The first 72 hours after an emergency event you will be on your own.  You cannot survive without Water – it is the most important part of your emergency preparedness.  There is a good chance you will not be at home in the event of an emergency so make sure you have water in your car and at work.

• Buy a few cases of water – put one in each car – another at the office – and several more at home. Imagine an earthquake and you are stuck somewhere with no water…

• Each person will require a minimum 15 gallons of water for 72 hours. Do not forget your furry friends as your pets will need water too!

• Commercially available 55 gallon drums can store water indefinitely. Fill one up and cover it with a tarp in the back of your yard.

• Do not overlook the water in your water heater and toilet tanks in the event of an emergency. Turn off the Smart Measurement tools or electricity to the water heater – then turn off the intake valve and open the drain. That avoids adding contaminated water to your 50 or 60 gallons of H2O. You can hire an electrician to do it.

• Locate your water main both at the house and the box that the water company uses to read your meter. Have an emergency shutoff wrench for the water (and gas).

• Have some water purification tablets in your emergency kit. Unscented bleach works too – 16 drops per gallon and let stand 30 min.  it will still have a slight  chlorine smell but that means it’s okay to drink.

Put these Emergency Preparedness Essentials at the top of your Christmas List this year.

Stocking Stuffers

For your shoes under everyone’s bed …

• Very bright shoelaces
• Whistle
• LED headlamp / Flashlight

Emergency foil blanket (for go bag) $4.50 at REI Fire Starters Can Opener Light Sticks (emergency light) Survival candles You also need something to protect yourself with so visit this site where you can buy a stun gun http://stungunforsale.net/ Rain poncho Flashlight / Lantern

For you, for your Family

Emergency Backpack

• 72 hour kit + first aid in a back pack $99 – $239
• Go bag for every person

Backpack for GO Bag … each family member

Other Essentials (one per family)

• Battery or hand crank radio
• USB Drive to store significant documents
• Earthquake Survival Tool (for gas/water shut off) $6.50
• FRS Radios – WalkieTalkies for every member of family and make sure they take AA batteries – $20-$30 on Amazon

For your home

• Carbon Monoxide Detector(s) $20-$30
• Smoke Alarm
• 9V batteries
• Fire Extinguisher

Water Storage – Barrels 55 gallon

• Costco / 8 unit pallet $729 (split with families)
• Your Safety Place, Dublin $130
• Case of water for each car
• Water filter as an option

Food / Fuel

• Costco and Shelf Reliance have great selections of emergency food that can cover 14 days to 6 months – Adjust to the size of your family
• Extra propane tank for the BBQ

Consider

• WoundSeal (stops bleeding) for your first aid kit
• Auto first aid kit / emergency kit
• Auto emergency tool
• HAM radio / become certified
• Solar charger / hand crank charger for cell phone

 

And for your New Year’s Resolution

• Sign up for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) at www.firedepartment.org/communityoutreach
• Become certified as a HAM Radio Operator

  Easy to search on Amazon.com or Costco.com for many of these items. Your Safety Place in Dublin, CA is a local source… I found nifty LED headlamps that were two for $4.88 at Home Depot as a Black Friday Special. There will be one in my families stocking this Christmas!

It is not a matter of IF you will need to be prepared  – it is a matter of WHEN … Do it this Christmas!

  (Download a Printable Version here.)

Locating and being able to shut off utilities that are damaged in the event of an earthquake is important for the safety of your family.  Find where to shut off your gas, water and electricity.

Gas Meter – only shut off if you smell leaking natural gas

Natural gas leaks and explosions are responsible for a significant number of fires following disasters. It is vital that all household members know how to shut off natural gas. If it is not clear to you how to shut off your gas at the meter, it is important to contact PG&E for guidance. Share the information with everyone in your household. Be sure not to actually turn off the gas when practicing the proper gas shut-off procedure. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out quickly. Turn off the gas, using the outside main valve if you can, and call PG&E from a neighbor’s home. CAUTION – If you turn off the gas for any reason, a qualified professional must turn it back on. NEVER attempt to turn the gas back on yourself.

