The Shake Out and Preparedness

I should have blogged about this sooner, but today was"The Great Southern California Shake Out".

A reported 5 million people in California were participating in the worlds largest earthquake drill. It occurred at 10am this morning. I hope that you caught some of the Shake Out on either TV or radio this morning. I'm sure there will be coverage about it on tonight's news as well.

Though you may or may not have been able to participate in the actual Shake Out, it is important to be prepared, especially in California, for a large earthquake. Or if you're not in California, that you're prepared for the disasters that may occur in your area.

It's important to think about what your circumstances may be after the disaster has occurred. There's a good chance you might not be at home, do you have what you need in the car for 72 hours? For everyone? What if you have to leave your car to get home? Can you carry it?

If you are home, and can't stay in your damaged house, do you have what you need to live in your yard? The gas will probably be off; can you still cook food? Do you have enough fuel? What food will you cook? How will you clean it up? "I have to go potty!"

You'll need water. Chances are, that water mains will be busted, and fresh water will not come out of your tap. You do have the water in the tank of your toilet and the water heater (if there's no damage to those), but is it enough? I think it's recommended that you have 3 gallons of water per person per day at the very minimum.

What season is it? What will the overnight temperature be? Can you stay warm? dry? Do you have something for shade?

It's dark at night. What will you use to see what you're cooking? Does it have replacement batteries? How many flashlights do you have? How many batteries do you need? If you have candles, do you have matches?

If you're house is still standing, you'll probably be able to get your clothes, but what if your clothes are under a wall? Do you have clothes put aside for emergencies? What if someone gets hurt? What kind of first aid do you have? Do you know how to use what you have?

Who will you try and contact? How will you do that? If your cell does work, can you charge it? If your cell doesn't work, then what? (Ham radio?)

This is the kind of brainstorming you can do to check your level of preparedness. Try to think of the different times of day, who might be home, who might be gone, what time of year, etc., as I've illustrated here. Can you think of anything else? There's a lot of info at the Shake Out website, and lots of links. That's a good place to look for ideas on getting prepared. There's tons of info online, we just have to use it.

I wish I could say we are fully prepared, but it's an ongoing process. A habit of looking at our preparedness is something we're working on. I think we have enough for 3 days at home, but not in the cars. Three days worth is just a start. Chances are, we'll need weeks worth of provisions. If freeways are blocked or overpasses fallen, it's going to be a while before stores are stocked, or supplies are available. You'll need to sustain yourself and family until then.

I just remembered, you also need to think about entertainment, or distraction for your kids. Having toys and games, crayons and paper, etc. are just as important as the other items on your list. Diapers, wipes, formula, creams, lotions, soaps, all that stuff.

I encourage you to get prepared. Don't go out and spend a lot of money buying everything you think you might need at once. Though, you might need to spend some money, especially if you plan to purchase water barrels. Those cost money. But start compiling what things you do have, and put them together. If you have an extra bag or accessible storage box, you might keep them in there, and keep them in a place to get to quickly. When you put together your shopping list for groceries, add a couple of extra items that could go into that bag or box. Do the same when planning to go to Walmart or Target. Look for sales of larger items you know you'll need, or look for coupons for those stores that sell them. (This time of year is a good time for that.)

I think you get the picture. A lot of us have heard these principles taught to us for a long time, and we brush it off. Try not to do that. The time will come when you'll be glad you had something prepared. At the very least, we know we'll be blessed for obedience to the principle of preparedness, so do it.

My rant it done.

BTW, if you have any earthquake questions, just contact Anna. She's an earthquake geek (in a good way).