Being prepared for emergency is no joke because today is the
day before
By Dr. Kate Scannell
Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune contributing
columnistmercurynews.com
Posted 9/29/2012
I have a friend who is always preparing for "the worst."
He owns every imaginable kind of insurance policy for himself and his beloved
cat. I could live several years off the disaster provisions he has stored in
his Chevy's trunk ... or his garden shed ... or his hallway closet ...
September is his favorite month because he gets to celebrate
two favored occasions: "National Preparedness Month" and
"International Talk Like a Pirate Day." He recently asked me (again)
whether I had gotten my act together (finally) and prepared a "landlubber's
survival kit for the next merciless squall." Yarrgh.
I acknowledged that his advice was both rational and
practical. I'd had personal encounters with floods, fires and earthquakes. I
had known patients who suffered through mudslides and pandemics, friends who
lived through Katrina. And still, somehow, I remained unprepared for the next
Big One.
My friend was partly to blame -- or so I told myself. But
his über-preparedness overwhelmed me, and I could not fathom how to duplicate
even a fraction of his complex planning. Despairingly, I resigned myself to
fate and to the sustenance potential of two calcified energy bars in my car's
glove compartment. I also made sure that I possessed all of my friend's contact
numbers.
Today, however, I am newly optimistic about
disaster-readiness after stumbling across a "National Preparedness
Month" community fair on my way to lunch. Display tables neatly contained
manageable information and realistic advice that emboldened me to begin my
personal planning. I collected a few safety checklists and survival tipsheets,
along with an order form for emergency supply kits.
Still, it was a casual conversation about my friend with a
young woman named Angela Nak who stood behind the FEMA tables -- and, well,
turned the tables for me.
"A lot of people get overwhelmed when they think about
disaster preparedness," she knowingly offered. "But I tell them that
it doesn't have to be too complicated, and that it doesn't have to be
accomplished all at once." An "overwhelmed" person like me could
work toward preparedness through gradual but consistent planning over time. And
no matter how far one got by the time a disaster struck, still, they were one
roll of toilet paper or a bar of soap luckier than the day before.
This down-to-earth advice about conceptualizing preparedness
as a stable mind-set throughout the year -- rather than a "things-to-do
list" tackled within a day -- helped to shift me into action mode.
Nak subsequently introduced me to her supervisor, Randy
Brawley, who is a Preparedness Analyst and Planning Officer with FEMA (the
Federal Emergency Management System). He reinforced her message that, "For
folks who feel intimidated by the cost and amount of preparations required for
a major catastrophe: Start small and keep it simple."
From time to time throughout the year, common household
items or "dollar store" purchases -- first aid supplies, a
flashlight, personal hygiene items, canned goods -- could be put aside in
constructing an emergency supply kit.
Still, Brawley emphasized that "being prepared"
entailed more than compiling a "kit." It also meant that people knew
how to access critical information during an emergency, and how to follow an
actionable plan that upheld personal and public safety. He offered these three
additional steps:
1) Be informed -- Stay up to date about emergencies that can
happen in your community and learn how to protect, prepare and respond to those
emergencies. For example, FEMA Region 9 in Oakland maintains an active
discussion board at www.ready.gov/pledge.
Once registered, any Bay Area resident may join the forum and stay current on
the latest from FEMA.
2) Make a plan -- Talk with the members of your household
and establish meeting places, and discuss each member's workplace and school
emergency plans. Even people living alone should identify an out-of-area
contact who will serve as the reporter for those concerned about them.
3) Be involved -- Participate in preparedness organizations
such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT.) or a Citizen Corps
Council. Residents may locate a nearby program by visiting www.citizencorps.gov
Brawley underscored the sizable benefits that could be
generated by taking such simple steps toward preparedness. And, as a practical
matter, he encouraged people to focus on accomplishing one of them just to get
started. An excellent source for further information could be accessed at: www.ready.gov
Fittingly, FEMA's slogan for this year's preparedness
campaign is: "Today is the day before -- Are you ready for tomorrow?"
And today (or, maybe, the day before?) I can legitimately answer: Aye, matey --
I am on me way! I am one tube of toothpaste and two cans of tuna closer to my
goal.
Kate Scannell is a Bay Area physician and syndicated
columnist. She is the author of "Death of the Good Doctor" and
"Flood Stage."
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