Earthquakes #2

I thought this was VERY interesting. These gals at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ held a 7 Day Challenge last Sept and one day was about earthquake preparedness. This is what they had to say on their website:

One of the days we practiced living through an earthquake. What were some of the things our readers said they wish they had after "practicing" this scenario? Here are just a few:

- I need to get my cars prepped for emergencies, I have nothing but booster cables in them

- Get a family size tent to use until home is declared safe

- Have shovel and bar of some sort for clearing the road

- Have more crafts and activities ready

- I need a good supply of fuel and extra water to cook with

- We need a few more flashlights, car emergency kits, some non gas lanterns would also be nice I used the last of the charcoal and so I will have to find something else to cook with tomorrow I'm going to try out our portable camp stove that we have, but never used, to make sure it works and find yummy recipes my kids like

- Will try to work on getting a generator

- Having an extra propane tank just in case, and the shovel

- Shovel for the car and some MRE's More tin foil, tarps, staple gun, duct tape, more germex, chain saw I need to do some serious work to prepare for an earthquake

- Finding some games to play (simple ones) but we did have fun talking about old times

- Probably store some wood for camp fire style cooking

- Have 4 pages of a "to do list" and to buy list

- Buy more paper products, washing dishes by hand and heating the water is SO MUCH WORK

- If there is a real earthquake I will need to secure the tall shelves in my garage to the wall so they won't fall over

- Must have 3 month food supply in place sooner I'd like my water easier to get to, it is in 30 gallon barrels, and the pump is not very reliable - I need my strong husband and sons for it

Info on the Web

"Preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy"
- Max Mayfield, Director National Hurricane Center

Over the past couple of years I've tried to use this blog to help others find worthwhile information about Emergency Preparedness. There's a lot out there and not all of it is trustworthy!!!! OUCH! Actually, some of it is meant specifically to make a buck through "scare tactics" and that's just not where we need to be putting our money nor our focus. There's work to do and we need to be taking care of business!

I have found that some sources are consistently reliable while others aren't even worth a bookmark and on my computer...that's pretty bad. This morning I decided to begin a series of links that I think have very useful information and the first one that I turn to is Emergency Essentials. (My opinion: If you shop their sales this company is a great source of preparedness items - get on their mailing list and see what's going on with them for the month. With stores on 106th South in SLC and one next to the Distribution Center in Orem, it's easy to just swing by once a month to pick up their specials.) When you go to their website they have file tabs at the top of the page - One is called Insight Articles and will take you to their archive of article categories. Each family is at their own level of Preparedness - we need to budget our time, money and focus into one thing a month to make great strides - so I felt that this would be especially helpful for my readers to click on the category that is your focus for this month. Here ya go....enjoy!
Emergency Essentials Articles

The 9 Essentials to Sheltering in Place

The following article is taken from The Ready Store It caught my attention because we live in a "Shelter In Place" Area. This means that during a disaster, such as an earthquake, there will probably be no exit from our general neighborhood. Freeways shut down immediately because of fallen bridges, We are surrounded by earthquake faults, our only way out would be through side streets which will be congested with paniced people and possible broken up and unpassable. So we need to be prepared to "Shelter in Place" (take care of ourselves until life gets back to normal which could take weeks!) At the bottom of the article I've also included some valid comments that readers left.

The 9 Essentials to Sheltering in Place

When it comes to emergencies there’s items that are necessities and there’s items that are luxuries. Generally speaking you want to tackle the necessities first and then add additional items to increase the comfort level of the situation.

Here are 9 essentials you should have during a sheltering in place scenario, (keep in mind that you may be required to shelter in place somewhere besides your own home):

1. Water - Plan on 1 Gallon per person, per day for drinking and sanitation. Our water storage category includes items like Datrex Water Pouches and 5-Gallon Water Containers that can help you with your water needs.

2. Food - A supply of 3-5 days per person. For a lot of people the first couple of days can be supplemented by what’s already in the house. However, to insure that you always have your emergency food supply ready to go I recommend one of our 3-21 Day Food Supplies.

3. Clothes - In your 72-Hour Kit you want to be sure you have an extra pair of clothes and shoes for each person in your group/family.

4. Medications - It’s a good practice to collect 3-5 days worth of any prescription medications that you’re taking.Also be sure to note expiration dates so that you can rotate them appropriately.

5. Flashlight - When it comes to flashlights, don’t go cheap. There are good flashlights out their that are very affordable. Here’s some great options: Ultra-Bright 3-LED Dynamo Flashlight, 12-LED StreamLine Flashlight, or theULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio.

6. Can Opener - This is another item that you want to be sure is high quality. There’s nothing worse than a can opener that won’t open cans.

7. Radio - The ideal option for a radio is one that has multiple options for powering the radio including, batteries, hand-crank, AC/DC, and/or

solar. The ULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio is a great option for this.

8. Hygiene Kit - Start with just the basics, soap, toilet paper and a toothbrush is enough to get most people by for 3-5 days.

9. First Aid Kit - Again, from a starting point perspective make sure that your first-aid kit at lest includes, antiseptic, gloves, bandages and your non-prescription medicine such as aspirin or Tylenol.

Put these 9 essential items in place and you’ve got a good foundation for a sheltering in place emergency kit!

