Water Water Everywhere

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798), Stephen Taylor Coleridge

I talk a lot about the historic Georgia floods of 2009. For me, it was a pivotal moment and one I do not soon want to repeat.

As you may remember, I had a 15 month old daughter, no phone, no internet, no television, no electricity, and worst of all, no running water. Oh there was plenty of water around, just not any potable or drinkable water.

We had had some plumbing problems a few weeks before and had bought several gallons of bottled water to plan for a day of repairs. Luckily, we didn’t need the water during repair day, so I had a pretty good supply of drinking water on hand when the water system was overwhelmed by the torrential rains.

Within hours, every grocery store shelf was empty of water too and travel to other stores was difficult and dangerous due to flooding. I was more than happy that I could get through the emergency with the water we had on hand. Looking back, in fact, I distinctly remember being thankful that I had just weaned Phoebe because that would have been a big drain on our small water supply.

What about you? If the water was turned off for an indeterminate time, would you have any on hand?

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72 Hour Kit Challenge #2

Last month we started our 72 hour kits. Did you start yours?

The theme this month is MAKE A PLAN and the items in this month’s challenge will help with that.

This month, gather these things:

• Copies of important papers like insurance policies, marriage certificates, birth certificates etc. You can store in a large envelope for now…
• Cash— $30-50 at least. At least $5 in quarters for phone calls
• Phone numbers and addresses for out of town contacts
• A list of medications and dosages and the names and phone numbers of the prescribing doctors.

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Broken Wings: Lessons Learned

Last August, my daughter fell off of a kitchen chair and broke her collar bone. I knew that she was injured, but decided that it was urgent but not critical that she receive medical care.

I quickly called the local emergency room and was told that we could bring her there, but that anything serious would require a transfer to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. I hung up and decided to take her to CHOA myself.

I had no idea where Children’s Healthcare was. I knew there was a location near Northside Hospital and there was another location near Emory Hospital. Were those my only choices? A quick review of the hospital’s website told me that the closest location was Children’s Healthcare at Hughes Spalding near Grady Hospital. A check with Google maps told me I could be there in 30 minutes.

She and I jumped in the car and were there in 23 minutes. I may or may not have exceeded the speed limit.

Now, I have the address and phone number for the hospital in my cell phone. If necessary, I can quickly access it and be on my way. But it would have been really helpful if I’d gotten my information together BEFORE I needed it.

This month’s challenge is all about making plans. What would you do if your child were hurt? Who would you call? Do you know if your dentist has emergency hours?

Another consideration is talking to children about preparation. Talking about disasters can be scary to children and for people who may have difficulty coping with daily life. Be open and positive. The unknown causes more anxiety than knowing facts. Listen to your child, learn how they feel and what they may be afraid of. Sesame Street has great resources for helping get your kids on board.

One thing to remember: Your plan does NOT have to be perfect. ANY preparation is better than NO preparation. Do not allow fear of making a mistake, stop you from thinking through these situations.

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Preparedness challenge: Make a Plan

Goal: Understand what puts you at risk from disasters and take steps to lower your risk.

Choose one thing to do this month to become better prepared:

1. Learn what disasters can happen in your area and decide what you will do in a disaster.
2. Plan to protect yourself and your family:  Decide on a room in your house that can be your “safe room”. This should be an interior room or closet away from windows and doors. An interior hallway can also work.  Meet with your family and discuss how to prepare and respond to emergencies. Give each person a job and make a plan to work together as a team. If a family member regularly travels for work, discuss how you would respond if they were away from home.  Also talk about lesser emergencies at home like falls, illness and burns. Know where the closest emergency room is. Teach the kids what 911 is for.
3. Plan what to do if you have to evacuate: Choose two places for your family to meet. One should be right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire. The other should be outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate.
4. Download GEMA’s Ready Georgia mobile phone app for FREE

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Be Informed

You’re at home.  In the distance, you hear a siren.  Not a police or fire siren but an odd horn type siren.  What does it mean?  Do you know what you should do?

Ready.gov – FEMA and Homeland Security’s Preparedness website – lists 3 key steps to preparedness.  One of these steps is Be Informed.  In this case, it means understanding what you should do if you hear a warning siren or a message scrolling at the bottom of the TV or an Emergency Broadcast System Alert.  It also means learning about what the risks are in your area like hurricanes or tsunamis or tornados and having the knowledge to know what to do if one is coming your way.

