Since we live in California, we are always thinking about earthquakes.  But the recent heat wave in the middle and eastern part of the US. reminds us that there are other emergencies, too – and they can be just as deadly.

Heat waves and storms go together.

Big differences between temperatures and air pressure create climate “events” that bring down electric power lines.  That stops electricity to refrigerators, to air conditioners, to fans. That’s what happened last week and that’s what killed some people.

Could they have done things differently?

Some of them could probably have found safer places to ride out the storm.  But most had no defense against the ultimate killer – the heat!

At night, no electricity means no light.  Unless you have flashlights or lanterns.  You can’t read, watch TV, cook, or repair things.  You are pretty much stuck where you are, not moving.

During the day, no electricity means no air conditioning. . . for day after day after day, and at night, too.

• At home, you simply swelter.  Meanwhile, all your food goes bad because your freezer and your refrigerator are off.
• Freezers and refrigerators at local stores are off, too, so they run out of supplies very quickly.
• And roads, the lifeline for supplies, may be blocked by downed trees and power lines.

What would YOU have done?

Whether it’s high winds or heavy rain that took out the electric service doesn’t matter.  What does matter is whether people had water.

Water saves people two ways.

1. When it’s hot, you need to drink.  Steadily, and a lot.  You can tell if you’re getting enough if you have to pee often, too.
2. When it’s hot, you can spray or sprinkle yourself (your children and your pets) with water and let evaporation help keep skin temperatures down.

A couple of the people who died were hit by debris from the storm, or crashed because of rain.  But most of the casualties simply succumbed to too much heat and too little water.

Don’t let this happen to you!  Make sure you have water supplies at home and at work and enough to save someone else besides yourself. It’s the simplest preparation of all!

In a collapsed building

Who will get there first?

I don’t know about you, but as I watched television the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco and again following the disaster in Haiti, one thing sent chills down my spine — the thought of people pinned alive and injured below fallen concrete, smashed cars and collapsed buildings, waiting for rescue, waiting, waiting . . .

By way of a side note here: My partner, Virginia Nicols, was lecturing in Silicon Valley the day the Loma Prieta quake struck.  She and two colleagues were discussing the subject of her evening lecture over dinner in a restaurant. 

The three of them went under the table and were uninjured, but damage to the restaurant was extensive with broken glass and fallen shelves throughout. They emerged onto streets with no traffic lights, no sound coming from the car radio.  This was before everyone had a car radio or a cell phone.  I set up an automatic re-dial and got through to her about 2 hours after the quake hit.

The day after she came home (we were living on the East Coast then) we went dining and dancing at a local club.  The fact that it was in an old, refurbished-brick building that would not likely withstand even a light jolt proved so distracting to her that we had to leave 10 minutes after we had arrived.  It took her more than a year to be able to spend time in what her whole being told her were potential death traps. 

And if it were you?

Imagine being buried alive, lying in the darkness, not knowing what the situation is above ground and wondering if anyone would find you before you die.  Imagine having no way of letting your family, co-workers or friends know that you are indeed alive and desperately in need of help.

How to let people know your whereabouts?!

You might immediately think of the emergency alert devices that are particularly marketed to senior citizens living alone. (“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”)

When you think further, you realize that all of these devices cost money (usually a monthly subscription), operate via cell phone transmission, have specific geographic or protocol limitations and all have fairly expensive price tags.

Cell phones certainly are among the most widely available devices for letting people know where you are and what your condition is in an emergency.  But whom do you notify?  What if your battery dies?  What if the cell phone towers in your area are damaged from the emergency, overloaded with phone traffic or simply inoperative?

The reality is that cell phones have limited reliability in an emergency and, depending on the carrier, they may or may not perform well inside of dwellings.  Without electricity, batteries cannot be recharged so the cell phone may only have a limited life.  And, where the best advice is to have out-of-the-area contacts to call (to avoid overloaded local phone lines), this only works if you even have the ability to call out on your cell phone.

And, I don’t know about you, but I would find it difficult to have the discipline to wait for several hours to make distress calls in the hope that cell phone service would be restored anytime soon.

Is there an answer? 

Well, maybe there are a couple . . .

Low tech yes — but it will always work!

First, the low-tech answer.  I don’t see a lot of people adopting it, but it makes some sense. What is it?  A simple noisemaking device called a “whistle.”  I’m not sure what kind of a fashion statement it makes to wear a whistle around your neck every day, but maybe an unobtrusive one on a key chain could avoid some of the potential snickering . . . especially in the work environment.

Something to think about, depending on your daily routine.

