(This post was originally posted on Ms Sparky on September 13, 2008. I moved it to Your Emergency Plan when I separated my personal blog from my political blog.)
Emergency preparedness is just one of my obsessions. My husband is doing that whole “eye roll” thing right now and saying “no shit”! We’ll see who’s doing the “eye roll” thing when we’re having one of our power outages (or worse) and he has a full belly!!!
Hurricane Hanna and Ike again remind us of the importance of having our 72-hour kits updated and ready to go. Go to my 72-Hour Kits Page (tab at top) or just click HERE for information on how to put your 72-Hour kits together.
I noticed the hit rate on my 72-Hour Kits page went up about 1000% just before Hurricane Hanna and hasn’t stopped yet. DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU NEED ONE. Put your kit together now and put it away. Then it will be ready when you need it.
If you already have a kit, check it for expiration dates. Make sure everything is good and then put it back where you can easily get to it!
And…a quick note on your gas tank. Get in the habit of filling up at the 1/2 full mark. I am really bad about that. But, it will cut down on a whole lot of panic if you have to evacuate.
The photo above is a summer shot of what’s left of Mount St. Helens in Washington State after her infamous blow on May 18, 1980. 61 people died. We may not have hurricanes in Washington but I live less than 30 miles from the summit of Mt. St. Helens!! So, I have my own little things that can wreak havoc on my day!!
Don’t Be Scared…Be Prepared!!
Ms Sparky
You are absolutely right! Everyone should be prepared where ever they may live. And they should make sure their children have kits at school also. Emergency Personnel from various local, state and federal agencies, tell people that they will be on their own for the most part for about 72 hours, and the bigger of a disaster that happens, the longer it can be. It also is a good idea to take that first aide refresher, maybe even some search and rescue training too. A lot will depend on well prepared individuals when it hits the fan.
Good job!
Debbie’s Response:
Thanks for reminding me!!! I need to check with my grandson’s school!!! He’s in 1/2 day kindergarten. I totally forgot to ask! “My Bad!”
GFS’s last blog post..Reported Recently: Auditors go easy on contractors
I seen that blog on your web site but never read it, and now I sit without power going into my third day. I wish I would have read it now, I am for sure buying a generator. It isn’t too bad now because since I live in a urban place there is alot of places with power. We are surrounded by places that have power, we are like a island isolated LOL. Sent from my iPhone
Debbie’s Response:
Yep…that’s why I put it there!!! Sounds like you are safe and uninjured. That’s great. But, there will be another Hurricane down there….read the page.
I live by Cincinnati Ohio. IKE reached all the way up here to Kentucky to knock us out with 75 mph winds. I never in my life thought a hurricane in the gulf could affect us. It was the largest power outages in the Cincinnati area with almost 90 percent with out power at one time. It did bring the neighbors together everyone cooking their food on grills before it spoiled and me and my boys
did spend a lot of time together playing board games and just reading.
Sent from my iPhone
Debbie Response:
See!!!! Anything!!! Anywhere!!!
Thanks for reminding me to redo our kit at home.
No internet at home. using schools computer. so i got to go.
But i will remind my dad too.
thanks aunt Deb.
love
-Jessica
Great reminder! A great resource for emergency preparedness supplies is http://www.shelfreliance.com Also, if you use the code save15 you can save 15% at checkout!
Bug out bag. Try to take foods that do not take water to prepare, I see so many bug out
bags with things like, instant oatmeal, hot chocolate & soups. The water should be for
drinking & take vitamins & protein bars. I also take a bottle of fiber, not only is
fiber needed but it also swells for a full feeling. I came across what is called
Lifecaps. They are a capsule that has everything needed to survive without food with
the exception of water. It is full of vitamins & minerals plus Iodine. Anyway, you take
three of them a day & drink water. I can actually take enough food in one backpack to
las 6 months because of these little Lifecaps, protein bars, fiber & water. I will run
out of water in a week so I do carry a small filter & a couple of those straw water
filters that filter the water as you suck.
You do not always have the ability or time to heat water to make soup or oatmeal. Anyway,
after I bought 25 bottles I found a coupon code & bought 75 bottles more. The coupon code
is… healthcap It will get you 33% off. There are also sites that have those filter straws
that are cheaper than any of the stores around here. (SLC) I think they are a really good
idea along with some purification pills. I cannot remember the sites off the top of my head
but you can Google for aquamira filter straw. Aquamira is the manufacture but do not buy
off there site because I have found them for almost 1/2 what they want on their own site
on other sites. Good luck, Gods speed & get serious about your bug out bag!