Comments:

Also need some kind of self defense.

Tents, sleeping bags, blankets … some sort of warmth and protection from the elements might be a good idea. How ’bout matches or lighters ?

Containers for boiling water, I pack emergency supplies in coffee cans.

Also, extra supplies for trade - money will have little value. Useful goods (food, toilet paper and other basic necessities) will have higher value than coins.

to this list, I add plastic sheeting and duct tape. Your emergency could be spilled chemicals or something where you need to cover the windows.

Earthquakes

Today I have posted some very interesting notes that came from a special presentation that was given in Lindon last month. It was a part of their Emergency training education. I will work on getting it nto a little more convenient reading format in the weeks to come (when my life slows down just a bit) but until then it will be well worth going over the information about the 13 Lessons learned from an Earthquake Disaster.

13 Lessons - click here

It happens here too!

It's one of those things we can do! We can have water on hand! Even if we can't swing the $35 for the big blue barrels this month (Macey's or Emergency Essentials), maybe we can buy the 5 gallon barrels or use empty jars we have sitting around. Or easiest of all, we can buy the 16 oz bottles of water (Aqua Fina 16 oz, 24/case = 3 cases for $10 his week at Smith's). The point is - there's something that we can do to make life a little more comfortable for our family when things like this happen:

Contaminated water reported in Saratoga Springs

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 05/13/2010 08:06:41 PM MDT

Saratoga Springs administrators have asked half the city to boil its water before drinking it because of a contaminant that could cause stomach and intestinal illness.

The warning was issued in a press release Thursday and delivered to residents and businesses on the north side of the city.

Residents, schools, businesses and users of culinary water located north of 400 South are being asked to participate. The release states water should be boiled for at least one minute before drinking.

The city is working to find and treat the source of the contamination, but the boil issue should remain in effect until further notice, the press release states.

Water Storage Revisited!

Water Storage

You can live without food for a short period of time but you can't live without water!

Last Week I told you about the water barrels being on sale at CAL Ranch. I just called them and they sold out! They will probably be getting more in but they won't be at the sale price. Just the same, less than $50 is a good deal.

For those of you who were not able to attend the Tim Wolfe fireside last Spring, he emphasized the importance of using NEW barrels rather than used/cleaned barrels. He passed around a glass jar that held water that had been stored in a used/cleaned barrel and it was pretty gross! Not only was the water cloudy but it had a mass growing in it.

Here's a little water storage info that I've found online:

Make sure that any container you use for water storage is food grade and clean. 55 gallon drums are a great way to store the bulk of your water. There are pumps available that are made to fit these barrels. (You can buy pumps at Emergency Essentials or Macey's)

2 liter bottles are easy to move and to store in key places around the house, like under the bathroom or kitchen sink. It is much easier to use a small bottle at the sink than it is to run to a large barrel somewhere else in your home.

If you have to go get more water from somewhere like a lake or a water truck, containers that are 5 gallons or less will come in handy. Since you may have to carry these, consider full weight when buying. Water weighs about 8 lbs per gallon. If you have a wagon or a wheelbarrow this will help in the transporting of your water to and from your home.

Water Purification

Powdered Chlorine for Water Purification

(We suggest storing a 1/4 teaspoon plastic measuring spoon with the powdered chlorine—a metal measuring spoon will rust.)

Spa Essentials Sanitizer Chlorinating Concentrate: Active Ingredient: Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate 99%, Inert Ingredients 1%

NOTE: Do not open seal on container of powdered chlorine until you are ready to use it. When this chlorine is sealed, it should last indefinitely. Once the container is open, it will last approximately one year.

• Caution: Do not allow water to come in contact with container of chlorine. It will form a poisonous gas.
• Keep out of reach of children
• Read all the cautions on the label before using.

Follow the following steps to treat “dirty” water. (Water collected off roofs, from streams, etc.)

1. Use an empty 5-gallon bucket or other container to hold filtered water.
2. Hold up “water sock” over 5-gallon bucket.
3. Use a pitcher or bucket and pour “dirty” water through the “water sock and collect filtered water in 5-gallon bucket.
4. After the water has gone through the water sock, dump it into your 55-gallon water drum. (A funnel might be helpful to avoid spilling water.)
5. Put 1/4 teaspoon of Spa Essentials Chlorinating Concentrate in your 55-gallon drum of water.
6. Cap water barrel.
7. Let the water sit for 24 hours.
8. Use chlorine test strips to see if there is any free-floating chlorine.
9. If there is free-floating chlorine, water is available to use. You can leave the lid off your water container for 24 hours and let the chlorine evaporate.
10. If there is NOT free-floating chlorine, re-treat the 55-gallon drum of water with 1/4 teaspoon of chlorine powder.
11. Let sit for 24 hours.
12. Use chlorine test strips to see if there is any free-floating chlorine. If there is, use the water.

It has been suggested that we store powdered chlorine in triple ziplock bags to help retain potency.


Water Sock
• Water sock lasts indefinitely.
• If water sock becomes clogged, turn it inside out and let it dry in the sun.
• Then knock off any dirt or mud.
• Turn right-side out and reuse.
• After filtering water, treat with powdered chlorine.