General Emergency Preparedness

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Next chapter of learning preparedness lessons from the ongoing issues in Japan.

 

How prepared are you paperworkwise?

 

The Navy bases nearest to the Japanese reactors are beginning a voluntary evacuation. In order for family members to do this, there are a number of pieces of paperwork that they have to have. There are many frantic posts on the command Facebook pages from people who do not have valid powers of attorney, passports, immunization records, etc.

 

So if you had to leave your home for an extended period, could you lay hands on the important paperwork you need? Do you have a list of all the bills that you need to pay each month if your mail stopped being delivered (ours was delayed for about 3-4 weeks during the anthrax threats in 2001)? Could you access online bill paying sites (or is this something that the other spouse always does)?

 

Do you have copies of the kids' immunization records (or are those only on record at the doctor's office)?

 

Birth certificates, wills, high school or college diplomas or transcripts. What about the most recent test results for standardized testing? How about the records of Scout rank and merit badge achievements? Or records of online courses?

 

One thing that we have done with some of our records is to scan them and email them to ourselves at accounts that don't get downloaded (like Gmail or Hotmail). We can print them off where ever we might be. It sort of acts like free online data storage. Another thing is to email files to trusted family members. We've even been known to send back up CDs (nowadays I'd just use a detachable hard drive) to family members to store in another state.

 

Our friends in Japan are evacuating about one week after the earthquake. They have had only about one day's notice of the evacuation. Things can move very quickly.

[LibraryLover]

That's brilliant. I had not thought about that.

 

I recently recieved my dd's camp brochure (local, day), and in it there was a very in-depth and succinct plan for evacauation of the children (hurricanes are not uncommon, nor is flooding, for instance), plus how and when they would notify parents. It was obviously well thought-out (to the point they must have used a consultant to word it so well) and calming. I am heartned to know that people are finally getting a sense of worst-case scenario organization that appears rational.

 

 

 

One thing that we have done with some of our records is to scan them and email them to ourselves at accounts that don't get downloaded (like Gmail or Hotmail). We can print them off where ever we might be. It sort of acts like free online data storage. Another thing is to email files to trusted family members. We've even been known to send back up CDs (nowadays I'd just use a detachable hard drive) to family members to store in another state.

QUOTE]

[lailasmum]

My plan for the next few months is to lay down some supplies.

 

I would recommend emergency lighting that is permanently installed in your home. It charges off the mains electricity and then switches on when the power is cut off. Really useful for middle of the night power cuts. One of ours broke recently and it was so weird being plunged into complete darkness when we had a night time power cut because the emergency lights have always been there. We have one in the landing and one in the kitchen.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My plan for the next few months is to lay down some supplies.

 

I would recommend emergency lighting that is permanently installed in your home. It charges off the mains electricity and then switches on when the power is cut off. Really useful for middle of the night power cuts. One of ours broke recently and it was so weird being plunged into complete darkness when we had a night time power cut because the emergency lights have always been there. We have one in the landing and one in the kitchen.

 

Oh, I've seen those in stores. They do sound like a nice idea.

[Cricket]

Does anyone have a recommendation for those hand-crank flashlights? We had one that we shook first but it didn't work too well.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Does anyone have a recommendation for those hand-crank flashlights? We had one that we shook first but it didn't work too well.

 

I've had wind up and shake up. The wind ups are easier to use. The problem we had with the shake ups is that the heavy magnet eventually broke the plastic framework inside the light.

 

I got my wind up in a set with a wind up lantern. This is the set I have They both work pretty well. My main complaint is that it doesn't hold a charge as well as a normal light. (Although I will confess that we have had them about four years and the newer sets may have better batteries.) Great for handing to kids and they have held up well, but for anything of lasting duration I'll be reaching for my Pelican lights.

[rdolphingirl]

I have a couple older wind up flashlights, dont remember brand, that I picked up on clearance at Wal-mart.

So far they seem to work ok, and as posted above me they are good for the boys.

 

This is what I have ordered, Midland ER102 Emergency Radio :

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P0M99U

 

It covers so much more then just a flashlight.

 

I have a LED mini-maglight on my keyring, and each of my boys has a little LED flashlight same size in his BoB as well.

[Alicia64]

Sebastian -- I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. . . but dh and I have always been totally prepared: food, flashlights, first-aid kits, the whole nine yards.

 

Dh is even taking an all weekend advanced first aid class in May.

 

But when I saw the devastation wreaked by the tsunami I thought: "how in the world can those poor people even find their food/flashlight/band-aids/each other??????????? Everything is gone!"

 

Ignore me. Of course, we all need to be prepared. But that was the first thing that ran through my head. :grouphug:

 

Alley

[Alicia64]

 

The Navy bases nearest to the Japanese reactors are beginning a voluntary evacuation. In order for family members to do this, there are a number of pieces of paperwork that they have to have. There are many frantic posts on the command Facebook pages from people who do not have valid powers of attorney, passports, immunization records, etc.

 

So if you had to leave your home for an extended period, could you lay hands on the important paperwork you need? Do you have a list of all the bills that you need to pay each month if your mail stopped being delivered (ours was delayed for about 3-4 weeks during the anthrax threats in 2001)? Could you access online bill paying sites (or is this something that the other spouse always does)?

 

Do you have copies of the kids' immunization records (or are those only on record at the doctor's office)?

 

Birth certificates, wills, high school or college diplomas or transcripts. What about the most recent test results for standardized testing? How about the records of Scout rank and merit badge achievements? Or records of online courses?

 

One thing that we have done with some of our records is to scan them and email them to ourselves at accounts that don't get downloaded (like Gmail or Hotmail). We can print them off where ever we might be. It sort of acts like free online data storage. Another thing is to email files to trusted family members. We've even been known to send back up CDs (nowadays I'd just use a detachable hard drive) to family members to store in another state.

 

Our friends in Japan are evacuating about one week after the earthquake. They have had only about one day's notice of the evacuation. Things can move very quickly.

 

This is GREAT advice -- thank you. As someone who just moved cross country and didn't get all of the papers out the state before I left -- it's HARD to get stuff you need from the DMV or wherever (especially given the current economy).

 

I'd definitely add to this great list that you need to scan your car titles. Sounds silly, but just trust me on this one!!! (I couldn't believe how hard it was to get a simple title out of the DMV. Just because they're so back-logged and don't have enough staff to get to all of the mail.)

 

Alley

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Sebastian -- I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. . . but dh and I have always been totally prepared: food, flashlights, first-aid kits, the whole nine yards.

 

Dh is even taking an all weekend advanced first aid class in May.

 

But when I saw the devastation wreaked by the tsunami I thought: "how in the world can those poor people even find their food/flashlight/band-aids/each other??????????? Everything is gone!"

 

Ignore me. Of course, we all need to be prepared. But that was the first thing that ran through my head. :grouphug:

 

Alley

 

I totally understand what you are saying. If you were to totally lose your house, to a tsunami or a tornado or something else, then off course, it wouldn't much matter.

 

On the other hand, there was a short warning of tsunami and many were able to flee to evacuation locations, in part because Japan has a history of doing drills and lots of education for such disasters.

 

As bad as the situation is for many, for many more, there is something far short of total devastation.

 

As I sit in Virginia, watching the Facebook reports from my friends in Yokosuka, I can't help but notice how many aren't prepared with some of the most basic items. In many cases items that they should have had for a long time. In other cases, things that in the stress of the situation they cannot lay hands on.

 

I would put our family into the pretty prepared category. Yet everytime we have an emergency, I discover there is something new that I need to work on.