Emergency Preparedness

In light of the recent natural disasters that we have seen, and the fact that we were bracing for Hurricane Sandy to hit us, and because Justin asked,  I thought you might be interested to know the things that I see (with some consultation with Dad) that brought us the most comfort in preparing.  That way you can make sure you are prepared.

Of course, knowing we had food storage that would last a long time, was number one.  However, number one should probably be WATER STORAGE.  As the storm approached, the first thing off the store shelves was bottled water.  We have 5 gallon water bottles, that we use on a regular basis, that we fill from our tap.  We made sure all those were filled for drinking and cooking.  We also have 2 big drums filled with water that we could use for cleaning, bathing, etc.  The emergency preparedness people also suggested we fill our bathtubs with water.  I'm not sure how that would work with little children.  It may not be worth the risk.

The second thing was our household GENERATOR.  Now, it doesn't really run the whole house, but gives us power to our refrigerator and freezer, a few lights and outlets, and an ALTERNATIVE HEAT SOURCE. It also runs the pump and SEPTIC.  A generator also involves FUEL to run it.  We also have a small oven that plugs into an outlet that we can cook in. This also gave us the ability to RECHARGE OUR CELLPHONES.  It seems to me, from reading reports on the storm in New York and New Jersey, that those things are of prime importance.  Dad has colleagues in New York who have been without power for a week and a half now.

FILL YOUR VEHICLES WITH FUEL.  New York is rationing fuel.  I know it can't last forever, but you'd be one step ahead of everyone else.  Grandpa Workman has a good philosophy, keep your tank full.

BATTERIES.  We have flashlights and lots of AA batteries that don't run our flashlights.  Batteries also became a hard to find item.

AN ALTERNATIVE COOKING SOURCE.  I mentioned we have a small oven, but a nice camp stove or even your grill, as long as you have fuel, would work great.  For long term use, charcoal briquets and dutch ovens also work well.

Also, some EMERGENCY MEDICAL SUPPLIES might be in order.  A first aid kit, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, bleach (for disinfecting), clean cloths and bandages.

72 HOUR KITS.  You can find lots of information on these online.  The important thing is that you have one for each member of your family that you can grab and take with you if your home is in danger.

In case you are involved with a major disaster, find a way to communicate with a family member, if possible, so everyone knows what your situation is and if you need help.  People may not be able to get in touch with you.

As the storm approached, we knew we had the supplies to take us through.  But we still asked, is there any thing else we need to do.  We made cookies.

We were lucky.  We had advance notice to prepare and the storm skirted us.  Many of you live in tornado and earthquake country, you may not have the luxury of advance notice. We hope this is helpful to you, and as you have funds to do so, we hope you will add these basic things to your storage.