What is your plan c?

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6pack

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Looking at the destruction caused by recent rains in upper regions of India, asking this question here.
If by chance, an earthquake or flood or some natural calamity wiped out your house and all the valuables inside like money, important documents etc, and say the whole city was destroyed as a whole, what would you do if you were alive?

Besides scrounging around for food... I mean how will you try building your life again from scratch without anything?
 
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Interesting.

Assuming one were alive, obviously physical needs would have to be taken care of first. Food, dry clothes, a place to rest and whatever medicines one could find for the inevitable stomach and related infections.

Assuming one got out of that alive, The first thing to do is join the relief effort and help whoever you can in whatever way you can. Once you feel you can do no more, start looking up friends in other cities, contacting banks to get savings and investments for money, and finding a more permanent shelter - relatives/friends etc. Someone is always in a better situation than you, and someone is always in a worse situation than you, there is always someone who will help you and someone who will kick you in the nuts - this is universal truth, irrespective of circumstances.

Anyway, then I guess it would be to wait till thing settle down and look for a job or other employment. Since we are in a purely hypothetical space here, the rest is irrelevant.
 
I might be not answering the question here but i am glad that in many countries the Government helps the people to rebuild homes and provide food etc for some time. I will never see this happening in India. Ignore those 'packages' declared, they are always consumed by corrupt politicians who i personally think should be publically humiliated and killed.
 
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Interesting indeed!

Guess what, we had the flood scares last year when the water levels in the Ukai dam were raising due to the constant rains. The rains were pouring like there was no end! Water even flooded the roads and plots adjacent to the Tapti river but fortunately it stopped there after a few days. But yes, we were all advised to be prepared for what could have been worse (think the 2006 floods!). So we stocked up on plenty of dry fruits, biscuits (the el-cheapo Krackjacks and Parle-Gs family packs), wafers, chocolates, some essential tablets such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen painkillers, asked the Bisleri guy to drop some extra 20L cans, bought some tough Nylon ropes and a few extra blankets. And in the end, we had to eat all those we had piled up! :p

But I was told that the 2006 floods were horrible and left the city in shambles! At some of the locations, water logged till the second floor (ground, first, second!) and people were forced to take refuge on the terrace. The good thing is although the electricity goes off, the CNG connection through the pipelines are always present so this turned out to be a lifesaver. People used to help each other so much holding no bars and boundaries, share food, medicines, blankets and other necessities among each other. No looting and stuff took place fortunately. Choppers used to drop packets of bread, some dry foods etc. atop the terrace. And when it all settled, everything was in a mess! There were carcasses of animals floating all over, mud was filled all around the house and no water on the pipes to clean it, automobiles had to be towed to the service centres - all the roads blocked as a result. Finally it was all good. We used to hear stories from our seniors during our hostel days (probationary period) - very scary!

@6pack - good thread man! I like it when we have threads like these once in a while. :)
 
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A hypothetical question our two.
How would we get a job again if we don't have any certificates or any proof?
Without proof of bank account will a bank give new documents like checkbooks or even money etc? I mean after losing home and everything in it. Probably even banks would have lost money in insurance etc.

Also where would someone after losing everything get money to build a home? Even if govt gave a few lacs, I doubt you could buy a flat now in that amount.

@Gannu, the thought just came to my mind seeing destruction everywhere. Even on TV, they were showing the Japan tsunami disaster again and again on numerous channels. Then there are those storm chasers on TV which shows destruction caused by storms, and people who lived through those hard times, narrating how they felt. I wonder how they got through.
 
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As far as job is concerned, even if you dont have documents and all, can't the company one was working for vouch for you and your job probably still stands in that company.
 
6pack said:
How would we get a job again if we don't have any certificates or any proof?
Without proof of bank account will a bank give new documents like checkbooks or even money etc? I mean after losing home and everything in it. Probably even banks would have lost money in insurance etc.

Also where would someone after losing everything get money to build a home? Even if govt gave a few lacs, I doubt you could buy a flat now in that amount.
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Good questions all.

As far as your job goes - yes it is an issue upto a certain level. Some more informal industries do work on a name/face basis though. For example, I have never submitted a document certifying my education or work experience beyond a CV (ever since I started working). We do have ref checks but since the industry I work in - or used to - is very, very small, everybody knows everybody else and your reputation goes around really fast, hence getting a job is fairly easy (if the industry is doing well) or incredibly hard (if you don't have a clear background). In any case, documentation is good only for the first two days. After that it's pretty much what and how you do at work that will see you through.

Next banks, they are national entities and there is never a problem getting identification reissued. You just have to go through the procedures again. Getting a chequebook requires a cheque request form available in any branch, and as long as you can still sign, you can get pretty much anything from a bank. I am assuming people have insurance and savings, and there will be some assistance offered in the face of disasters such as a basic dole and some cheap loans to get going again. The problem is for people who have no savings and who anyway live on the edge of existence. And since there is insurance, nobody actually loses any money. The concept is that your savings with a bank are quite safe at all times, because the concept of physical money only exists when there is an actual withdrawal or deposit. Till then the money is in electronic form.

