Disasters
can happen to anyone and everyone should be prepared, even people
living with their parents. Updated 04jun14
Notice Copyright 2005-2014
Ken Young (http://www.DinoDudes.com).
All rights reserved. This document may be
freely redistributed for educational purposes at no charge in unaltered
form. This information is
for educational purposes only. There is no guarantee of any kind that
it is accurate, or that no harm will come to anyone who uses it. This information is
provided on an "as is" basis with absolutely no warranty or guarantee.
The information is not necessarily correct, complete, or suitable for
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injuries. In no event shall the copyright holder, or any other party,
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failure to use, or inability to use this information.
Living ready
Make a travel kit. It has
everything you need to spend a night or three away from home except
your clothes. It saves an hour of looking for stuff every time you get
ready.
Make a small zip-kit and keep
it in your backpack, purse, or book-bag. See the section on small zip-kits below.
Know where the trash bags and
duct tape are. There is no limit to the things your can make out of
them. You can fix things with tape, carry things in bags, make rain
ponchos & rain skirts, cover things against rain, etc.
Keep some slippers by your bed
and put them on at the first sign of trouble. A common disaster injury
is walking on broken glass with bare feet.
Everyone should do this.
Power failure
The power fails several times a
year. A short outage is not a problem, but you never know how long its
going to last. Some outages last days.
Tape the refrigerator shut so
nobody forgets and opens it. The food will last for two days if nobody
opens the door.
Cover the garbage disposal so
nobody puts garbage into it. Nobody wants to be around a stinky garbage
disposal.
Don't waste the candles or
batteries.
Unplug all the expensive
electronics. The power can be erratic coming back on and this prevents
damage.
Remember that there will be
many short outages for every long one. Do not get tricked into thinking
they will all be short.
Water outage
An unplanned water outage can
sometimes last a long time.
Tape the lids to all the
toilets down so nobody forgets and uses them.
If you have a back yard, dig a
toilet hole and put a privacy tarp around it.
If you do not have a back yard,
line a wastebasket with a trash bag and call it a toilet. Seal the bag,
throw it away, and reline the can after use. Improvised liner if you
run low on trash bags: Line a plastic grocery bag with newspaper, and
line that with another grocery bag.
Cover the garbage disposal so
nobody puts garbage into it. Nobody wants to be around a stinky garbage
disposal.
Fire
If your house catches fire, get
out as quick as you can and call the fire department. Smoke rises, so
keep down.
If the hillside is on fire and
its coming your way, grab a few things and leave in a hurry. Get out
before the smoke and fire blocks the road. Try to keep everyone
together.
Remember that the smoke is much
more dangerous than the fire, it can blind you or make you pass out.
Flood
Stay out of the water.
Floodwaters make sewers overflow, so it is full of sewage. If you touch
something that has touched floodwater, and then eat before washing your
hands, you can get sick with vomiting and diarrhea.
If your house is in danger of
flooding, grab a few things and leave in a hurry. Leave before the road
floods, just 3 inches of water can block a road. Being stuck in a
stalled car in rising water is a bad thing.
Sewage backflow
Floods and clogged sewer mains
cause sewage backflow if your house does not have a sewage backflow
prevention valve. Whenever anyone uphill flushes their toilet it will
come up out of your toilet and into your house. Grab a few things and
leave.
Earthquake
The dangerous part of an
earthquake is things falling on you. Get under something and grab onto
it (furniture jumps around in a strong earthquake).
If the earthquake is really
strong, the building may come down. You want to lay down next to
something solid, not underneath it. Hold onto it as best you can. The
falling roof or wall will
squash everything, but big solid things hold up a little part of the
roof.
What if you have to leave in
a
hurry?
Bring money, zip kit,
travel kit, and jacket.
If there is time grab some
water, clothes, a cell phone (with charger), trash bags, and duct tape
in a suitcase.
Do not bring any animals with
you. They will be there when you get back. If you bring them, they will
find a way to escape, and you may never see them again.
Other
notes
Do not try to "help" animals in
a disaster. A frightened small animal can tear you up.
Someone trying to help a small
animal sounds like this: "Oh the poor little thing! He needs help! I'll
help you little fellow. AAAAAHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! I sure wish I
could get seen at a hospital!"
Disasters displace snakes &
rodents. Expect this and be careful.
Wear gloves when cleaning up
after the trouble.
Zip
Kits for kids
A zip kit is a little kit that
ensures you can breathe and walk long enough to get where you need to
go in an emergency. It ensures you can communicate once you get there. A zip kit must be as small, light,
and cheap as possible. It should not have anything that can leak or go
bad. The key to zip kits is always having
one with you. Put one in your backpack, purse, or book bag.
Zip-lock bag: Everything fits
in a resealable bag.
Desiccant: Take the tiny
desiccant pouch from a box and put it in the zip-lock. Use a fresh one.
Respirator: A dust mask with
two strings is called a respirator. Get the kind that fold flat.
Leather bootlaces: Shoelaces
always pick the worst time to break, and leather bootlaces serve as
string or rope.
Band-aids for blisters and
scrapes.
6 first aid wipes: First aid
wipes in tiny individual pouches treat a cuts & scrapes. They clean
& sterilize your hands & face so you can eat & drink. They
clean glasses.
Note paper: Writing things down
and leaving notes is important. Post-its are good because they are the
right size and have glue on the back.
Pencil stub: If the pencil is
too long it will be broken when you need it. Three or four inches long
is about right.
Little bitty pencil sharpener:
Smaller is better.
Safety pins: 2 large and 4
small.
Photographs: Have a recent
family photograph. It helps when you can show a picture of who you are
looking for.
Phone numbers: Have every
family and close friends number written down, including those out of
the area.
Prescriptions: Have a copy of
all prescriptions, including eyeglasses. Photo-reducing makes them
smaller.