That’s right, there are 26 disasters and emergencies listed by the Department of Homeland Security. Natural or human-made, the scale of these events can vary widely, meaning they can affect a small or large area, and can have varying degrees of impact on the affected community.

Many of us feel that a disaster is unlikely to directly impact us. Going to work, or taking the children to school after our morning coffee, we generally feel quite confident with our daily routines. It's easy to believe that such events are remote and won't happen to us.

Too often, we refuse to face reality because we don’t want to challenge our illusion of security and comfort. In crisis management, we talk about emotional pitfalls or traps:

Denial “it can’t—it will never happen...”

• Head in the sand syndrome “I don’t want to think about it…”

• Carelessness “I have other priorities…”

• Hopelessness “there is nothing I can do to prevent it from happening…”

• Invulnerability “it will never happen to me…”

The recent disasters that we are passively witnessing through the media and social networks should serve as important reminders to always be prepared. They should be a wake up call and prompt us to consider what actions we would take if a calamity were to occur in our own backyard, our neighborhood, our city.

Even though a situation is unexpected doesn’t mean that we can't prepare for it beforehand.