Monday, April 21, 2008

Disaster Elephant...Yum! Gimme a Bite!


These folks are gearing up for the Great California Shake Out! (in October). Our Stake is also encouraging everyone in our area to get prepared and self reliant. Our regional leader has set the pattern for us and given us the goal: Lead By Example!

With that in mind we are all supposed to have our own family 72 hour kit made and ready to go. We're supposed to Make a Plan then Test Our Preparedness and use as many Tips and Resources we can find to secure our own self reliance.

So I am once again taking inventory. What you see in the photo is just part of what we have done to prepare for a natural (or otherwise) disaster. Each of our vehicles have a 72 hour kit for two persons, along with a 72 hour kit for the house.

We also have an extensive first aide kit, meaning it could do a bit more than "first" aide.

We have been advised to be prepared for 72 hours, food, water, fuel, clothing, whatever! Whatever we would use in three days time we need to have in reserve, ready to go at a moments notice. Last year our area suffered pretty harshly with fires, some neighborhoods were given literally 5 minutes time to grab what they could and leave.

Do we know where all our important documents (all insurances, deeds, tax files, photos, etc) are? Could we grab them all if we needed to? How about our medications, pet supplies, or special needs? All in five minutes? What if we were not home when the evacuation took place? What could we do to recover all those items that may be lost forever? Are they copied and stored in another secure location? Do we have an out of state contact to call and a plan in place to contact family members if local phone lines go down? Are we aware that if we don't contact FEMA at the time of your disaster, that we miss out on any and all future help?

Whew! There is SO much to do! That's why we are encouraged to take the first few bites from the Disaster Elephant now! Click on those links and pick something, one project, to start on. Get started on that 72 hour kit. When we have that accomplished, go for the First Aide Kit. Store our documents in a secure way that is easily collected later on; make a copy to store off the premises. Make a contact list and a family plan. After we get those things accomplished, begin to store for a more prolonged disaster.

The families in the fires of SoCAL are still reeling and trying to cope. The families from the Katrina Storm are still trying to recover. It has been years! Time to prepare now!

I have gone through my storage and I have found that I have more than I thought (but enough for long term?), but could use more variety and a better system for rotation of goods so that I am constantly utilizing my stored items effectively. I want to extend my resources. With the economy what it is, why not prepare for a little relief if I need it in a few months?

In the next few weeks I will share with you what I am doing, and hopefully, together we can better prepare ourselves for total self reliance during an emergency.

add to sk*rt

7 comments:

hi, it's me! melissa c said...

I loved this post. I have felt a sense of urgency for a little while now and am trying to get all this organized too.

I would love the advice from you since you are more prepared. I am looking forward to your next posts on this topic!

Robyn said...

Oh I don't know. I kindof like the thought of being a whole new person. Erase it all and start over. I know I know, not the right direction.

Red said...

I normally I only think of food/water; but making sure to have the important documents on hand is equally important. I've go the 72 hour kit and a three month supply. With the price of gas and prices going up at the grocery store it's a good idea to have a supply.

Something else I do is keep in as much gas as possible in my car so if something happens I can get to where my family is... safety in numbers.

Robyn said...

Oh and then they go and ruin it by running a story on the news tonight about food rationing taking place in America right now! Get your rice, oil and flour people!

S'mee said...

Melissa I am not sure I am more prepared than anyone! Think of all the ways we need to be prepared, emotionally, Spiritually, mentally, physically, yikes! So we can help each other out as we get ready and follow some good council!

Red you're right! I think I wrote about that in an upcoming post, always top off the tank no matter if they glare at you! If the electricity goes out, so do the pumps!

Chronicler! You kill me. And yes, Rice is being rationed in Asian as we speak! I met with a gal at Costco today who said she was buying all she could because of the rationing her relatives are experiencing! Not to shock or panic, but we need to prepare now.

Rynell said...

This is something I need to work on. I have some things, but not enough, and certainly not organized enough. I look forward to your tips.

S'mee said...

Thanks Rynell. I think that if everyone brings something to the table we'll all learn a few good things!