Tag: disaster preparedness

One size does NOT fit all

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Take a look at your collection of Emergency Kits

Survival kits

Which bag still works?

We regularly (although not often enough) pull out our various emergency kits to see what’s in them, whether they need re-stocking, or maybe even replacing.

Some change is always required!

So over the weekend we took a look at what’s in the various closets and trunks of our cars. The photo shows five of the current collection.

It should raise some questions for you, like it did for us!

1-How many survival kits do we need, anyway?

Joe and I are a two-person household. We’ve written often about the different items that you’d find in our kits:

  • The Commuter Bag, stays in the car, designed to get us safely home if something happens when we’re on the road. One 2-person kit per car.
  • The 72-hour Survival Kit, the true “Grab and Go Bag” for immediate use in an emergency. We each have one.
  • The 14-day Survival Stash – food and other supplies that will carry us through in the case of massive storm, big earthquake, etc. The Stash is spread around the house, and doesn’t leave it.

When it comes to Survival Kits, we have published a whole workbook. Below is one of the charts from it. You’ll see that the chart adds a Workplace Kit and a School Kit to the other two.  Now, we work from home, and don’t have kids at school, so they aren’t on our own list. Nor do we have pets. But what about your family?  (Get the details of the workbook here. If you haven’t really begun assembling your preparedness items, this may be just the kick-start you’re looking for.)

Family Survival Kit Chart

2-So are the kits different?

I think EACH kit needs to be unique!  Not entirely, of course. We’ve written before about the top 10 items to consider for each short-term kit. (Here’s the Top Ten list of Emergency Kit Starter Items, with discussion.) Some of these, for example knives or other tools, might be inappropriate for small children or older people.

But as soon as you stop to think about it, you will want other stuff in YOUR kit that no one else might think of. And there are things others in your family might need that you have no interest in packing for yourself. For example:

  • Personal items — toothbrush, floss, tampons, diapers, eye shades, sunscreen, glasses/contacts, dark glasses, chewing gum, etc.
  • Medical items – pills, allergy cream, bee sting kit
  • Comfort items – candy, toys, a book

Most of these extras don’t take up much room, but without yours you’d be miserable!

3-What’s the best container for a kit?

So again, it depends. How much needs to go into the kit? Who is going to be carrying it and how far? If you look again at the photo, you’ll see some kits which have turned out to be pretty good for us, and others that really don’t make the grade. Here’s some of what to consider.

SIZE – We got the Big Yellow/Black Banana Pak Kit (center of the photo) early on. It was designed and sold by a thorough professional – everything you’d need, of the very best quality including the bag itself. Unfortunately, the minute it arrived we realized it was TOO BIG AND TOO HEAVY. I’ve kept it in the back of the closet because I really like some of the specialty items (whistles, binoculars, knives) but it is now relegated to the long-term, permanently stored Survival Stash. I can hardly carry the darn thing. Fortunately it has wheels.

Other kits in the photo are at the other end of the scale. For example, the small black kit with green base was one that we actually sold on Amazon as part of a “starter kit.” It works fine as a Commuter Bag – room for snacks, water bottle, flashlights, radio, a jacket. But with only two compartments, it’s not very flexible.

My latest acquisition is the black “Tactical Bag” at the left in the photo above, and here in a closer look.

I just received it (That’s why it’s empty!) and it seems to have a number of attractive features:
Tactical Bag Survival Kit

  • All the straps are adjustable, and the body of the bag is expandable. (I adjusted the shoulder straps. Took a while, what with all the buckles and loops.)
  • It’s made for carrying long distances – with a front chest strap and a belly strap, padded shoulder straps, etc. Everything cinches down tight for comfort and control.
  • The bag has 9 different pockets of varying size. The larger pockets zip all around for easy opening.
  • Multiple straps and loops make it possible to easily attach more gear: a jacket, bottles, blanket, lights, boots, weapons, whatever.
  • Bag is waterproof. (I always pack a couple of large trash bags so I can cover the whole pack in one fell swoop!)

A quick detour for vocabulary:

I described this bag as a “tactical” bag. This definition of tactical comes from The Free Dictionary:

Tactical — characterized by skillful tactics or adroit maneuvering or procedures especially in military or naval operations.

Molle — And in reviewing backpacks I also discovered the word “Molle” which stands for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It refers to the ability of a  backpack like this one to attach other modular gear components: vests, pouches, etc.

