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Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then...

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Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.
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Page 1: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Home Emergency Preparation

Getting ready for disasters before they strike.

If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Page 2: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Types of disaster to prepare for

Types of DisastersNatural & Man Made

StormsFlooding Earthquakes Terrorist attack

Wind Snow NBCConventionalExplosives

(IEDs)

Chemical spillsBiological releasesNuclear accidents

Page 3: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Types of Preparation

• Prepare to Evacuate

– What to take with you

– What to do before you leave

– Where to go

• Prepare to Shelter in Place– What necessities

should you have

– Where to store them

– How much should you have

Page 4: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Preparing to EvacuateWhat to take with you

• Clothes– For the season – Location relocating to

• Personal Documents and important papers– Insurance documents– Medical ID cards– Marriage license– Bank Account Info– Passports – Important valuables

• First Aid– Medicines– First Aid Supplies

• Food for the trip– Canned foods– Snacks– Non perishable ready to eat– Water

• Tools– Flash lights– Emergency road kit– Blankets– Some automotive tools

• Distractions– Books, games, and toys for

kids• If you have pets

– Food, water, and medicines

Page 5: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

What to do before you leave

• Prepare your home for your absence

• Empty and shut off your refrigerator and/or freezer

• Shut off your utilities – gas, water, electricity

• Unplug all appliances

• Lock all your windows and doors and yard sheds

Page 6: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Where to go

• If at all possible go to a place you know well• Family or friends who have the room and

resources to let you stay for a few days to a week

• Smaller cities or towns if you have to get lodging (cost are usually less in smaller towns)

• Go to places that are free of putting you in further disaster mode.

Page 7: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Prepare to Shelter in Place

• Necessities – cover everything you need to live without access to stores, banks, or having utilities-electricity, water, gas.

(know your area – where are local water sources, crops, livestock etc?)

• Three main categories require stocking up

• One sub category requires organization

• Tools and supplies

Page 8: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Three main categories of necessities

• Food – Recommended 3 day supply– Better to have a 7 – 14 day supply

• Shelter– If your home is habitable then use it other wise you may need to set up shelter

outside – Tents in the backyard are a good way to go– RVs and camping trailers

• Water – should at least last as long as the food– If water is to be obtained after the fact purification may be necessary– Remember that your hot water tank is a source of potable water– Toilet tanks will provide water for hygiene purposes– If you know a storm is on its way, fill bathtubs and any other containers you may

have such as (clean) trashcans, buckets, bins, empty soda bottles, etc. You can also line boxes and other containers with trash bags before filling, and then tie them closed. Water is CHEAP, but can be FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN FOOD in a disaster situation. You can live for weeks without food, but you’ll only last a few days without drinking!

Page 9: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Food• Canned foods – can be eaten from can or little preparation

• Vegetables, fruits• Soups, stews• Beans • Meats, chili, tuna, canned salmon• Honey (never goes bad, and is a good antiseptic)

• Dry foods• Rice, noodles, beans, sugar, salt, cereal, oatmeal, flour

• Snack foods• Peanut butter, crackers, cookies, hard candies, energy bars, breakfast

bars, jerky, dried fruits, nuts, trail mix• Cooking essentials

• Seasonings – salt, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, powdered milk (with a can or two of condensed milk)

• Oil, butter, shortening

Page 10: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Shelter• If your home is safe to stay in that is the best choice.

– It provides familiarity– It reduces stress– It will allow for a more rapid recovery

• If you must leave your house, you don’t have to necessarily leave your property.– If you live in a single family home consider putting up tents in your back yard.– If you have a camping trailer, RV, or even a child’s tree house you have either all you need

or a good start– In the absence of an RV or trailer, tents are temporary, you will need to make something a

little stronger and sturdier for longer term – If you are an apartment dweller you may have to find another location – parks, school

grounds, and church properties are good choices– If you already keep some tools in a home kit, then a good supply of nails (10 lbs or more)

and a hammer go a LONG way. If there’s been a flood, tornado, hurricane or earthquake, then shelter can be quickly built with the debris and the hammer and nails. This type of debris shelter is much more permanent, protective and comfortable than a tent! Something as simple as nails become worth their weight in gold in some situations! It’s funny how priorities and values change in certain situations.

