Are you READY yet?
The earthquake is still in our recent memory. Good intentions still have time to come to fruition. Have we put together To Go Kits yet? They are the ones we grab if we have to quickly evacuate our home? Let’s do it.
And sometime after we get that done it will be time to put together a larger supply of emergency supplies that we suggest you have ready in your house, to sustain yourselves for at the least a week. Total self-sufficiency. Actually, it is preferable if your kit could sustain you for two weeks. In the event of a catastrophic disaster in Alaska, the state will be overwhelmed quickly and Cordovans would be on their own, possibly for a significant period of time.
One of the easiest ways to begin this project is to use the template already prepared by the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, entitled “Homeland Security and Preparedness 7 Day Survival Kit. “ It can be found online at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/wcfh/Documents/disability/HSEM7DaySurvivalKit.pdf …or just pick up a copy at the fire hall.
The document starts out with these comments:
Take the next 24 weeks and build a 7 Day Survival Kit!
Be Prepared! Some find it difficult to put together a disaster preparedness kit, but using this easy-to-follow Preparedness Supplies Calendar will help you and your family take the anxiety and frustration out of preparing for emergencies or disasters by ensuring you have enough supplies to last seven days or until help arrives.
When you open the pamphlet, there is a weekly calendar that guides you through what to buy (or gather from your already extensive cache) and what to organize and what to DO during a 24-week time period. That way you don’t have to buy it all at once and rock your financial boat. Nor is the task overwhelming.
Joanie Behrends/For The Cordova Times
For example, week No. 1 encourages us to buy: “1 gallon of water / person, 1 jar peanut butter, 2 large cans of juice /person, 2 cans meat /person, 1 hand-operated can opener, a permanent marker, pet food, diapers, and baby food. It also tells us to : 1) Date Perishable items with a marker, and 2) Decide on and notify our-of –area contact who can coordinate information for the scattered family members.”
That’s good stuff and it’s an attainable goal for a week’s time.
The goal of sustainability.
Cordova has many local experts in survival skills, one of whom contacted me soon after the earthquake. Pete Mickelson, an author on the subject, shared some of his ideas about how we could live after a major earthquake or any other disaster that may cripple our infrastructure or crumble our home. Envision all of us having to “live off the land” for a few weeks.
In addition to the numerous great ideas in the pamphlet referred to above, here are some of his “we-don’t-always-think-of-these-ideas”:
- Have a secondary heat source. He has a “buddy heater” with a 6-12-foot hose to the propane source.
- “Honey bucket” with a lid: a 5 gallon pail works well.
- A BBQ of some kind to grill meat — even a portable hibachi will work, using alder twigs for the fire.
- A cooking kit: even a coffee can will work.
- Plastic and duct tape for “sheltering in place,” if necessary.
- A fire extinguisher.
- Christmas lights! A 9-volt battery can run a string of LED lights (16-foot string, with 3 watt bulbs) for 5,000-10,000 hours.
- Medical supplements.
- Soap, because everything post disaster will be dirty.
- Kotex products, which can be used in MANY ways as an absorbent.
- Lots of water, worth mentioning again. And again.
- And a really good book, or two or three or four.
In 2010, local grocery stores and media outlets encouraged this preparedness effort by offering specials on some of those items over a 24-week period, correlating with the 24-week schedule. Posted flyers, radio ads and the scanners all promoted the weekly provisions for 24 weeks. And guess what??? They are going to do it again, starting the beginning of March. During this next six months, be watching for the 7 Day Survival Kit specials in our local stores!
The third place you can get one of those preparedness pamphlets will be just inside the door of your local grocery stores! Incorporate the whole family in this project! Be watching. Be listening. Be prepared.
