The wind is blowing, it is raining horizontally, and at 3 o'clock in the morning it freezes. The tree just fell on the dining side of the house, rain pours into it. Three trees fell along the only road to our side of the island, the neighbors cut there. My wife and I grabbed our emergency kits and went to the dam, standing in the rain, waiting for that word to enter the house if someone told us that we could not. All the neighbors went to the dam, the transformer on the power pole was stuck in the lighting and woke everyone. Nothing flooded or caught fire, all the houses are still standing, this is good, because the first respondents cannot reach any of the houses on the island, the bridge is gone. There was nothing to do, everyone returned to their homes to spend the night, we can look at the morning without coffee.
We were struck by a double blow, a major earthquake during a rainstorm in January, the entire San Francisco Bay area is crippled due to a serious power failure. We all most likely experienced a blackout, but everyone knows what to do in a power outage? I think, probably not. Few people left the city, traffic was stuck on the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, the only way out for them was Highway 101 South, this is a parking lot. We have a family across the country, we found that the entire state suffered from northern Fresno, the epicenter was mistakenly declared “inactive”, this is a long mistake from Concord to the mountain. Now you need to make some decisions.
It never happened, maybe, yes, yes, it can happen, we continue to hear that this is a question, when not, so what are some of the actions? The first is communication, as soon as possible, to notify your relatives and loved ones. Take an emergency preparedness plan from the emergency kit that was assembled in anticipation of this event. This plan includes the phone number of a relative living in the affected area. Choose a person from the area as a contact, local telephone lines will be jammed, the most common are 911 calls. When we call, if we get a “busy” signal, we usually hang up and then dial the same number, exacerbating the problem. “Memories” add to the volume of calls that overwhelm all calls from the queue. Call the contact number every 4-5 hours, if possible, however, after one call is made that you are in order, it will be transferred to other persons calling the line.
Determine whether you can stay in your home or if you must go out, gather as much information as possible. If the house sounds structurally, it will be safe to stay. Then fix the electric, natural gas and water, the water will also turn off due to lack of electrical maintenance. We will smell gas if the gas line is damaged, but we will not be able to detect water leakage or if the electrical system has been compromised, it may start a fire. It is safest to eliminate the anxiety, it will be a hassle after returning utilities, because your supplier will have to check the systems, but this is the safest action. Stagnant water and an electrical short circuit to the ground so as not to complement each other.
Water, check your supply, we need at least 1/2 gallon per person per day, if this water is not at hand, it will immediately be stored. Check the power in the freezer, part of the emergency plan should include freezing water in the freezer. In many ways, this event can be defined as a power outage from the freezer. Using containers containing milk or juices, fill them with tap water, put them in the freezer and leave there. They will help keep frozen foods cold for a longer period of time, when the ice melts, the water is drinking. Containers made for this purpose are readily available, my 1 gallon each, approximately 1-foot square and 2 inches thick, packed under all the food they work well. Do not open the freezer door until you feel a positive reaction, if the temperature drops below 40 degrees and the food starts to thaw, the shelf life of the food decreases. If the food itself falls below 40 degrees, it is time to throw it in the trash, do not get into the gastrointestinal tract, we all know what unhappiness is. Stop using the toilet, if there is no way to flush it, if it is still in use, we are heading for a huge problem. If there is water, in a stream, on a lake or in a pond, the toilet can be flushed by dropping a bucket of water (2 gallons) directly into the bowl. I suggest making a rule if you used water that you refilled. A temporary toilet can be made using a 5 gallon bucket, using a floating floating "floating" as a seat, black garbage bags work well as liners. Commercial "porta potty" can be bought at most catering sites for camping. As the water in the freezer and your supply is exhausted, start making water, boil and clean, fill your containers.
Save food in your recovery kit for use after the food you have in your pantry has been extinguished, first use as much food from your freezer as possible. The spirit should be that this event can last two weeks or longer, I am not only in favor of having a 72-hour emergency kit, but also a supply for one week, which means adding more food to a commercially prepared kit. If we have not received a long word that can last, call the contact number, although it is not able to, most likely, does not lag behind the current event. Get ready for 3 days, but expect 6, it won't hurt anything. Hold boiling water, charge cell phones with a dynamic charger (or your car) and watch the radio.
1/3 of people older are prepared, 1/3 are prepared, and 1/3 are not fully prepared. It is reasonable to expect that neighbors need water, prepare for their supply. None of us will be 100% prepared, there are too many unknowns, and not everyone agrees with an “independent” lifestyle, I think it is best to accept reality. Remember that after the disaster, they will still be your neighbors, I can not refuse anyone in the water if I have some amount. Make no mistake, water will be number one after the product, especially if there is a flood. Most of my mission statement must be overly prepared, and the goal of my family and myself to be ready and able to help other people, is the only way I could look at myself as a mirror. In difficult times, people get together and come to each other, I often heard that. Most people want to be an active positive factor in times of crisis, people need each other to survive. The person promoting the coffee pot, which in the first morning will receive the status of the mythical "god."
After the first 3 days have begun, and it seems that this may be an extended event, we should be in good shape. We were just starting to notice the defrost of the freezer, the ice in it was still solid, we kept our food in the emergency kit using the freezer and the storage room. After a few days, decisions will be made about where the products of the freezer compartment would be thrown away, the production of water continues, and respondents begin to evacuate people at increased risk. It seems that an event can last a month or more, we are now in the long term, however, due to preliminary planning and foresight, we will survive it.
These are the first 3 days, it can be better, and it can be much worse, we had water on hand, and many people will not be able to do more. We will not be out of disorder yet, but we survive on our own, self-confidence and confidence have paved the way. If you need to upgrade your disaster preparedness planning, set up a commercially prepared or self-made home emergency kit. I would suggest a survival kit for 4 people for two people, which will receive them for 6 days, and a time that I consider the most logical. Most power failures are short-lived, but from time to time (more often than we think) they last for a week or longer, sometimes longer than a month. What causes a power outage? many things, they are unpredictable, leaving everything we can do, prepare for them in advance.
