# 2650
While this blog is, ostensibly, about pandemic influenza and other emerging infectious diseases, in reality it is about the need to develop individual, family, and community preparedness.
We live in a world filled with threats, large and small. Yet, I don't lie awake nights, worrying about them.
Why?
Because I'm prepared. Or at least reasonably so.
I have, not one, but two first aid kits. One in the house, one in the car. And these aren't cheap over-the-counter kits, these are custom made and very well stocked.
Overkill? I don't think so.
I keep roughly 3 months worth of food and other supplies in my home. Granted, I'll be pretty tired of Ramen noodles after 90 days, but I won't starve.
No, I don't have 3 months worth of water. There simply isn't enough room. I keep about a week's worth on hand, but I do have two water filters, and there's a lake within walking distance of where I live.
I have a couple of small solar panels, batteries, and an inverter setup. So if the power goes out, I can at least keep lights and a radio running, and my cell phone charged. I have a propane camp stove, and enough propane to cook on for a couple of months, as well.
I come by all of this honestly.
First, I was a Boy Scout. And later, an Explorer Scout. So I learned a bit of woodcraft as a teenager, and if pressed, could recall some of those skills even today.
When I was 18, I took a 4-night American Red Cross first aid course, and one of the things we had to do was make our own first aid kit. We even made our own cravat (triangle) bandages out of old sheets.
Everything fit into a cigar box, and I carried it in my car. I don't think I've been without a first aid kit since then.
A few months later, I took an EMT course, and became an ambulance tech. Two years later, I was a full fledged paramedic, and an American Heart Association and American Red Cross CPR instructor.
My first aid kit today is considerably more sophisticated than the `cigar box' one I created nearly 40 years ago.
Roughly 25 years ago, I had the great experience of buying a small sailboat, and my wife and I spent a year fixing it up, preparing for a year-long cruise.
When you know that you are going to be out of sight of land, and sometimes even out of radio contact, for days at a time you tend to take a genuine interest in being prepared . . . for just about anything.
This was our first boat, Halcyon. And in light of her diminutive size, we put a lot of miles under her keel.
She was a wreck when we bought her, and we had to gut the interior and rebuild her from the inside out. That's how I learned about electrical systems, solar setups, and plumbing.
Our second boat (below), Island Time, was quite a step up. She became our home for another 9 years.
So along the way, I not only had to learn how to sail (which I'd only done a couple of times on a lake before), I had to learn how to repair outboard motors, how to mend sails, how to rig solar panels, and even how to fix a recalcitrant marine head.
Cruising is aptly defined as `short periods of sailing in-between putting into port for repairs'.
Living aboard a boat taught me to ask the simple question, "What do we do if . . . ."
The assumption is, you are on your own, and you can't call for help. Aboard a boat, we would ask:
What do we do if the outboard breaks?
What do we do if we are dismasted?
What do we do if one of us falls overboard?
What do we do if one of is injured?
Of course, the actual number of questions was in the dozens. And before we sailed out of our home port, headed to the Florida Keys, we'd answered as many as possible.
Along the way I also learned about the importance of community from the boaters I met as we cruised. There's an old saying, If one boat in a harbor drags anchor, all boats are in danger.
And its true.
When storms came up, we looked after each other's boats, and helped anyone in distress. If someone needed a hand fixing their engine, or repairing their hull, or kedging off a sandbar . . . you could pretty much depend on getting plenty of volunteers from the anchorage to help.
For more on this, check out my blog Resilient Communities.
Whether we see a pandemic in the near future or not, just about everyone lives in an area where there could be a disaster, and no one is immune from having an accident.
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, floods, wildfires, ice storms, blizzards . . . even earthquakes can happen with little or no notice.
Being prepared, and knowing what to do in an emergency, can mean the difference between life and death for you and your family. Far too many people rely on someone else to come and rescue them.
In a major disaster, they may have a long wait.
Everyone's home (and every car) should have a good first aid kit. And everyone should know at least the basics of first aid. If you don't, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross, and take a course.
While you're at it, sign up for a CPR course as well.
Every household should have a bare minimum of 2 weeks worth of food and emergency supplies, including prescription meds. More is better, and I recommend 3 months if you can swing it.
Consider it a goal to work toward.
You should have emergency lighting, cooking, communications, and if you live in northern climes, some way to stay warm if the power goes out. The CDC recommends that you have some N95 and surgical facemasks on hand, as well.
Perhaps the most important prep of all is forging alliances with your friends and neighbors, and with the greater community. In a disaster, you will need to be able to depend on them, and they will need to depend on you.
Today, start asking yourself, `What will we do if . . . ."
- A hurricane/Tornado/Ice storm disrupts power for a week or longer?
- A pandemic erupts and we can't buy groceries for a month?
- A family member gets sick from pandemic flu and must be treated at home?
- Schools are closed for 3 months because of a pandemic?
- We aren't able to work for 3 months due to illness or accident?
- We are forced to evacuate our home with little or no notice?
- Our family members get separated during a crisis?
When you get a couple of dozen questions down on paper, some good places to find the answers include:
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
For Pandemic Preparedness Information:
For more in-depth emergency preparedness information I can think of no better resource than GetPandemicReady.Org. Admittedly, as a minor contributor to that site, I'm a little biased.
Being prepared takes some effort, but once you make it part of your lifestyle, you'll find that it becomes very easy to maintain.
And the peace of mind it brings is priceless.