Water – preserve water and pressure …

Water quickly becomes a precious resource following many disasters. It is vital that all household members learn how to shut off the water at the main house valve. Cracked lines may pollute the water supply to your house. It is wise to shut off your water until you hear from authorities that it is safe for drinking. The effects of gravity may drain the water in your hot water heater and toilet tanks unless you trap it in your house by shutting off the main house valve It may be a round handle (illustrated) or a lever. Usually this can be found at the base of a hose spigot generally in line with your water meter.  Find it and put a big bright colored tag to identify it.  It may be behind a bush so a challenge to find. You can also get a tool to turn off the water at the meter – but often that valve is very difficult to operate.

Electrical panel …

Electrical sparks have the potential of igniting natural gas if it is leaking. It is wise to teach all responsible household members where and how to shut off the electricity. There are two (or more) electrical panels in your home – one directly attached below your meter and more inside your home.  It is good to locate all of them … Inside panels will reset circuit breakers in the event there is an overload from an appliance or other issue in your home. If you smell gas … it will be important to shut the main panel down.  The main breakers are labeled on/off and are in the main panel (outside).   Don’t practice, resetting all the clocks is a pain .. but you should know where the panel is in the event of an emergency.   I pay a lot of attention to emergency preparedness and will pass along tips on a regular basis. If you live in the San Ramon Valley check out FireDepartment.org and the CERT community emergency response team program (or similar CERT program in your neighborhood)… Be a resource in an emergency rather than a victim.

The first 72 hours after an emergency event you will be on your own.  You cannot survive without Water – it is the most important part of your emergency preparedness.  There is a good chance you will not be at home in the event of an emergency so make sure you have water in your car and at work.

• Buy a few cases of water – put one in each car – another at the office – and several more at home. Imagine an earthquake and you are stuck somewhere with no water…

• Each person will require a minimum 15 gallons of water for 72 hours. Do not forget that there are electric dog fences you can buy for your furry friends and your pets will need water too!
• Speaking of pets, you can now get them health insurances that suits for them. Some of the insurance at petinsurance.review offers great plans for those who wish to minimize their monthly expenses.

• Commercially available 55 gallon drums can store water indefinitely. Fill one up and cover it with a tarp in the back of your yard.

• Do not overlook the water in your water heater and toilet tanks in the event of an emergency. Turn the gas or electricity off to the water heater – then turn off the intake valve and open the drain. That avoids adding contaminated water to your 50 or 60 gallons of H2O.

• Locate your water main both at the house and the box that the water company uses to read your meter. Have an emergency shutoff wrench for the water (and gas).

• Have some water purification tablets in your emergency kit. Unscented bleach works too – 16 drops per gallon and let stand 30 min.  it will still have a slight  chlorine smell but that means it’s okay to drink.

You want your emergency kit to contain food that your family is familiar with and will actually want to eat. There are plenty of items that make great emergency kit additions. Consider the following items:

• Beef Jerky
• Saltine Crackers
• Soup for one
• Trail mix
• Powerbars
• Cheese & Crackers
• Fruit Cups
• Applesauce cups
• Cookies
• Snack Pack Cereal
• Fruit Snacks
• Raisins
• Peanuts
• Granola Bars
• Juice Boxes
• Hard Candy
• Hot Cocoa Mix (foil pouches)

You could get natural Pearls form when an irritant – usually a parasite and not the proverbial grain of sand – works its way into an oyster, mussel, or clam. As a defense mechanism, a fluid is used to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating, called ‘nacre’, is deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed. This is where Loose Pearls come from. The pearls are made to adorn the body and is always a symbol of luxury.

