October 24, 2009 a massive explosion at the Gulf refinery in Bayamon Puerto Rico destroyed 21 of the 40 storage tanks sending a huge plume of smoke to that air and causing a 2.8 temblor in the metro area. The earthquake was felt across San Juan as well as Guaynabo, Bayamon and two other communities. The explosion broke windows and more thank 1,500 people had to be evacuated. The inferno lasted for three days before it was extinguish.
That got me thinking about the possibility of a similar accident here in my home town. The similarity of the installation is what got my attention. Both are old installations that function as holding facilities of oil related products. Here is a picture of the Shell Refinery in Yabucoa and the usual wind direction, now imagine those tanks exploding.
An immediate evacuation would be ordered as the black smoke engulfs the town. Now there are two possibilities here either you evacuate to Humacao to the north or to Maunabo to the south. The main road to Yabucoa is the Expresso Jose Celso Barbosa which would be closed immediately due to it’s proximity to the tanks. Now imagine thousand’s of people trying to get out at the same time using the PR 3 road. Either north to Humacao or south to Maunabo it would be a mess. Imagine thousands of cars trying to get out of the town at the same time using one lane roads which by the way are in very bad shape. How much time would you have to get everything that you need in your car and just go? Most people would not be prepared to leave at a moment notice. Make a Bug out Bag now and get prepare because you don’t know when you will need it.
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