Planning For Weather Emergencies

A weather emergency, blackout or other large scale catastrophe happens to most of us at some time. Preparing ahead of time can help you avoid unnecessary difficulty and hardship!

Planning For Weather Emergencies

Whenever I see something in the media, I question whether it makes sense or not. I have heard people suggest that you keep an emergency stash but I always wondered was what good is all of that emergency food and water if it is buried under a pile of rubble (earthquakes) or, in the case of Kansas and Florida, if it’s just blown away?

I recently heard someone who must have thought the same thing because they had a very good idea.

Keep more than one emergency stash.

You could keep an emergency kit in your car (which I do), one at your office, at another family member’s home or a friend’s house. I know you may think you don’t have room to keep an emergency kit in the trunk of your car, at the office, etc., but you don’t need a large collection of items in these backup areas.

You can get so many vacuum sealed food items and other supplies now that don’t take up much room. You don’t need to plan a 10 course meal for your family– only enough food to survive on for a couple of days. Usually a three day supply is enough to keep you from starving. Even one high powered “granola” type bar can fill up a person for one meal.

Remember this is your short term stash. No one will die of malnutrition in 3 days. Water is most important. If you don’t have room for a lot of bottled water a small water purifying kit might be helpful.

Get to know your neighbors.

I recently heard that the number one thing that will help you survive in an emergency is knowing your neighbors. The report said that over 90% of people who are saved in an emergency are saved by people they know.

If you think about it that is so true. If I know my neighbors and their house is on fire, I can tell the fire department how many children they have and where their bedrooms are or, if my neighbors are gone, I can tell the firemen there is one cat and one dog in their house.

One time last year when the tornado sirens went off I debated whether to call my neighbors to see if they had heard the sirens. I thought surely they had. I decided to listen to that little voice I hear once in a while urging me to do something (I know that sounds weird but you know what I mean) and I called them. Sure enough, they hadn’t heard it. I wish I had more room to list some of the many more times when neighbors can help each other.

Get to know your neighbors. We had a block party last year and I found out I have some really nice people living in my area. That is one way to get to meet them. If you see your neighbors in their yard, walk over and say “Hi!” Don’t use the excuse that you are shy or embarrassed. Get over it. It would be better to be a little embarrassed for a moment than for something awful to happen to you or your children because you didn’t want to be embarrassed.

Of course, getting to know your neighbors is a two way street. Not only can your neighbors help you but you might be the one to save them someday.

 

Plan a specific meeting place in case of emergency.

Tell your kids where to meet in an emergency. If in case of a fire somewhere, designate a place outside the house and practice going there. In case of a greater disaster, discuss where to meet at a friend’s or family member’s house outside of your area. My adult kids know if we get separated to meet or contact grandmother 1 or grandmother 2 who live in another city. If the entire country goes crazy, we have designated a couple of small towns in different states where we will meet.

 

Have the whole family learn basic first aid.

Learning first aid may someday make the difference in saving your life or the life of someone you love.

There is an old saying which is so very true, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Please be prepared.

Keep a list.

Write down a list in a notebook or on a piece of paper, in order of importance, of the things you need to take with you if ever you have to evacuate your home quickly because, at those times, you will not be able to think clearly or quickly. Of course, for those of us with CFS that’s all the time. : ) I’m not talking about making a list of things like your normal food items, water and a first aid kit. Those should already be in a handy place to grab at a moments notice.

I’m referring to things that aren’t of life or death importance but are of important sentimental or practical value that you would want to grab first if you had some warning before you had to evacuate. Here are some things I have on my list:

Important documents
Grandma’s quilt
Great grandma’s crocheted bedspread
Heirloom jewelry
My special jewelry

I included this list to give you an idea about what kinds of things to include. You could list things like your antique family Bible, photos etc. I don’t have photos on my list. If I had time I would take mine but I have copies of all of them in two completely different locations so it wouldn’t be quite so tragic if I lost them. Mostly, the list should include sentimental things that you can’t replace if they’re lost.

Try to keep these things stored as close together as possible so you can just grab them and go. I once found out the hard way when the media reported that a tornado was about 10 minutes away. For the life of me couldn’t think what I needed to grab to take to my closet with me. Thank goodness the tornado missed but I now know to be more prepared. Keep the list in a special place so you don’t lose it or forget where it is.

Check out the website because in a few days I will post more examples and kits.

Here is an emergency preparedness link.

       -Jill