Page 11: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

One sub categories• Personal papers

– Insurance policies, bank account numbers, official documents like marriage licenses, custody papers, passports and other valid IDs

– These do not need to be the originals. You can typically get away with photocopies. As such, you do not have to worry about running around collecting your important documents in an emergency, you can have all pre-copied in your kit ready to go. I’ve even seen someone do a high resolution scan of each of their docs, and store them all on a memory stick. They kept the stick in a film container in their kit. It’s a nice way to keep it small, especially if you have a LOT of docs, treasured pictures, mementos etc that you value! You could also use CD, DVD, hard-drive, etc, as long as it’s in a safe, hard-shell waterproof container. Everything can be printed out later, after the emergency has passed. Many folks that have lost everything say that the house is NOTHING when compared to photo albums, etc! Modern technology means you can carry a filing cabinet worth of mementos in a VERY small package.

– Cash, gold, valuable jewelry, and other SMALL, high-value items that can be easily carried are worth taking. These can be hocked or traded in a pinch

Page 12: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Additional items

• Tools– Hammer, bow saw, axe or hand axe, wrenches, siphon pump or

siphon tubing, shovel, good length of strong nylon rope, good length of light nylon line or strong small cotton line, camp stove, lanterns, flash lights, battery, hand-cranked, or solar, etc

operated radio, manual can opener, a good sturdy camping utility knife

• Supplies • Large and small plastic bags, extra toilet paper, extra batteries,

fuel for camp stoves and lanterns, candles, pots, pans, a Dutch oven, mess kits or large supply of paper plates and plastic utensil, water purification, bucket, several rolls of duct tape, small roll of utility wire, chlorine bleach (non fragrant), extra blankets, gloves, filter breathing mask, writing pad, pens, and pencils

Page 13: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Storage of foods and supplies

• Foods– Box up canned foods, bag dried and other foods and store either

in an outside shed or close to a garage door for quick and easy access Be careful to keep dry stocks (rice, flour, cereals, etc) well up out of the reach of mice and other rodents!

• Water– Store in water bottles, boxed and with the stored food

• Tools– Should be kept in a large canvas duffel bag with the food and

water

• Supplies – Likewise supplies should be boxed or in a large canvas duffel

bag and store with other items

Page 14: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

How much is enough• Emergency agencies suggest a 3 day supply to hold you till emergency

services have time to set up and get moving.• 3 days will get you through a lesser disaster.• Katrina, Rita, and the Northridge quake experience shows us that at least a

week is a better idea.• Some disaster may be so substantial that a month’s supply may not even be

enough.• When the infrastructure is sufficiently disrupted, governments will have to

struggle with getting basic services taken care before being concerned with assisting business recovery which means NO STORES.

• Without electrical power stores are unlikely to open since all of their cash registers are electric powered and computer connected to supply and accounting networks. Networks will also be down without telecommunications capabilities, gas stations will also be out of service since pumps run on electricity and are computer connected as well. A few cans of gas in your garage or shed could SAVE YOUR LIFE. If you need to evacuate on short notice, and you’re low on gas, you need to be able to gas up your car yourself. Don’t count on gas stations being open!

• If you don’t have the things you need before a disaster strikes you are just out of luck.

Page 15: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

First Aid

• First Aid kit

• First Aid manual

• First Aid courses

• Alternatives to conventional first aid items and common medical supplies

Page 16: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

First Aid Kit• Can be purchased or built

– Pre-made kits are commercially available and some are not so expensive

– You can build your own kit and depending on how elaborate your cost will be about 1/5 of a commercial one.

• Start with a container– You need something to store the kit in– A box, old back pack, canvas beach bag, old empty tool box,

fishing tackle box, a large plastic kitchen container, etc.• Choose basics

– Band-Aids, disinfectants, dressings, bandages, tape, scissors, OTC medicines, tweezers, thermometer,

• Expand from basics– Large bandage dressings, baby powder, baby oil, Vaseline,

needles and thread, lip balm, vitamins, emergency reflective blankets, Icy Hot, calamine lotion, hand cream Don’t forget to pack any prescription medications that you or your family might need!

