Disaster Preparadness

Probably a bit off of the political realm but...

I've been trying to get some idea of how Alienware, the company that has my defunct computer for repair, is doing. My computer arrived in Miami just three days before Wilma and I haven't heard word from them since. I found this neat forum put on by the Miami Herald newspaper that takes and answers questions relating to hurricane recovery in Florida. So, I sent my question in about how Alienware, or at least that part of town, fared. It has yet to be answered but I did send it in over the weekend. It doesn't look like they update the page on weekends.

What caught my eye, though, was a question sent in by one of the locals, after the hurricane had passed through Miami. He wants to know where he can get boxes of batteries, a generator and other emergency supplies. Excuse me? Shouldn't such preparations been made before the hurricane arrived, assuming one was going to try and ride out the storm?

I guess I shouldn't be pointing fingers as I wasn't there and I'm not exactly well prepared for a major earthquake, myself, but these folks did have at least a few days of warning, didn't they?