As for high-tech option, consider social media to contact people you are connected to.  Again, this depends on whether or not you have wireless access or even whether or not you run you life by your smart phone.  Using your cell phone requires, of course, that you know how to TEXT.  (Here’s an Advisory that explains how to text for those who don’t yet do it every day.)

This is definitely a subject that warrants more conversation and there is no one or easy solution.  For now, I am looking for some more low-tech solutions.

Joe Krueger
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Doomsday Preppers arm themselves for a total breakdown of society.

Protection against whom?

As we watch some of the reality TV programs on “Doomsday Preppers,” we are appalled at the extent to which many people go to arm themselves against anticipated attackers, looters and other lawless elements.  Some of these folks have virtual armories, full of weapons and ammunition they feel they will need to survive in a world gone mad . . . right out of Mad Max or the Postman, with a total breakdown of society!

Well, here at Emergency Plan Guide we’re not really preparing for that extreme situation.  Our objective is to help you and your neighbors prepare for the possible emergency that would be caused by an earthquake, a local or regional weather phenomenon, an industrial accident or even the unlikely event of a major terrorist attack.  You may have to take care of yourself and your family for a few days until adequate help can arrive.

Will there be looting or other lawless activity?

Perhaps.  But are your neighbors likely to pose a serious threat to your safety because they have been caught unaware and starving?  Probably not.

And even if you were to find yourself in a situation where you were to feel threatened, are you prepared to take another person’s life?

We’re not suggesting you shouldn’t prepare for this kind of eventuality.  That’s a decision you have to make for yourself, depending on where you live and other factors.

One way to minimize the risk . . .

What we are suggesting is that there are things you can do to minimize the risk of this happening.  You can distribute information about preparing for emergencies to the homes, apartment complexes and stores in your area.  In fact, the more successful you and your neighbors are in organizing a Community Emergency Response Team in your neighborhood, the more likely your neighboring communities will become interested . . . and at least take personal responsibility for their own preparations.

Joe Krueger
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

As a quick distinction . . .

• Survivalists plan to use their wilderness skills and ingenuity to live off the land for however long it takes.
• Preppers plan to survive in the aftermath of an emergency thanks to the preparations they have made, using the supplies they have assembled.

You have numerous choices in putting together an emergency supply of food, water and medicines.  You can purchase kits that include a year or more supply of freeze dried food or even MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).  And this kind of preparation may well fit your plan.  A lot depends on where you are located, the density of population in your “neighborhood,” etc.

Medicines for the family and pets take extra care. 

Enough to last 10 days?

Of primary importance is your supply of medicines that members of the family (including pets) require.  Making sure that prescriptions are refilled promptly so that you always have at least two weeks worth of them on hand can be life saving.  Some prescriptions are timed to renew closer to the end of the supply so a discussion with your doctor or pharmacist may be necessary.

A realistic food supply. 

Before you go out and spend several hundred dollars on food packets that are likely to sit in a closet or on a storage shelf for months or even years waiting for a cataclysmic event, we suggest that you take a more practical, less expensive route and simply buy extra portions of the canned & packaged goods that you eat regularly and “rotate” their usage so that
you always have items with the longest shelf life on hand. 

Will it need cooking? 

Obviously, if these are to include frozen items, you will want to have an alternate supply of electricity, such as a gas generator available to run periodically.  Likewise, if chosen foods will require cooking, you will need a portable camp stove to use in preparing meals.  What you choose to “stock up on” will depend on your regular eating habits as well as your physical situation. 

Let’s not forget pets.

MREs don’t work too well for them. They are not likely to want to taste “pet MREs” any more than you want to eat human ones.  In fact, pets also may not be prepared to eat ANY new food. Keep that in mind as you pack food supplies for their emergency kits.

How much to store? 

How much of a supply you keep on hand is up to you.  Some foods have a shelf life of more than two years.  Many are best used within six to nine months.  We’re really focused on having a supply to last us for 3 to 10 days.  Anything longer than two or three weeks and we would expect outside help of some kind.  And a case in point – something of an embarrassing admission – we have a ten gallon container of dried foods that we purchased several years ago that is nearing the end of its useful life.  That turns out to be a not-so-good investment.  We’re not likely to replace it. 

If you are a serious and experienced survivalist, you will find these references to emergency food and water mighty simplistic. But if you have just begun to think about pulling together emergency supplies, it can be a start.

You’ll find much more detail on these topics right here in the Advisories. Just head up to the “search” bar at the upper right of this page, type in “water” or “food” or “pets” to get a lot more info!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team