QUALITY – As I already mentioned, the big yellow pack is made of the highest quality materials. It rolls like luggage, has shoulder straps, and can be carried by a top handle or a side handle like a duffle bag. Its zippers are industrial strength, as is the canvas bag itself. Real leather zipper pulls. Special separate pockets for different items: glasses, water, etc. Top quality, top price, heaviest by far!

The green/black “starter kit” is medium grade nylon material, with ordinary zipper and fabric zipper pulls. Medium quality, inexpensive, very lightweight.

The other bags in the photo lie somewhere in between.

If you are going to store a kit in the car and only grab it in an emergency, a medium quality bag will work fine. (Keep it out of the sunlight, of course!)

On the other hand, if you plan to carry your bag on arduous hikes or use it camping, or even as a daily carry full of books, invest in the best quality you can afford. Nothing worse than a broken zipper when you need reliability!

So go back to your chart. You are likely to need multiple kits – for different needs, for different people. (You may want to start with some used backpacks you already own, just to get a better idea of how much each pack needs to hold and thus how big it needs to be.)

Start building your kits. Soon, you will have a collection just like ours!

4-Consider a “Tactical Bag” for your collection.

There are plenty of backpacks out there labeled “tactical.” Some are absolutely huge! For your first survival kit purchase, you might consider something smaller, like this one, available from Amazon at what appears to be an excellent price. And this one gets some of the best Amazon reviews I’ve seen. (I always read all of them.)

Click on the link for details and the current price. (Remember, we’re Amazon associates and may get a small commission for sending you there to buy.)

Military Tactical Assault Pack Backpack Army Molle Bug Out Bag Backpacks Small Rucksack for Outdoor Hiking Camping Trekking Hunting Black.

Over the years we’ve worn out a number of bags and backpacks, so we’re always on the lookout for new ones for our stuff. And our “stuff” has changed, too, as we’ve moved around the country.

No matter where or when, however, we try to have a survival kit handy. When the emergency hits, it’s too late to start searching for what you need!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

 

 

Severe Weather Means Danger for Your Pet

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Headlines here today read:

“California still in the grip of a record-setting heat wave.”

I checked the weather map for my friend Russell in Vermont.  Headlines there read:

“East Coast Braces For Life Threatening Cold Temperatures”

In these conditions, pets are in danger!  Grab these checklists and make sure YOUR pets are prepared and protected.Heatstroke kills pets

Cold kills pets

 

I think it goes without saying that your pet needs to have proper ID tags (even a microchip) at ALL times.  And you may have other great suggestions for pet safety and security during extreme weather. Add them in the comments if you will.

In the meanwhile, I’ll get this right out. It may save a pet today or tomorrow.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

If you haven’t seen it yet, get our complete Pet Emergency Supplies Kit here.

 

 

Countdown to Survival

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Top Ten Items For Your Emergency Plan

Help them SurviveIf you think you are already prepared, use this list as a quick check. If you suspect you’re missing a few things, use the list to fill in the gaps.

Food the Means to Prepare It and Eat It . . .

Water, Food and Medicines – Enough for the entire household including pets, to last for a minimum of 3 days . . . up to one or two weeks if possible. Best to stock up on the canned soups, staples and packaged foods you normally eat, and then rotate to keep supplies fresh. (We have enough sardines and packages of instant latte coffee to survive for a month!) Don’t overlook a 14-day supply of important medications (think customized first aid kit) for you, your children and your pet.

Prescriptions, Medical Devices, etc. – In a serious event, electricity, running water and plumbing facilities may not be available for hours or days. Without power, ATMs, computer systems and electronic cash registers will be inoperative, making the renewal of prescriptions challenging if not impossible. Likewise, life-sustaining devices such as oxygen machines that require power may have to be run on “inverters” (alternative power devices that convert the direct current of a car battery to alternating current). Inverters or small solar panels can also power small appliances, laptop computers, etc. and serve as a recharging source for smart phones, iPods and other electronics. In all these, wattage requirements will determine if the system works for you. Test everything in advance! Note: Power generators are both expensive and unwieldy and are not practical in most residential settings.

Camping Stove, Hand-Held Can Opener & Eating Utensils – Disposable plates & eating utensils may prove satisfactory but keep in mind that if the emergency continues, leaving you without power, water or garbage disposal or pickup, you will need to think outside of the box to survive. We recommend a propane-powered camping stove even if you have an outside barbecue.

