Disaster can strike at any time, anywhere. Disasters respect no one. All of us are equally vulnerable, some directly, others indirectly. Devastation and destruction often follow in its midst, wreaking havoc and chaos. Disasters tear communities apart, but they can also bind a community together as neighbor helps neighbor to survive and then recover.

Disasters occur randomly, often without warning. Some communities get hit frequently. For others, it can be years, even decades, before they are affected. Therefore, it is easy to become complacent. For 120 years, Noah warned of an impending flood, while building his ark. Then one day it happened and the people were caught unprepared. Like those people who ignored Noah's flood warning, we often fail to prepare because it has never happened before or we don't remember the last time disaster struck our community.

Tell that to the residents of Oakfield, Barneveld and Big Flats. Each of these communities learned first hand the devastation a tornado can wreak on a community. Perhaps many had said before these tornadoes struck, "It will never happen to us." But it did, and it could happen to us, too! That is why we have an emergency management program.