work in such instances. No single solution will be appropriate for 23,061 member nations.

If you must mandate something, mandate that every WA nation set aside money and staffing for a Task Force to address national emergency conditions. It may have already been done. Start by looking at the Passed Resolution list. Let each nation deal with their own problems in their own way.