06 September 2005

Be Prepared

The events of last week got me thinking about my own preparedness in the event of a disaster in my area.

Am I prepared to survive on my own without electrcity for 4 to 7 days?
Am I prepared to evacuate my home within 10 minutes?
Do I have an family emergency plan?

These are questions everyone needs to seriously ask themselves and if the answer is no to any of these, you need to do what is necessary to be better prepared.

I had an emergency kit when I lived in Seattle due to its propensity for earthquakes and severe wind storms (which coudl knock out electricity for a week), but when I moved to NYC I promptly forgot about it. So, I spent much of the weekend re-organizing my old emergency kit.

Things to include in a basic emergency kit:
Candles and waterproof matches
Flashlights & extra batteries
A case of water (or more depending upon number of people)
Food (granola/energy bars, crackers, etc... - stick to the dry-goods)
First Aid kit
Emergency blankets or sleeping bags
Extra clothes & shoes
Small bag of basic toiletries
Prescription medications
A radio that oppperate on batteries & extra batteries
Copies of important family papers and documents (in plastic bag)
Cash (ATMs may not work)
A small towel or bandana (to dampen and cover your mouth to protect from debris/dust)
A whistle

If you want to get more elaborate, you can also include:
Camp stove and fuel bottles (like propane)
Canned foods and can opener
Camp cook kit (small pans, plates, & utensils)
Plastic tarp or tent
Rope or bungee chords
Toilet Paper
Towels
Cooler
A phone that doesnt require electricity to operate

Feel free to add anything else you and your family think they might need to this list.

It is also important that your emergency kit be located in one spot in the house, cause in a panic mode, you might not be able to remember where everything is scattered around the house. Make a list of any item not currently in the kit that needs to be included (like pets or refrigerated medicine or your external hard drive, etc...) and put that list with the emergency kit.

Also, talk to your family and work out plans should you get separated in an emergency and/or how to be contacted or contact relatives and family members. Plans will vary depending upon your family situation, but it is important to at least have a plan and discuss it with relatives, and especially children.

One other idea I got from a good friend. Scan all your important family documents and papers (passport, insurance, etc....) and email them to your yahoo or google account for safe keeping. This way, you can access copies of these important documents should you need to. You could also get an external hard drive or flash drive to store your documents and family photos.

I have the elaborate kit at home (I used to backpack& camp a lot), but I also have a basic kit stored in a backpack in my car and at work. This may seem like overkill and I pray I never have to use my emergency kit, but I would rather be over-prepared than not at all.

3 comments:

SC874 said...

When the power went out in the Northeast two summers ago and I was without power for 3 days, I also learned an important thing to have - a telephone that does not require electricity to work. My cordless phone totally conked out (it needs to be plugged in) and my cellphone ran out of power and I was phoneless.

Also, stock up on batteries - that was the first thing the stores (that were still open) sold out of. There were none to find anywhere.

Janet said...

Thanks Jessica.

I added your suggestions to my list as well as some others I also found today (cash, a bandana to cover your mouth, and a whistle in case you are trapped).

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