Finally, the big question you're asking is, what if you don't have homeowner's insurance. Well then, you can think it's a good time to get a policy for the home and everything in it. Also to convert your documents to electronic form and keep it in an online vault just in case, and a copy with your lawyers. Of course your OP stated that the entire city is levelled, but mroe copies out there means more places to possibly find them.

One thing you have to keep in mind that these are brick and mortar structures and hence can be built again. That is human spirit and will. It has very little to do with current existential requirements, and more to do with faith and belief. It sounds very funny, but when you build a house by yourself or see someone doing it from close quarters, you realise how far people have to push themselves to see these dreams through and how much sacrifice it takes to get it done. I have been fortunate enough to witness it twice in my life, and also know that today I would never be able to do it. However no one can really tell what the future brings, so the only sensible thing to do is be sensible and stay as safe as possible, and save as much as you can so that your future is secure.
 
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6pack said:
A hypothetical question our two.
How would we get a job again if we don't have any certificates or any proof?
Without proof of bank account will a bank give new documents like checkbooks or even money etc? I mean after losing home and everything in it. Probably even banks would have lost money in insurance etc.

Also where would someone after losing everything get money to build a home? Even if govt gave a few lacs, I doubt you could buy a flat now in that amount.

@Gannu, the thought just came to my mind seeing destruction everywhere. Even on TV, they were showing the Japan tsunami disaster again and again on numerous channels. Then there are those storm chasers on TV which shows destruction caused by storms, and people who lived through those hard times, narrating how they felt. I wonder how they got through.
Click to expand...
I have most of my proofs as scanned copy and have stored it online
 
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cranky said:
Also to convert your documents to electronic form and keep it in an online vault just in case
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Now is a good time to do that! Although I have the copies of my passport, PAN card and driving license stored online (the most frequently accessed stuff nowadays!), I don't have any of my school/college certificates scanned yet. Many thanks for the headsup cranky!
 
Gannu said:
Now is a good time to do that! Although I have the copies of my passport, PAN card and driving license stored online (the most frequently accessed stuff nowadays!), I don't have any of my school/college certificates scanned yet.
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+1^^- scan copy of savings instruments & insurance taken for life, property, medical ..
-contact nos of dear and near one
-You should survive with your Pigeon messenger, start pray from Today:p
 
If the disaster strikes as large (or even larger as those movies) as you are saying, I don't think anyone can have a plan c about that. The only thing that's gonna matter is how calm you can stay under the situation and how strong is your confidence. The rest of the actions you need to figure out as per the situation.
 
Considering situation is in one particular part of nation.

My all docs are scanned and stored online including all mark sheets from SSC till Post Grad, all ID proofs, Work-Ex details, etc. Hence getting them reissued may not be a big deal at-least. Counting this I will try to find for job in cities like Ahmedabad where my few relatives stay. Here I can start again with saving money as cost of living here is definitely lower than Mumbai. No fancy electronics stuff in start. Basic cell phone and CRT TV if I could afford. In 3 years I could be able to save enough to have all good basic amenities. In next 7-8 years would start looking for buying a flat or will shift back to Mumbai with rented house. May be this whole cycle may take around 15-17 years. But main idea would be accepting tough time, being hopeful and working hard. I might not have a fancy life which I could have 6-8 years from now, in case no such event, but at-least I will return to current state in same amount of time. One of main factor in such cases I feel is accepting things and staying calm. This will lead to peace of mind even in not so luxury life.
 
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Getting insurance money would be tough.

Maybe people need to take a good look at your insurance policies again. They have a certain clause that they can apply in such situations so that they don't have to give away money. That clause is worded something like this: "in the event of natural calamities, or act of God,.....”
Even home insurance provides only basic insurance against theft and not damage due to earthquake or act of God (whatever that is). So banking on insurance companies would be futile.

Also, banks do not have any compulsion to give back full amount in your savings account in such cases I think. According to RBI, they only need to keep 10% or so of actual amount with them. So in such cases,I don't think we will get more than 30-40% (probably even lesser than this) amount of money back in case bank fails.

Staying on topic, have any of you made some "emergency evacuation kit" or something like that? I mean, a bag holding all useful documents like aadhar or passport, some basic tools like knife or Swiss army knife, lighter, ropes, etc which can be carried easily to get by? I was thinking of doing such a thing for myself and keeping copies of documents etc in it in a water proof bag. I have already taken electronic copies of my certificates, etc on a pen drive, but haven't taken copies of bank documents in it. I need to do that.
 
6pack said:
Getting insurance money would be tough.

Maybe people need to take a good look at your insurance policies again. They have a certain clause that they can apply in such situations so that they don't have to give away money. That clause is worded something like this: "in the event of natural calamities, or act of God,.....”
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If you don't have natural disaster insurance, then no, you won't get anything. You have to buy it separately, there is a premium attached for that as well and you will never get back complete amount/value anyway.

Also, banks do not have any compulsion to give back full amount in your savings account in such cases I think.
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You think wrong. Talk to your branch manager. The only case where a bank is unable to pay you back is insolvency, and that is covered by insurance as well. If your bank is a scheduled bank, your entire deposit is covered under insurance. It's not like they keep your cash in the basement of the branch, so even if the branch is utterly destroyed the money is not even there in the first place.
 
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