In the event of an emergency, you will want to know that your local family and friends are okay.  Avoid chaos and confusion!  Take these simple steps to plan where to meet and how to contact each other. Establish family plan what to do in an emergency – Your family needs to know what happens if you have to get out of your home or evacuate your neighborhood and will not be home. Make sure to have some Memory Foam Talk Reviews to learn about different sleep mattresses because you never know if you have to leave town in an instant and it will not be great to sleep on a dirt floor somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. The Red Cross has a detailed family disaster plan HERE. Invest in a walkie-talkies  that are only used in an emergency – These can be used when phones do not work or if you get separated at the fair or at a ball game [Cobra 2 way radio / 16 mile / rechargeable / < $25 on Amazon.com] Bury it in your kids backpack next to their Bed Time Stories for Children – have the other in your car – write on it with a sharpie indicating the channel you will be on in an emergency.  Discuss how it is operated and when it is appropriate to use. Consider becoming a HAM Radio Operator – HAM radios can be used when other modes of communication are down. The contribution of HAM radio operators during Katrina was invaluable. If you are interested in getting your license contact me for more details.  clay@104.238.124.149

ALSO–MARK YOUR CALENDARS!  May 10th  11am to 2:00 pm

  The first 72 hours after an emergency event you will likely be on your own.  Having a portable 72-hour kit for each member of the family will put you in a position to survive and take care of your family.  There is a good chance you will not be at home in the event of an emergency so a small kit in your car and at work will be important.   Here is an easy checklist for a Basic 24 Hour Kit:

• Contact list of relatives
• Emergency contact list
• Copies of identification, credit cards, health identification cards, some cash in small denominations and coins
• Bottled Water
• Whistle, flashlight or headlamp, and shoes (under your bed?!)
• Sanititation (towelettes, hand sanitizer, TP, baggies)
• Prescription medicines, special needs items
• Sweatshirt, sweat pants, warm hat
• Emergency blanket
• Non-perishable foods (granola bars etc.–more information next week!)
• Child’s bag–include a familiar toy
• Small container of Clorox unscented bleach and medicine dropper
• Small notebook and pencil

ADD FOR YOUR WORK “GO-BAG”

• Additional water
• Small tools, pry bar, channel lock pliers, screwdriver 4-1
• Battery powered radio
• Small first aid kit
• Dust masks
• Duct tape
• Permanent marker
• Extra Keys to home and cars
• Heavy duty gloves
• Pocket knife

ADD FOR YOUR CAR “GO-BAG” FOR EACH CAR

• Fire extinguisher
• Flares
• Large First Aid Kit

Next week I’ll list resources and ideas for adding non-perishable foods to your emergency kits!

Water bottles and Critical Medicine for family members with special needs are important to have with you in the event that you are away from home in an emergency and cannot return home. The two items you should put in each of your cars tonight are Water Bottles (2 for each family member) and Essential Medicines. A 72 hour supply will be important  (don’t wait, we know what happens if you do not do it right away). Earlier I posted that you should have three emergency essentials at your bedside–shoes, whistle, flashlight. This is to cover you in the event you cannot return home for any length of time.  It may not be possible to get to the pharmacy for essential needs. Subscribe to my blog for periodic emergency preparedness tips!  Taking it on one step at a time will prepare you and your family in the event of an emergency.  Be prepared – it could save your life.

In the event of an emergency, are you going to be an asset or a victim?  Your community has a program to train YOU to be a resource in the event of an emergency! In the San Ramon Valley there are only a limited number of emergency personnel on duty at any given time  In the event of an emergency first responders are going to be focused on infrastructure and urgent needs.  Become CERT Trained so you can be a resource to your immediate community!

For the San Ramon Valley Fire District click HERE  and for the CERT program click HERE. San Ramon courses start on March 14^th (Wednesday nights for 6 weeks)  or March 17^th for two Saturdays.

• Introduction to CERT and Emergency Preparation
• Terrorism and Fire Suppression
• Medical and Basic First Aid
• Light Search and Rescue
• Psychology and Incident Command
• Drill

Subscribe to my blog for periodic emergency preparedness tips!  Taking it on one step at a time will prepare you and your family in the event of an emergency.  Be a resource – not a victim.