September - National Preparedness Month

[Qwackertoo]

I couldn't sleep much those first few nights after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and I was thinking about our family (myself, husband, 8 yr. DS and 11 yr. DD) and just how prepared we would be IF a crisis or emergency developed.

http://www.ready.gov/

I could probably gather up a good amount of things in less than an hour "most" of the time, couple of cases of water, a few boxes of pouch type drinks, couple jars of peanut butter, a few cases of soft drinks, boxes of dry cereal (boring but better than nothing) even at least 10 pounds of dog food (only 2 stores in my entire county sell it, so I especially feel for all the survivors who had to leave behind their beloved pets behind because I know just how special our two Shelties are to us) so I buy another 40 lb. bag when I only have 10 lbs. or so left. Many of the other items I buy in bulk at Costco or Sam's to keep on hand for school lunches or water for sports activities and just to drink.

One thing we don't usually keep in the car except on lengthier family trips is an Atlas. I'm thinking I should probably should buy an extra for each vehicle so we could take alternate routes vs. the main roads which would more than likely be very congested. It has come in handy several times on long trips when a bad accident or construction and accidents have caused very long, upwards of 2 hour delays, we were able to exit and find alternate routes. I also want to get an extra large Rubbermaid container that I could easily pack with all of our photo albums . . . other than that, except ourselves, pets and photos, insurance can take care of the rest.

I've recently added new sleeping bags, Swiss Army cots and a very large Swiss Army tent to our Emergency Preparedness supply shelves out in the garage so we could at least escape to a state or national park somewhere, somehow, out of harms way, IF no hotel rooms could be found. I still need to get some extra Atlas' to put in the car, especially as the footage of I-45 and reports of those fleeing only make 17 miles of progress in an hour.

After having just missed the first of the London bombing by ONLY FOUR days earlier this Summer, Al-Queda or others who wish to do American citizens great harm, are probably thinking NOW would be a perfect time to strike us while our attention is focused on our current national tragedy/crisis which efforts are tremendous and who knows what this weekend holds for Hurricane Rita's possible destruction/devastation.

We live within 20 miles of an Army base/installation and within 100 miles of two different nuclear reactor facilities. While we're not in a large city, we're certainly "at risk".

A lot of jokes were made back during the Y2K era . . . but especially after this past couple of weeks and this week, makes me really think and take action to prepare for an emergency.

Anyway, I thought I would post the link and share, many of you may already be well prepared, but just in case you aren't, you will find a good amount of excellent information.

Deana

 

[Geoff_M]

Many of the other items I buy in bulk at Costco or Sam's to keep on hand for school lunches or water for sports activities and just to drink.

Unless you're going to "turn over" your food stash periodically to avoid spoilage, a better idea may be MREs or freeze dried backpacking meals. MREs are often available through army surplus stores and the backpacking food can be found at most "outdoor" oriented sporting goods stores. Also remember that you'll need something to cook on. Get an inexpensive Coleman propane camping stove and keep some small propane cylinders (we have 6 on hand) in a well ventilated location such as a garage. Also, don't forget the matches/lighter.