Now I prefer “crisis” to disaster or emergency, however if you are a novice Prepper Ready.GOV is a good place to start and this is the month to do it! Check your local news media and internet for events in your area and get started now.
Taking Action to Be Ready
By Darryl J. Madden, Director, Ready Campaign
Do you have emergency supplies set aside in case there’s a disaster? Does your family have an emergency plan? For many people, planning for an emergency or disaster isn’t a priority.
According to the 2009 Citizen Corps National Survey, only 36 percent of individuals believed there was a high likelihood of a natural disaster to EVER happen in their community. Many people think they have everything they need in the event of an emergency at hand, and can simply “grab and go.”
You are your family’s first responder, and in many ways you are your neighbor’s first responder. All of us as participants in our communities and members of our families need to take concrete steps to proactively prepare for emergencies and disasters. Local, state, and national authorities are going to help, but they may not be able to get to you right away. We all need to be prepared for those first 72 hours before help can reach us.
September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)—the perfect time to take action and get your family Ready. Readiness comes in many forms and preparedness is everyone’s responsibility. We have to work together, as a team, to ensure that our families, neighborhoods, and communities are Ready. Get an emergency supply kit. Make a family emergency plan. Be informed about the risks in your area. Work with your neighbor and know who might need just a little extra help.
To help get your family started, Ready Kids is a family-friendly, children-oriented tool to help parents and teachers educate children, ages 8-12, about emergencies and how they can help families better prepare. The Ready Kids Web site at Ready.GOV features fun activities such as a Scavenger Hunt, Pack It Up Matching game, crossword puzzles and coloring pages, as well as age-appropriate, step-by-step instructions on what families can do to better prepare for emergencies and the role kids can play in that effort.
It’s important to explain to your children that families can prepare for emergencies before they take place and that they can help, too. By doing so, you can alleviate anxiety if an emergency does occur and help to nurture a more prepared society for generations to come. Visit ready.gov/kids today and get Ready!
From a 50 Something, soon to be rural homesteading, Prepper ;-}
I need a li'l ol' lady-oriented emergency plan. One that does not postulate picking up a 75# bag and hauling it out on my back. Am collecting your weekly plans as fast as possible but move rather slowly these days, sadly.
ReplyDeleteBTW - keeping an overnight bag by my bedside and the practice of living out of a 5-day bag for a few weeks has really paid off during the last two road trips, for what that's worth.
And I've realized that only in a slow-motion disaster will I be able to get the cats into their carriers and out of there - better to make sure they're collared, tagged, and microchipped and assume they'll scatter in case of an immediate emergency like a house fire.
I here ya! I'm a little ol'lady and can only lift about 20 lbs max now a days!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy cat I can catch and crate in apx 10 minutes, but carrying the carrier? No way. I use a folding luggage dolly and store it with the carrier. Beyond that I would have to turn the cat loose and like you pray that her being collared and chipped will do the trick ;-}
For your go-bag - think small, compact, lightweight, multi-functional backpacker items. Try Campmor for these products.
Thanks! Will try Campmor!
ReplyDeleteSpot is good about being put in the carrier. Dufus Claudius is a little more resistant. Shadow, you have to chase into a lockable room and corner, though he's docile enough when cornered - so far. He's getting feistier. (Long story - roughly treated in his young cathood, adopted over a year later).
Buster is downright feral and has the clipped ear to prove it, however often he eats and sleeps at Mom's house.