Are YOU prepared for a natural disaster?

Since we seem to be facing lots of natural disasters recently I thought this would be a good thing to bring up again...

Every emergency disaster preparedness plan out there says that you must be prepared to be responsible for YOURSELF for THREE days... 3 days water and food. Katrina hit Tues, and it was Fri before any real aid showed up... 3 days later. SO, are YOU prepared? Everyone knows they SHOULD be but have you actually done anything about it? (the fires were MY big wakeup call!)

You should have packed medicine for a week, water for a minimum of 3 days, and food... canned food WITH a can opener, beef jerky, nuts... anything dry that provides sustenance. Also pack food for the pets, and KNOW where their kennels and leashes are...

NOW then, the second part of this is do you have your emergency contact list REALLY ready? I have a friend who was missing 3 family members for almost a week... the family lost all 14 homes. She brought up a valid point last night that I hadn't considered. If you have lots of extended family, cousins, nieces, nephews etc... create a BROAD emergency contact list... what I mean is don't just have THEIR phone numbers... have the phone numbers of their IN-LAWS, friends etc as well... if they don't have phone service, and find a way to make only ONE call (which is what happened to her family) that one person can call you if they have your numbers, or vice versa... she has family that ended up all over the states... and finding them was a logistical nightmare because she didn't have a broad enough list...

just thought this was worth mentioning yet again...

here is a good website (the best I know of) for emergency preparedness... it is San Francisco's site, but better than any other I've seen!

www.72hours.org

Along those same lines, it is also an excellent idea to have a "bug-out bag" packed and within easy reach of your door or bed. That way if there is a fire or something else requiring fast evacuation, you can just grab it and go! Some well prepared families I know also have a backpack for each of their kids sitting under each child's nightstand. They also have a detailed escape plan and everyone knows where to meet back up at. A basic BOB (the bag, not the battery-operated boyfriend ;) ) contains food, warm clothing, space blanket, rope, knife, something to purify water with, spare cash and change, flashlight, poncho, matches, etc.

I used to have a great set of plans for a family kit in a large trashcan somewhere for earthquake preparedness, I can probably dig it back out again if anyone is interested.

Personally, my version of being prepared involves not just kits, but also having nice full cupboards, fuel for my alcohol stove (in case the power goes out from a freak ice storm or the like since we have electric stoves), extra blankets, etc. I carry a small survival kit with me while hiking and biking that fits in a basic (not oversized) fanny pack, plus a first aid kit strapped to the fanny's belt. Doesn't get in my way and it's always handy. I find myself having to replace items from it fairly often and when riding, I just stow it in a pannier. Along with being prepared for disasters, I think it's important to be prepared just out-and-about as well, so I have a frame pump, patch kit, spare tube, bike tool, normal multitool, leg bands, and tire gauge (all except pump are in underseat bag) as well as having sunscreen, chapstick, Buck Hunter 110, snacks, and a bandanna (in my handlebar bag). Hmmm....I suppose it's a good thing I'm not worried about weight!

Another good thing to plan for is routes out of town. If your town is being evacuated for fires, flooding, volcanoes, or whatever else, knowing safe routes that don't involve bridges(!) is always a good idea, and it doesn't take long to find them on a map, so it's pretty painless. In one town I lived in a Southern CA, every road but two crossed bridges. In the case of a large earthquake, there was real danger of the dams breaking, and this town was on a floodplain....so the bridges would likely be washed out.

The nice thing about hurricanes is you get a few days notice to prepare. I was in an inland area (Gainesville, FL) that was affected by three hurricanes last summer. I totally freaked out on the first one, and was too burned out from panic to freak out on the last one. I learned that you can't trust a bath tub to hold water and now have (filled) huge water containers, because it takes water to flush the toilets!! Amazingly, at least one restaurant in town stayed open, even through the fluctuating electrical supply, and we ate several meals there. This year we have a gas grill which will really help- last year we visited the neighbors a lot! Out telephone and electric companies refunded money for the times we were without their services, usually four-five days at a time, which was nice of them. Our friend that moved to Orlando from Las Vegas just in time for the first hurricane that hit has since moved back. I remember flying out from the Orlando airport after the first hurricane, Charlie, and wondering why so many homes all had pools of the identical blue color- then it hit me, those were tarps on roofs. The destruction was amazing, and so varied- there would be flattened forests in one area with an adjoining area untouched.

Nanci

I'm a preparedness nut! Having worked as Firefighter/Medic I've worked disasters where people got out but only with the clothes on their back, it left a huge impression on me so I always have a bin packed.


I'm also one of the geeky ones that always has a fully stocked first aid kit in the vehicle and house. :D

Okay, so we just had a little one. hmmm, maybe someone heard you. And while I'm not in central california I did feel it.

Magnitude 4.9 - CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
2005 September 22 20:24:48 UTC

Funny, we started a earthquake preparedness campaign before Katrina.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ACG

Okay, so we just had a little one. hmmm, maybe someone heard you. And while I'm not in central california I did feel it.

Magnitude 4.9 - CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
2005 September 22 20:24:48 UTC

Funny, we started a earthquake preparedness campaign before Katrina.

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Ah, but I know that when I lived down there, people didn't start talking much about having kits until *after* the big ones (I was down there for three of them) either ;)

Regardless, better late than never, eh?

Every place I've ever worked, we had earthquake preparedness. Some of the buildings I worked in were over 50 stories tall. So they HAD to prepare. I'm in a small building now, not in the heart of the city, so they feel safe. I on the other hand may be too paranoid, I have emergency stuff in cars, garage, home, work, etc.

Be safe everyone and prepare.

As of last weekend I got an emergency kit organised in my storage shed, far from perfect but getting there. Also I have a small portable file case, putting some of the most essential papers there. I live on or near the Hayward fault so I better get my rear in gear 8-(

My job is pretty safety concious, I work for "da phone company" out here, we have emergency supplies on every floor or every building, all on a regular inspection schedule.

This makes me aware I'm pretty thankful, the most vulnerable of the huricane survivors and the most hurt were/are poor. It's hard to have back up food if you don't have food, hard to have back up supplies in the car if you don't have a car etc. Most of us are pretty lucky.