I teach in an international school in Tokyo. At 2:45 p.m. on Mar. 10, 2011 we had an earthquake and evacuation drill. At 2:46 p.m. on Mar. 11, we had the 8.9 earthquake. Because we had just "rehearsed" the same thing the day before, all 470 students and all staff knew exactly what to do and there was no panic. Most of the time we feel "ho hum, not another drill interrupting my class," but yesterday proved to us that they are very important.
We evacuated to the playground where we waited for parents to pick up their students. Many students live on train lines which were not running. Cell phones and land lines were not working, but we discovered we could use the Internet and Skype. Make sure your children know how to contact you in an emergency! Think through what you would do if you were at work and they were at school. Designate a neighbor or friend to take care of your child if you are unable to get there, and let the school know who it is.
Those who could not return home because of the trains, stayed in the houses of those of us who live near enough to walk. I was scrambling to find an extra toothbrush, but otherwise we had no trouble housing people. Simple living aside, it might be a good idea to keep a few extra toothbrushes around.
Kindness was seen in all directions, from the moment we evacuated to the playground: Children comforted each other; High school students prayed together in huddles; The librarian sat on the ground and read a book to a group of kindergartners and first graders; Staff members and visiting parents who just happened to be there sat near enough to the building to get Wi-Fi on their computers and helped children contact parents.
I think the clincher for me was when the parents of a first grader, who stayed at our neighbor's, picked him up. The mother said, "I had two strangers in my home last night, because we nearly got stuck on the subway together. We were just going to get on the train when the earthquake happened. I couldn't help but invite them to sleep at our house."
This is not a thrifty tip, but it is on my heart today - practice for disaster, be prepared, and most of all, practice kindness every day and it will stay with you in a disaster.
Source: my experience during and after the earthquake
By Denise from Tokyo, Japan
Editor's Note: This is a stock photo, not from the recent damage in Japan.
I was just wanting to know if any of you have anything prepared just in case of an emergency, if so what? I was thinking of doing this and I wanted some ideas. Thanks for any ideas you may share with me.
By Teresa from VA
I have some aluminum blankets, candles, lighter and matches, flashlight. Put the batteries in this way, one normal position and one backwards, it will preserve the batteries for when they are needed, water, powdered soup mix, cocoa, coffee, milk, small pkgs of fruit such as raisins, military MRE's and heaters, scissors, band aids, kotex or panty liners, individually wrapped. They work as bandages as well as the obvious use! Don't forget pet food if you have a pet.
Coffee can, old fashioned "church key" and charcoal wrapped in a little newspaper. You can make an emergency "stove" with these items; just punch a few holes in the SIDES of the bottom of the can with the church key to let air flow in & keep fire going, use a wire coat hanger across the top to hold a small pot or use foil to cook things on.
Bisquik is also good to have. I could go on forever but it really depends on where you live and what you are "preparing" for. I have lived through some bad earthquakes and I can tell you one of the most important things I learned is to have toilet paper!
We also have a tent, and something to sleep on, whether sleeping bags, or just old bed linens and pillows. And I keep the 'good' old towels in a plastic bag with the tent to use for washing up.
What kind of emergency are you thinking about?
A couple years ago, my husband started getting worried about the economy (back when all the "experts" said everything was GREAT). So we talked about it at length, and started gathering things just in case. We have a pretty good stash of non-perishables split between the garage and a closet in the house. We have a bunch of sealed 3 liter bottles of water. We keep a stash of cash at the house. And I let him get a gun, and we both took a class on how to use it (I *really* didn't want a gun, but finally agreed if we'd take a safety class and get a proper safe for it). We also got a thing from the camping dept. for cooking (two burners, fueled by propane), along with a few tanks. We have extra food for our cats.
We got those things in case we have a collapse of our society. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But if the banking system fails, there will be chaos and looting. We didn't want to have to deal with empty grocery stores, and we wanted to be prepared in case things like water and electricity go out. I don't know how long we'd last on our supplies, but it's better than nothing, and it gives my husband some peace of mind.
When we bought our house, my dad showed my how to turn the water off outside by the street. He showed me in case we ever had to do water repairs. But it could also be useful if your local water supply is compromised. You could cut the supply off before it gets to your house, and you have whatever is left in your water heater.
We had to deal with massive power outages a couple winters ago (huge ice storm). We now have batteries, batteries, and more batteries. Plus we make sure we always have something for the fireplace. We were lucky that our power came on in a couple days, but some places went weeks without power.
And just for general safety, we have a smoke detector in each room (other than bathrooms) and a few fire extinguishers. We put night lights in our bathrooms that convert into flashlights if the power goes out. THOSE are very handy! If you require certain meds, it'd be good to have a little extra in your safe place, but remember to replace it with a fresh supply every now and then.
Hope this gives you some good ideas. Good luck!
