EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, Part 2
My last TGIF was about how I began to learn about getting prepared for a serious emergency. The first step is really to understand how vulnerable your area is. If you’re near the waters edge, then you could be flooded; near a cliff or deep gully, a possible landslide; near the forest, a wildfire, windstorm or both at once. On the North Shore we need to be aware of the chemical plant down on the Maplewood flats. North Shore Emergency Management (NSEM) uses Alertable, which sends out public alerts for emergencies such as severe weather and natural disasters. (Click on Alertable and choose how you would like to be notified.)
As I became comfortable with all the information and participated in annual or semi-annual exercises involving many North Shore volunteers and the NSEM leaders, I also collected things for my Grab ‘n’ Go bag. That’s a backpack or a small suitcase that you can fill with essentials and put near the door, ready to grab if you have to leave home. The NSEM office is in the same building as the RCMP, on 14th Street—enter by the door closest to St. Georges Avenue, go left and take the elevator upstairs. They have pamphlets to tell you how to prepare for yourself, your kids, your pet and any other dependent in your home. You can even prepare a kit to keep in your car and one at your work, if they don’t already have an emergency preparedness plan.
The key is to read the information and go to a preparedness session while you are calm and can think straight. In an emergency, if you haven’t prepared in advance, you might grab some useless thing at the last minute, out of sheer desperation. I remember hearing of a woman who left home holding onto her hair dryer…! Another small pointer: Never let your car’s gas tank get to empty. Make it a habit to fill it up whenever it’s half-empty. Ok, so you go to the gas station more often, but it’s all part of being prepared. You don’t want to sit in a long lineup for gas, in an emergency, when it’s time to evacuate asap.
This brings me to my next level of involvement with NSEM. I began to make presentations to groups of people, with my Grab ‘n’ Go bag, so they could see the kinds of things that I have and how I got them. As I said last week, you could buy “the whole kit and caboodle” and think that’s all you need to do to be ready. It’s an important part of it, but don’t forget about your emotional and mental state in an emergency. And you need to make sure that all the members of your family understand what to do if they’re not home when something serious happens. For example, where you’ll meet; who will be your ‘out-of-area contact’ (because local calls won’t go through); who will take care of your pet. Like anything, making plans with your family and delegating some of the responsibilities when you are all calm will pay off, big time.
To be continued…
Fiona