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Why Prepare for Disasters?
November 14, 2012
As there is an ever increasing number of natural disasters occurring all over the world it is only a matter of time before one takes place near you. Whether it be an earthquake, storm, flood, snow, fire, evacuation, power loss, or other disaster, the key to knowing what to do and dealing with the problem is having a good plan in place.
Family Emergency Planning
The first way you should prepare is to talk with your family about potential disasters and why it's necessary to prepare for them. You should involve each person in your family in the planning process so everyone can remember what to do and it will take into account everyones needs. You can help reduce their anxiety about emergencies by explaining to them simple steps which will increase their safety.
In important part of planning is to put together a disaster supply kit and grab and go bags.
Make sure everyone knows where these will be stored so they can find them easily. In addition, having a pair of shoes and a flashlight under each person's bed in case there is an earthquake at night is important. You can keep them safe from moving during an earthquake by putting them in a plastic bag tying it to the leg of the bed.
Planning and reminding everyone about where people are to meet incase the home becomes unsafe to stay in is a must. You should choose two places. One should be in your front or back yard and the other outside your neighborhood in case you are instructed to evacuate the area. Incase you must drive a distance, be sure the gas tank of your vehicle is always at least half full.
Plan out the best escape routes for your home. Identify two escape routes that can be used. When earthquakes or flooding happen, it's importuned to turn off gas and electrical mains outside your home. Make sure your family all know where they are and how to turn them off. Practicing your evacuation routes and when needs to be turned off and closed up when an emergency happens will help everyone to be able to stay calm and make sure everything get done. Just like fire drills on collages campuses, you should announce a drill at random times and have everyone go through the motions. This will help it to become automatic and less stressful.
Fire extinguisher are a very useful tool but moss people don't know anything about using them. Teach each person in your family how to use it.
Safety at Home
When an earthquake happens, ordinary objects in your house can cause injury or become damaged. Here are some easy steps you can do to make your home a safer place during a disaster. Start by looking around each room and look for potential hazards like things that can tip over during an earthquake. Look for items on shelves, large picture on the wall, bookcases, and small tables with heavy items on them like lamps. Look for ways to adjust their position or secure them to the wall to make them safer. Things to look for are beds near windows, pictures above chairs and couches, hall ways that have large objects in them, and water heaters that are not strapped down securely.
Food
When disasters happen, you might not have access to food, water, or electricity for many days or even weeks at a time. It is important to store at least three days worth of emergency food for everyone in your family including pets. You should store food such as common meal ingredients like beans, rice, and freeze dried vegetables and fruit for long term disasters and quick ready make meals for short emergencies where you need food for several days. Most times when you are away from home during a flood or earthquake would be difficult or impossible to do. You want emergency food you can just pour boiling water on, let set for 5 min. or so, and eat. Dry beans, for example, would be very difficult to cook if your living in your car or in a public shelter.
For long term disasters and or civil turmoil where you will be surviving in your home from 1 month to a year, you want food storage of things that you normally stock in your panty for making normal meals for your family. It is hard to think about all the items that you might need to keep extras of which is why I recommend looking at food storage companies that offer 6 month and 1 year supplies. They have already planned out what a normal person will need so it makes it really easy to stock up. You will want to look for a supply that contain the type of items you are used to eating. If you can't find one that meets your needs, just use one as a starting point and remove and add in items that meet your needs and order the cans or buckets separately. The cost is usually the same buying them separately as to buying the supply unit.
I run a web development business located in the hills of Sweet Home, OR. I am interested in health, Christianity, gardening, and storable food.
