People who deal with emergencies professionally, and especially their non-expert political bosses and their lawyers, spend an inordinate amount of time worrying

People who deal with emergencies professionally, and especially their non-expert political bosses and their lawyers, spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about panicked reactions by the general public, a phenomenon that is almost entirely fictional. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emergency_response/common_misconceptions.pdf http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emergency_response/common_misconcep... (escape panic is rare; disaster shock is rare and short lived; public reaction to disasters is adaptive but might overwhelm unprepared public agencies expecting to be in control)