Communications Are Your Link to Friends, Family and the Reality of the World Around You.

Emergency Radios that Receive NOAA and Local Government Broadcasts – With TV and internet out, the only sure way you will know what’s happening is via emergency radio transmissions. Have at least one full service radio for the home (two or more for larger, multi-story homes or community residences) and one smaller hand-held model for each family vehicle.

Walkie-Talkies – These hand-held multi-channel, battery-powered communicators will work regardless of a power outage. They are the best way for your CERT Teams to communicate with volunteers and for you to keep in touch with your neighbors following an emergency. We have extra units strategically placed throughout our house and a pair in each car.

Emergency Contact Numbers – When local telephone circuits are down or overloaded, you may be able to use out of state relatives or contacts as a way to relay messages to family members, employees or associates. But this works only if all parties are in on the scheme before a disaster strikes.

You Will Need Light and Heat When There is No Power.

Flashlights and Battery-Powered Lighting – With the widespread availability of LED (light emitting diode) devices, we use far fewer batteries than we used to with incandescent bulbs. Flashlights are cheap; have more than one. Keeping a small 250+ Lumen flashlight in a handy location in each room in the house ensures you can safely navigate in the dark. But you will also want a couple larger, more powerful (500+ Lumens) flashlights and possibly even a headlamp or two that leaves both hands free. And you’ll appreciate some LED table lamps or lanterns for general lighting needs.

Energizer Batteries

Winner in past tests

More on Batteries From Our Experience – We need batteries for everything from radios to flashlights to smart phones and other devices, typically AAA, AA, C & D sizes. Most batteries manufactured under the Duracell and Energizer brands are guaranteed to have a 10-year shelf life. In our experience, this is misleading. Ten years may be possible under ideal conditions . . . whatever those are.

With few exceptions, we have found the batteries to lose some of their power midway through this period, and many start to corrode. The basic “copper top” Duracell batteries seem to deteriorate more rapidly than the standard Energizers – 3 to 1 in our experience – but the new (and more expensive) “red-top” Duracell batteries seem to perform better. We only have a few months experience with them.

The bottom line: Whatever brand batteries you use, don’t leave radios or electronic devices sitting for long periods of non-use with batteries installed. Take the batteries out and look at them carefully before reinstalling. If you have devices with corroded terminals, they can sometimes be rejuvenated by using a cotton swab to apply a water & baking soda paste (which will absorb the corrosion) and removing the resulting dry crust with a wooden toothpick or a single prong of a broken plastic fork. This works about half the time, seemingly depending on how bad the buildup or corrosion was.

Clothing You Can Count On to Keep You Warm – Even in moderate climates nights get cold. Your emergency kit needs to contain at the very least a warm coat and sturdy shoes. It’s easy to add a space blanket and rain slicker. (A large plastic garbage bag is better than nothing.) Blankets in the car will be welcome when you’re stuck trying to get home.

Take Care of Personal Needs. 

Hygiene and Sanitation Items – From brushing your teeth to disposing of trash, garbage and body waste, a world without electricity or running water presents several significant challenges. The bigger the household (including pets), the greater the problem. In addition to trash bags, toilet tissue, cleaning and disinfectant supplies, you’ll want heavy-duty “compactor bags” to insert in toilets for collecting solid human waste. If you’re part of a community that includes elderly or frail residents, you may be faced with managing deceased humans. As distasteful as all this may be, pre-event planning will yield big dividends in comfort.

Who Will Be Turning To You?

Most Important Preparation of All is Your Neighborhood &/or Workplace – Take a moment and think about what a major calamity will mean to your immediate environment. If you are the only one who is prepared, your circumstances will be little better than your neighbors or co-workers. In the Tsunami that caused widespread devastation in Japan, it was neighbors helping each other that saved lives and made community survival possible.

While hard-core, serial “survivalists” devote considerable (often inordinate) resources to building “bug out bags” and even acquiring arsenals of weapons to protect themselves, the reality for most of us is not likely to be something out of Mad Max. Major roadways and potential escape routes will probably be congested, unnavigable or even impassable. Where would you go and how would you carry what you need to survive? For most of us, “survival in place” is the most realistic option. What can you do to help your co-workers and neighbors focus their energies on emergency preparation . . . for their sake and yours as well?

