Credit APHA
# 8360
Each year in the U.S. most of the country switches to Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the Spring, and back to Standard Time in the Fall. Tonight (well, 2am tomorrow morning to be precise), we `spring forward’ into DST, which is used as a handy reminder by FEMA , READY.GOV, the APHA and others for the public to the check batteries in smoke alarms, and to check their emergency supplies.
I also use this twice-a-year time change as a reminder to go through and check my stash of emergency food storage, discarding any foods that are out of date (and either using - or donating to the needy - those that are still good, but will expire in the next 6 months).
For some quick and easy advice on how to stock up and prepare, American Public Health Association has a set of free guides available at:
Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks
- Stockpiling fact sheet (PDF) English or Spanish
- Stockpiling checklist (PDF) English or Spanish
- Water stockpiling fact sheet (PDF) English or Spanish
- Budget stockpiling fact sheet (PDF) English or Spanish
- Pets stockpiling fact sheet (PDF) English or Spanish
- Cold & flu supplies fact sheet (PDF) English or Spanish
- Grocery shopping list (PDF) Grocery list
- Stockpiling recipes (PDF) Stockpile recipes
- Food Drive Toolkit: Help your community be prepared for disasters: Hold a food drive! Download our toolkit (PDF) on how to hold a food drive and read our Q&A on food drives for more advice.
Agencies like FEMA, READY.GOV and the HHS are constantly trying to get the preparedness message out, so that when (not `if') a disaster does occur, human losses can be minimized. At a bare minimum, every household should have a disaster plan, a good first aid kit (and the knowledge to use it), and emergency supplies to last a minimum of 72 hours during a disaster.
For more information on how to prepare for emergencies, up to and including a pandemic, the following sites should be of assistance.
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
APHA Get Ready : http://getreadyforflu.org/newsite.htm
A few of my (many) blogs on this subject include:
In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back? When 72 Hours Isn’t Enough When Evacuation Is The Better Part Of Valor
While it takes more than a few minutes to become prepared, once you’ve laid that foundation, a few minutes twice-a-year may be all it takes to maintain it.