Page 17: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

First Aid Manual

• A small first aid book– Some kit in stores come with first aid

instructions– Small books can be purchased on line for

under $5– First Aid instructions can be down loaded from

the internet and printed out at home– Medical clinics sometimes have first aid

instructions

Page 18: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

First Aid Courses

• First Aid courses– CPR classes are available in most towns and

cities– Community Colleges have life study courses

that include First Aid– Military teaches basic first aid

Page 19: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Alternatives to conventional first aid items

• Large dressings– Feminine napkins make excellent large size and volume dressings– They are sterile and compactly packaged– Tampons also will act as sterile dressings once removed from the tube

• Bandages– Ace bandages can be cut and used to secure dressings– Any sterilized cloth can be cut and used as bandages– Super glue will work like liquid skin to keep smaller cut closed

• Sutures– Sutures are available for commercial consumption but it is easier to have a needle, thread, and alcohol– Dental floss is already sterile and ready for use as suture material, use only unwaxed– Sanitized monofilament fishing line also makes good suture material– As suturing is difficult at best with regular needles, use it as an absolute last resort. Instead have or make

butterfly bandages out of medical tape.• Antibiotics and disinfectants

– In a pinch amoxicillin can be purchased at pet stores– Homeopaths use Turmeric made into a tea with salt as both anti-viral and antibiotic– Listerine is and excellent disinfectant for broken blister and toe nail fungus

• Topical analgesic– Whole cloves soaked in mineral oil makes a great topical analgesic, just rub the oil into the skin on the

afflicted area– One spoon of horse radish in one cup of olive oil will also work

Page 20: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

8 weeks to a 72 hour kit• Week #1- Develop an evacuation plan.• Make a plan: if you are not sheltering-in-place, have a location where• you all will meet if you have to leave home; have a telephone contact• outside the state for everybody to check in with as local telephone lines• may be too busy to get through. Check out "www.Ready.gov."• Week # 2- Store a gallon of water for each person• in the home.• If water is interrupted for three days, have on hand three gallons of water• per person, but even one gallon per person is better than none. In• time, add to your 72-hour survival kit.• Week #3 - Top off supply of water.• Make sure some of your family drinking water supply is in small enough• plastic bottles to carry; remember, three gallons per person should last• you the first 72 hours.• Week #4 - Get a jar of peanut butter and enough• crackers for everybody for 3 days.• Be prepared for a snack-attack. Peanut butter and crackers go a long• way to make happy campers.

Page 21: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

8 weeks to 72 hour kit continued

• Week #5 - Get an extra flashlight for the car and• an extra one for the house, plus extra batteries for each.• Don't be in the dark about emergencies; lighten up with two extra flashlights• and extra batteries, and don't forget extra bulbs.• Long burning emergency candles or oil lamps for basic light in your shelter (they’re cheap and

last a LONG time). Also the keychain type LED lights for personal use (get the type with the on/off switch, NOT the push to light kind). These little lights put out a lot of light, and last for a long time. In addition to this, they weigh very little, and extra batteries also are small and weigh very little. You can buy these in bulk for a few dollars each, and the batteries for under a dollar each, so having quite a few in your kit is an easy proposition. Each person should have at least one!

• Week #6 - Purchase three cans of ready-to-eat• food for each person in the home.• Don't go hungry when the lights go out. Three cans of your favorite• ready-to-eat food per person will be a major part of your survival diet.• Don’t forget a manual can opener.• Week #7 - Get a first aid kit.• Check your home first aid kit for all the things it came with, and replace• missing items; check the one in the car, too.• Week #8 - Buy canned or dried fruit for breakfasts• and desserts.• Begin and end each day with your favorite fruit, in a can for emergencies,

Page 22: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Water Purification• Tablets

– Tablets for purifying water are available where camping supplies can be purchased

• Bleach– Plain chlorine bleach, non fragranced goes along way, use 16 drops per one

gallon of water, let stand one hour and drink your fill– If the smell and taste of chlorine is too strong, try transferring the water back and

forth between containers, the action releases the chlorine in gas form from the water

• Filtering– Filtering also works well, you can purchase a filtering system or build your own

• From the inside of a three pound coffee can punch holes through the bottom• Lay two to three layers of coffee filters in the bottom of he can. • Fill the bottom of the can to about a 2 inches deep with crushed regular charcoal

brickets (don’t use the quick lite kind, it is saturated with some form of igniter fuel• A narrower container or tube that is filled deeper (at least a couple inches) will do much

better. A soda or tennis ball can filled most of the way with crushed charcoal will work just fine as a water filter. If you don’t have much charcoal, then simply crush up the charcoal and add it to the water. Leave it for an hour or so, and then filter through the coffee filters. Charcoal can also be obtained from burnt wood, just scrape the black off like you would your burnt toast.