Things you can and should do:

• Make sure everyone in your family knows what to do when they hear emergency warnings.
• Get a NOAA Emergency Alert Radio. You can get them for about 30 bucks on Amazon.com
• Make sure everyone in your household can communicate in a disaster.
• Sign up for your county's Emergency Notification System.  Many counties and localities have First Alert type systems that will text or call you in the event of danger in your area.  In my county, Douglas, the website is First Call. The next county over, Paulding, uses a system called Code Red.  Your local government website should have this information.  You can also check out FEMA and your state’s Emergency Management website for more information.

These are simple things that take very little money and time but will go a long way in telling you what you need to do.

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72 Hour Kit Challenge: Part 1

 What is a 72 hour kit?

A 72 hour kit is the grouping of items that would be needed should there be an emergency.  It’s called a “72 hour” kit because 3 days is about how long it takes for emergency crews, Red Cross, local rescue groups, etc. to get mobilized during disasters.

Odds are, you already have most of the stuff that should be in your kit.  Odds are, there will be very little that you actually have to purchase.  However, do you know where a battery operated radio is in your house?  Could you lay your hands on a wrench in less than 3 minutes?  Get your kit together and you’ll know exactly where it is.

I’ll be posting a master 72 hour list that I’ve compiled from a number of sources but for right now, let’s start on simple things.

• Storage for your kit – this can be a large rolling trash can, a rolling suitcase, backpacks, duffel bags, etc.  Think in terms of mobile.  If you have to evacuate, you need to be able to take this stuff with you.  And remember, even a small child can carry a lightly loaded backpack. 
• A Sewing Kit – useful for many things
• A battery operated radio
• A flashlight – I prefer battery operated versus the crank kind.  Nothing like having the thing go dim after you’ve cranked your brains out to getting it to work.
• Batteries!!!  Get enough for at least two rounds in the radio and the flashlight.

Another note on the storage: even a cardboard box is better than no kit.  If funds are an issue, just start gathering things in whatever large container you can find.  I’m actually going to use a large plastic storage tote for mine until I can get something else like a suitcase or something.

More items will be coming next month on the 3rd.

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Prepared Not Scared

Storms knock out all the utilities.  You are alone with a small child.  Would you be prepared?

In September of 2009, I was at home alone with my then 15 month old daughter, Phoebe. The area had been having heavy rains for several days. During a storm a couple of days before, lightning struck nearby and fried our cable box, two telephones and my husband's brand new iMac. Luckily, my cell phone would let me check the weather and emails.

Right after we dropped off my husband at MARTA that morning, the bottom fell out of the sky. If you experienced it, then you know what I'm talking about. The rain fell so hard I literally couldn't see more than 10 feet from my front door. During the worst of the rainfall that day, my washing machine, which I had turned on just moments before, made a strange whining noise. I quickly realized that we didn't have any water and I turned off the machine before there was any permanent damage. I used my cell phone to call the water company to find out what was happening and the power went off as I heard a recorded message telling me that the water system was overwhelmed by the rain and service was unavailable. So there I was, with a young child, no water, no power, and with no other way to communicate with the world besides a cell phone with a battery at 50% while a storm raged outside the likes of which I never hope to see again.

I was scared. But I thought quickly about my resources: what did I have? I had several cases of bottled water as well as a couple of gallons of water I had bought weeks before. I also decided to brave the rain and pull a large plastic trash can out into the deluge for water to flush the toilet. I may not have electricity or a way to find out what was going on, but, by golly, I was gonna get to go to the bathroom! We had peanut butter and bread so we were ok for food for a day or so. Luckily, the power came back on within a few hours and the water came back on the next day albeit with a boil water order.

The next few days are now marked as one of the largest and most expensive floods in history.

Our family was lucky and had a few things at hand. But this story also shows that the emergency doesn't have to be a terrorist attack or a Zombie apocalypse for preparedness to be important.

Over the next few months, this space will feature some preparedness information for you and your family. I will be issuing challenges for you to complete. Completing one task a month will get you on your way. I will also challenge you to put together your own 72 hour kit. This kit contains everything you might need in the event of an emergency. You probably already have a lot of these items on hand but have no idea where they all are! So we’ll have our own little scavenger hunt to make it fun!

Our theme for this whole series is not to scare you, but to make you aware and more importantly PREPARED.

"Prepared, not scared" is my motto.

What have you learned from emergencies that you have incorporated into your daily life? Let me know in the comments!

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