Kristi Kane
Last summer, my state was plagued by several fires. Some were far, some were near. I started getting nervous when driving at night, I could literally see flames rising from mountain tops that were 40 miles away. Then a fire started in a city just 20 miles from my house, and then two miles from my house. That’s when the real tension set in. I had a panicked conversation with myself: if we have to evacuate, what should I take? Where should we go? What do we do?! Never had anything like being immediately prepared for an emergency become so real to me.
Fortunately, we did not have to evacuate, but the tension in my neighbors and me did not subside until a torrential downpour put out the majority of the fire that was closest to our homes. It really was a miracle, that kind of rain in July. When I was in a store a few months later, I started chatting with two of the women who worked there. We talked about the fire, and then I mentioned that I hoped there weren’t going to be mudslides during or after the Spring.
One of the women said she had had to evacuate during the fire. The firemen had given her 15 minutes. I asked her what she had learned from that whole experience. She said two things: Have an out of state contact (it’s easier to call out of state than locally with an emergency disrupting phone lines and overtaxing circuits), and scan all photographs and other important documents onto a flash drive. She said she had boxes and boxes of photographs that couldn’t possibly all be loaded into her car in just 15 minutes. She also said she had now collected a box of things that could not be replaced close to her garage door, so she could put the box in her car and go if she were ever in that situation again.
There were several senior residents of that city who left in such a hurry that they forgot their medications. I realize seniors are not the only ones who take medication, but you see the point. In a panic, people do not think clearly, and they forget important things and make irrational decisions.
So, what should you do to get you and your family prepared in the event of an emergency BEFORE the emergency happens? Please click on the following two links for help with emergency preparation. There are other useful sites to use to help prepare for an emergency, but these two are a good place to start.
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Prepared-for-Natural-Disasters
Your area could be prone to any of the following: tsunamis, hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms, floods, fires, high winds, mud slides, tornadoes or earthquakes. Plan for emergencies that threaten your area. And even if you’re fortunate enough to never have to live through a natural disaster, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. You’ll thank yourself for it later, and enjoy peace of mind knowing you are prepared.