Virginia 
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Virginia Nicols, CERT graduate living in Southern California, has helped lead her local neighborhood emergency team for over a decade. Her website, http://EmergencyPlanGuide.org, reflects much of what that award-winning volunteer group has struggled with and accomplished over the years. This month, El Niño tops the preparedness agenda.

 

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Message in a Bottle — For Your Neighbor

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We are currently exploring a “shock” method to get our preparedness message across to our neighbors. We wrap a letter around a one-liter bottle of water. It explains that . . .

Message in a Bottle“We cannot store enough food and water to be of help to you in an emergency, but here is a bottle of water to show our good faith. We hope you will recognize the need to be prepared and – using the list on the back of this letter – make sure your entire household is protected.”

Why go to this trouble for your neighbor?

Even here in our neighborhood, after all our meetings and trainings and articles, the reality is that as many as 35% of our neighbors simply don’t take responsibility for their own safety and security.

Yes, this is better than nationwide averages, which put the unprepared at closer to 50%.

But because these people haven’t personally experienced an earthquake or serious storm, or had to survive for any longer than a few hours in a post-emergency situation,

. . .either the risk doesn’t seem real to them or

. . .they mistakenly believe that the government will provide for them.

So the Message in a Bottle is just the next step.

Our Emergency Response Team will be meeting next week to roll the letters and fasten them to the water bottles with rubber bands. Then they’ll set out and deliver a bottle to the doorstep, if not directly into the hands, of every person in their assigned area.

When the emergency hits, we don’t want neighborhood slackers coming to us for help, and forcing us to either share our precious supplies or turn them away. The letter makes that clear — in a nice way.

We want everyone to be prepared and working together!

I’ll report in on what kind of response or reaction we get to this campaign!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. Sign up here so you don’t miss any neighborhood training ideas!

P.P.S. If you’d like a copy of our letter with the checklist on the back, just let me know.

Get Your Community Involved In Disaster Preparedness

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You’ve seen this again and again.  “The more prepared your neighbors are, the safer you will be!” If this makes sense to you, and you want to do something about it, consider putting on a Community Preparedness Fair.

The Home DepotThe Home Depot – the place to start

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a Google Alert set for the words “Emergency Preparedness” and “Disaster Preparedness.” Every day I get notices of community programs – typically sponsored by city governments – aimed at raising awareness about emergency planning.

But every once in a while, I see something else tucked in the list. That is, an announcement of a “Community Fair” being supported by The Home Depot.

Sponsor or participant, or both

Sometimes the store takes the lead in putting on a sort of expo. Sometimes the store is one of several related organizations participating. For example, from today’s Google Alert:

“San Bernardino County (California) residents wanting to be better prepared for disasters may attend a community safety fair Saturday in Fontana. The fair, organized by Home Depot, San Bernardino County Disaster Corps and San Bernardino County Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Services, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Home Depot store. “

“The East 1488 Community Association and East 1488 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) (Houston, Texas) will hold its fourth annual Emergency Preparedness Fair on Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Home Depot Parking lot. Booths will have information and displays by first responders and emergency related organizations.”

Earlier, I saw this reference to the Lake Arrowhead (Cherokee County, Georgia) Preparedness Fair: “Come see a huge collection of Emergency Responders, Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, Amateur Radio Communications, and community emergency response personnel and equipment (subject to availability) along with dozens of vendors specializing in emergency preparedness, disaster response, and household safety. Home Depot is sponsoring the Safe Kids Fun Zone.”

Could your neighborhood team plan and execute a community fair?

From a neighborhood safety standpoint, this is one of the most effective things you could do to raise awareness and stimulate preparedness in your community. If I were tasked with putting on another such fair, The Home Depot is where I’d start.

We put on such a fair about a year ago. And yes, The Home Depot was our major sponsor. They brought their own tables, set up samples of preparedness items, took orders for them, and a couple of weeks later actually made one big delivery to our clubhouse!  Our local CERT then sorted and distributed everything.

If you are part of a group, consider putting a preparedness expo on your calendar. It may take several months to plan, but the results will be far-reaching. Start by talking to the manager of your local Home Depot store. I can bet you’ll find good support there.

(If you are truly interested, I’d be happy to share some of the planning steps that we went through. Just drop me a line in the comment box below.)

 

Other resources for community organizing:

CERT training

Organize your Neighborhood

Building a CERT Group — Identifying Leaders