Page 23: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Disaster Psychology• Mentally coping with a disaster

– Disasters are intense trauma to the senses, mental and emotional faculties– Knowing before hand what you might face and planning to deal with it is 90% of the

problem• Preparing and planning ahead

– Getting your kit ready and making a plan of action will be the first step in keeping a proper mental state that will see you through

• Realizing you are your own– Both Katrina and Rita are perfect examples of how long and how poorly officials will react to

disasters– Since they can’t and sometimes won’t react in time you have to take the necessary actions

to take care of yourselves and your family• Dealing with the problems that arise

– By their very nature disaster are a problem and create many more as time goes by– You may not be able to think of every possibility but, you can think of enough of them to be

ready to deal with them – When making your plans and kits keep thinking “What if.”

• Keeping a positive attitude– When the going gets tough, keep your focus on taking care of yourself and your family– As an old friend of mine used to say, “Attitude determines altitude.”

Page 24: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Before you begin

• The first thing you should do is an inventory of what you have– In any survival class the first thing they teach you about

surviving is to take stock of what you have– Much of what you need you already have– The question is then how much do you have– How much will you need to get– Take a written inventory of food, water, tools and supplies and

start from there

– Improvise, improvise, improvise !!! Almost everything has alternative uses, cans become cups and pots, a hand axe becomes a hammer. Don’t limit yourself, get creative!

Page 25: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Security

• In the times of crisis after disaster strikes people who are unprepared will be doing horrendous things to survive.

• There will be lawlessness • People will be desperate• They will not be willing to share, they will be

wanting to take and they will hurt you to do it• Law enforcement will be minimal if at all• Security for you and your family will be as

important to protecting your preparations as the preparations themselves

Page 26: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Security Measures• First and most important is mindset

– Understand that everyone will be a little disoriented at first– Realize that survival is a strong instinct and people will do things to survive that they would not normally do– Remember that you to are determined to survive and make your determination stronger than those who might attack you or your

family• Keep a low profile

– If you are sheltering in place, don’t make a big show of how much more comfortable you are because you prepared– Keep your movements to a minimum, the fewer people who see you the better

• Work with neighbors– If you have close neighbors help them to prepare and then work together as group to survive– Strength in numbers– Pooling resources – Be careful who you trust, if word gets out that you have supplies you may be inviting trouble so keep a low profile

• Get and keep contact with whatever local law enforcement that is available– If local law enforcement is available, get in touch with them and let them know you sheltering at home– Ask them to make as regular passes as possible to check on you– It will be a good idea to have some food and/or coffee ready to offer them as an inducement

• As a last resort be ready to defend your self and family– Start this by setting up some kind of barrier perimeter to you and your family– If need be set up watches where some one is checking to see who is in the area– Set up alarms systems, dogs are good for this– NO ELECTRICITY – tin cans in house and fishing line (tripwire) around perimeter. Anyone entering

at night will shake/knock over the cans, waking you.– Lastly be willing to share if you can or fight if you have to– If you own a gun, be sure to have ammunition available (for both protection and for hunting if

necessary). If you do not own a gun, pack pepper spray, a baseball bat or some other form of protection for you and your family

Page 27: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

FEMA Emergency Kit Guide

• http://www.ready.gov/america/get_a_kit.html• http://www.ready.gov/america/make_a_plan.html

Page 28: Home Emergency Preparation Getting ready for disasters before they strike. If you fail to plan then plan to fail.

Washington State Emergency Management Preparedness Guide

• http://emd.wa.gov/5-prog/prgms/pubed/home-prep/home-prep-idx.htm


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