Your
PERSONAL |
Tornado, Fire, |
(c) copyright 2005 by
Lin Stone
It is estimated that in
disaster situations it could take 72 hours before
full scale aid and assistance can arrive. Store shelves would be
empty
in a flash. Katrina is a recent example of the confusion that can
reign.
But that situation can happen ANYWHERE. For example, when we
had a simple ice storm here it locked everything up. No power,
no
lights, no water. The lines of willing buyers were far longer than
anything
available. A 72 hour emergency kit can tide your family over until outside
help can get organized and
arrive.
| Kansas has its tornadoes, California has its earthquakes, Florida has hurricanes, and fires can strike anywhere at any time. |
Only about 100 people die from tornadoes each year. Much more likely to cause you personal grief are straight-line winds, lightning, flooding, fires, or even rioting. |
Just remember that Statistics don't count for a hill of beans
when disaster happens to you.
Plan for the Worst
|
Do you have your essential documents
(like birth certificates and renter's insurance papers) in a fireproof and
waterproof container, ready to go
with you when an emergency happens? The container should be conveniently kept where it is
easily grabbed for quick removal. Perhaps the safest place to store those important documents which must be kept at home is inside your freezer which is already insulated. A good Baggie should keep the other odors out. |
PREPARATION TIP:
If you are
already Red Cross Certified
you can get through
the police cordon around a disaster area
to search
for the rest of your ward family trapped inside.
EMERGENCY CONTACTIf your family has a friend or family member in another state then members in the disaster area can plan to call them in order to learn about each other. Have your youth memorize those numbers. When disaster does strike,Food might be unobtainable. Water might be nonexistent -- or worse. Medical help might be reduced to Here are some of the essentials
|
Sugar cookies, sweetened cereals, good old hard candy like stores put on sale after the Christmas season is over.
For the children: Coloring book and crayons. A spare Palm Game with extra batteries wouldn’t hurt. A children's song book might save the day.
For adults: books & needlework, cards?
Your SANITATION KITMost of us don't even think about the subject but it will quickly become one of your uppermost concerns during the aftermath. Yours should consist of at least a plastic bucket, soap, plastic bags and ties, Toilet paper & paper towels, disinfectant and at least an improvised toilet seat, feminine hygienic needs, paper cups, plates, plastic utensils, can opener & utility knife, stick deodorant. That deodorant stick can do wonders at keeping pesky mosquitoes at bay, and doctoring up scratches. Nor is other makeup a luxury in your emergency kit. Lipstick can protect lips, rouge can protect the skin. Fingernail polish can do wonders at keeping fingernails intact. Besides all that, let a woman keep up her good looks and she ready to face any emergency. |
Put everything together in one box or package so you will know where it is.
Many families I know put the whole kit into a rolling trash can,
which is conveniently placed where it will only be grabbed in
an emergency. I keep mine on a heavy duty hand truck, and I have a BIG
red wagon ready to carry anything else I can take at that awful moment.
Make sure your family knows where to find your emergency kit
if an emergency should ever
happen.
| Put a standard first aid kit in the kit at
home, preferably somewhere close to the fire extinguisher. Just in case
you ever get stranded on the road, keep a smaller roadside emergency kit in your vehicle,
along with extra blankets preferably wool or one of those
space blankets, one or more flashlights and batteries. Having reflectors and/or
flares wouldn’t hurt a bit.
Your first aid kit should be supplemented with a first aid manual or a scout handbook. Add aromatic spirits of ammonia and water purification tablets, table salt, baking soda, matches or butane lighter, aspirin, eye drops, safety pins, adhesive or paper tape. Bandage materials should include Telfa pads 4" X 4" – Triangle bandage 37" X 37" X52". Splint aids can include popsicle sticks, shingles or thin board. If you run out when you need it, use a heavy newspaper and strong string. |
Interested in learning more about first aid? Check out the following sites, which contain crucial first aid & emergency information, compliments of Media Peak.com |
Updated information is essential because much of what
we learned just a few years
ago just ain't so no mo.
For example, not so long ago motorists were advised to
get
under an overpass when tornadoes approach.
That haven of safety has proven to be the unsafest
place
to be hiding. So, seek out the latest information
available.
F I R E !Please note: because of broken gas lines, etc. I was warned about advising people to include matches and candles in their emergency kit. Well, that is occasionally true enough right after the disruptive forces of nature have made hash out of your world. However, you really should
keep the matches and lighters handy in case you are ISOLATED for any indefinite period of
time, |
A lighter note: You know as well as I do that the one thing
you
don’t put in your emergency Kit is the very first thing
you will need out
of it.
Plan ahead; put that item right on top!
| Get the complete, free book, DISASTER PLANNING. Run your cursor over THIS LINK, and then RIGHT CLICK. Choose the option, SAVE TARGET AS, and save the book to your computer. | One test to know how good YOUR emergency kit will work is to respond to the need for help from someone else. When the Big Fork tornado hit we spent half an hour getting the equipment ready that we might need out there. Then all the way there we wondered if we had forgotten anything. |
Once we arrived, first on the scene, the ONE thing I had not
expect to find
was my friend in shock and unable to coordinate
the help coming his way.
I have dealt
with shock many times, but had I expected it with this strong man?
No!
|
However, shock is the most natural reaction in the world when half your house is ripped away and six inch balls of hail have kept you penned up in the basement for hours. There are two dominant responses to finding a friend in shock at a disaster site. One is to take over the project for them, since they can't.
Two is to strive to MAKE them realize how important it is One small faction will offer consolation, saying, "Now, Now," and "There, There!" It has been my experience that reassuring words do nothing to
appease shock. anywhere,
but preferably on small scale and unimportant matters to invite small actions and
tiny decisions. "Here, you take the broom and I'll take the shovel,
and we'll get some of this cleared out of the way before others show up. If they aren 't ready to start, reassure them and wait a while to try again. Little by little the friend comes out of shock |
One last note:
Except in life-threatening situations,
Make sure your friend has called the
insurance company
before any major repair work is undertaken.
This report can be printed out and given away to your family, friends, neighbors
and customers.
Click HERE for your printer ready copy.
Cut Here
__________________
Run off as many Free Copies of this information
as you need for your church or organization,
or
Call the nearest chapel of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
If you need help in using or putting your emergency kit together.
This list of Essentials may also be used to help
prepare relief shipments to disaster areas.
Other Resources are found by clicking here.
Faith-inspiring stories from the Oklahoma Tornado
Being prepared for an emergency has saved many lives in the past, and will continue to save lives and reduce damages in the future.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long been recognized as a premiere source of information on emergency preparedness. Through the involvement of so many of its members in disaster relief for tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes.
Read the book 1 April Morning: Children remember the Oklahoma City Bombing.
|
Your Medical Care can be more affordable, and more accessible. |
NOW is the time to share this information with every neighbor and form a neighborhood group that can help each other. Anarchy and riots could break out and law enforcement agencies may be operating sporadically if at all as we have witnessed in New Orleans.