I live alone and I want to be prepared. I am in the process of cleaning up my very disorganized condo. I have many friends cheering me on because well this is very hard for me. Anyway I have cleaned out a walk in closet that is in the interior of the building. I am thinking it will be a nice reading nook in the winter as it is right near the dryer so it will be warm in there.
Bottled water, toilet paper, handi wipes (in case they turn the water off), first aid kit, radio and lots of batteries), canned food and long lasting snacks, plenty to read, can opene, plastic eating utensils.
Don't forget that most storms don't last long; and you can always share with neighbors; and hurricanes usually come with adequate warning to move food from you pantry to the closet. You're in a condo in Baltimore, not a soddie on the prairie, or a cottage on a coastal island.
Bottled water is a good idea, as is a first aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries, and a radio. If you have a cell phone, you might want to go in there and see if you still have reception--otherwise you may want to invest in a long cord so you can take a phone in there if you had to. (You could just keep the spare cord in there--again, you would have warning and time enough to get ready.) Land lines may or may not go down in a storm; but usually are restored fairly quickly. Don't forget a list of phone numbers.
Be aware that if tornados are forcasted, you should find out where the safest place in your building is to go. Your fire dept. could tell you this.
I think it is much more valuable that you are cleaning out--one of the hardest things EVER to do; and the idea of a reading nook for yourself is a wonderful idea!
In many parts of the country, people use the mattress from their bed. They crawl UNDER the mattress, and hold on to it, preventing it from blowing away.
A Futon mattress would be really good to hide under. You could lie on part of it, and wrap the other part above/around you.
Some people get in the bathtub, and place the mattress on top sort of like a "lid.", and hold it down. Guess this must work, 'cuz you never see a bathtub flying in the wind.
If you could fix yourself a "duffle-bag" full of things JUST for a storm, leaving it in that walk-in-closet. Put one of those lanterns that uses batteries, with extra batteries. And one of those flashlights that you shake to activate the battery, and a battery powered radio, again with extra batteries.
Some bottled water, a blanket, reading material, some snack items such as peanut butter crackers, canned tuna, canned pastas, or breakfast bars. Be sure to take a can opener if your canned items don't have that handy pull-tab opener. And a spoon or fork.
Baby wipes, Trash bags, small plastic trashcan, (to use as a potty if necessary) kleenex, t.tissue, a handful of bandaids, neosporin (just in case.) If it is cold weather, pack extra socks, mittens, sweater, Flannel shirts, and those pocket hand warmers. They will keep warm for several hours.
Then when the storm warnings DO happen, you can grab a few pillows, drag the house phone close to you, keep the cellphone, and its charger with you, your purse, your medications, eyeglasses, the cat and you are good to go.
Then if they update the storm, then you can drag the mattress to your closet, and crawl underneath.
You could have someone install those wooden Bi-fold doors on your closet. They would look good, and hide the things you are leaving in there for the storms.
In most condos, apartments, and so on there is usually a designated place for people to go in a storm.
In Florida, even the Campgrounds have designated places to go when the weather gets bad. Usually it is in the bath houses, or the Laundry Rooms, or a large enclosed area at the main building. Most places are prepared. So just ask.
You might want to pack some of your food items in a picnic basket so they will all be in one place.
Good for you for being brave enough to get the necessary help and tackling the clutter. I have learned that clutter gets out of control when a major life event happened, not from being slack. Yes, make yourself a lovely storm hideout, and it could be a place to do your nails, eat ice cream, or hug your dog!
I was in a natural disaster once, and I learned quickly that there are some things people just don't think of till it's too late. Keep some cash on hand for buying things, because if the power's out. Chances are you won't be able to use your debit/charge card.
Keep your important papers (birth certificate, etc.) with you! The only thing worse than being in a natural disaster is to be bureaucratically "dead" because your life's documentation is gone!
Finally, you should have a NOAA radio (also called a weather alert radio). You can get these at Wal-Mart or Radio Shack, etc. These have built-in sirens that go off when the Natl. Weather Service issues a storm watch or warning. You can also just turn it on and listen to the Natl. Weather Service's broadcast. Hope this info helps!
Last year, at least 65 people died from generator-related CO poisoning. Many of the deaths occurred after winter storms knocked out power.
This is for all my Caribbean friends or anyone who is everyone living on this earth to at least prepare your home family in case stuff happens or an event of a hurricane or disaster.
The best way is to prepare before winter (or bad weather). Stock up on things that disappear literally in hours from stores: batteries, water, flashlights.
When evacuating because of an impending hurricane or flooding you can protect your important items by stashing them in the dishwasher. This page contains ideas about storing important items inside a dishwasher in an emergency.
Food storage is the key to being prepared for emergencies as well as saving a great deal on groceries. Consult weekly sale fliers and shop for things you normally use in quantity when they are on sale.
