Disaster Preparedness Part 1

Disaster Preparedness Part 1

Southeast Missouri is a great place to live and raise a family. It is, however, a potentially dangerous place, and we need to be prepared for that danger. Of course there are power outages when storms come through. Usually the power is restored soon and life goes on. You may only need a few flashlights to get through this.

Many of you remember the ice storms that hit Southeast Missouri just a few years ago, with power lines down, debris over the roads, and thick ice everywhere. The power was off for over a week in some areas. Generators were flying off the shelves, and were gone if you didn't get there early. If you were stuck at home, in the cold and dark, what you had in your house is all you had to help you survive.

A natural disaster that is always looming over our heads is an earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. If there were a major earthquake, magnitude 7.0 or greater, destruction to the area could be so extensive that a lot of damage would be done to the infrastructure. Bridges could collapse, roads may buckle, and faults could appear. The area could become difficult to get into or out of. Also, those in low areas along the Mississippi River may see flooding or a course change. If so, a run on the few grocery stores we have would occur the first day, the food and emergency supplies would be emptied out, and the store shelves would not be restocked for some time. Also, power will probably be down, natural gas lines disrupted, and gas stations will be unable to pump gas or diesel. If the area affected is large, Federal agencies might be overwhelmed by the size and scope of the disaster. Remember Hurricane Katrina and the FEMA fiasco in New Orleans, LA. For a while, YOU WILL BE ON YOUR OWN. This is our worst nightmare being this close to the New Madrid Fault line.

What can you do to make sure you survive a disaster, and can get by until help arrives, roads are made passable, and food is again on the shelves?

The most important item you can have is stored water. You need to store, at a minimum, one gallon for each family member per day, just for drinking and cooking. Let's say you have a family of four, and want to be prepared to survive for a week. You will need 4 x 7, or 28 gallons of water. Everyone will want to clean up, and the water for this needs to be clean, but not necessarily drinkable water. Look for "hidden" water in your house like the hot water heater, pipes, tanks and waterbeds. You probably will want to add another gallon per person per day for hygiene, which is about the amount a water heater holds. Lastly, you will need water to flush the toilets. You can use the "grey water" left over from bathing, or creek or rain water will work well. Take the lid off the tank and pour water in up to the fill tube, and it will flush as always. To make your water go farther, don't flush after only urinating. During a disaster, disease may become rampant, hospitals closed or overwhelmed, and you may become vulnerable to disease yourself. Personal hygiene becomes even more important during times like these. Also, don't forget to stock a little extra toilet paper, soap and toothpaste.

The second most important item is food and a way to prepare it. There are many ways to store emergency food. My advice, especially for short periods is to keep your pantry well stocked. Preferred foods are ones that don't need refrigeration, don't have to be cooked, and have adequate nutritional value. They should be foods that you like and eat anyway. Examples include canned goods such as pork 'n beans, canned corn, canned peas, canned pinto or kidney beans, and canned meats like tuna, salmon, beef or chicken. Avoid low calorie foods like green beans - you are going to need calories, and green beans don't have them. Don't forget a manual can opener.

Crackers have a long shelf life, but bread does not. Granola bars also have a long shelf life, and will give you something sweet and nutritious. Peanut butter (if you're not allergic to it) is high in calories and tastes great on crackers and granola bars. Cereal with canned milk or powdered milk makes a good breakfast that doesn't need refrigeration.

If you want to add a Coleman stove and fuel, you can expand the food you can eat during the crisis. Also you can boil water to kill bacteria and viruses before drinking it. If water is flowing, it still could be in need of boiling. Be sure to follow all safety rules, store the fuel safely, and never cook indoors. Set up an outdoor kitchen for cooking. You don't want to add another disaster, fire or carbon monoxide poisoning, to the current disaster. With a stove you can make macaroni and cheese, soups, heat canned chili, make hot tea or coffee, instant oatmeal - you get the idea. If you want you can purchase freeze dried meals such as Mountain House, and you simply add the pouch contents to boiling water to rehydrate, and it's ready to eat. Rice is another item that packs a lot of calories in a small package. Each pound has 10 servings, and it has a long shelf life. You can also cook the food that's in your refrigerator/freezer before it spoils. Bacon and eggs anyone? I prefer a propane stove and the small propane bottles. You can buy a hose to hook up to a larger tank that will last a very long time. Don't forget your charcoal grill to cook those burgers and hot dogs in the freezer. Keep an extra bag of charcoal and lighter fluid as part of your plan. Also have a lighter and strike anywhere matches stored in a waterproof container to light your stove and charcoal.

If you just take care of water and food, you should have no problem surviving a week or longer. The beauty of it is it really doesn't cost much at all. Water can be stored in clean bottles or jugs, or purchased for less than a dollar a gallon at the store. It can be sterilized with unscented Clorox, 8 drops per gallon, or boiled before use. Store it in a place where it won't freeze. The food is mostly food you eat now, you just keep extra. The Coleman stove costs about $50 - $60, and fuel will cost $2.50 a canister at Wal-Mart. As you see, for $100 or less, your food and water are taken care of.

In part two I will cover other areas of preparedness. There is more to do. The time to prepare is now.

Caption for picture: (L to R) Freeze dried, dehydrated, bulk and canned foods; Berkey water filter, bottled water.