Natural Disaster and Senior Citizens

Senior citizens are at greater risk during disasters.  These tips can help you protect the seniors you care about.

• Encourage older adults to not watch the news constantly during a disaster– it can increase feelings of anxiety and even lead to depression.
• If the call goes out to evacuate, be sure you have a plan: know where you’re going and make sure you let other family members know too.
• Keep medications in grab-and-go containers for quick evacuation. If you are a caregiver for someone who has a medical condition and you fear you may be separated, write on their arm or leg with a marker pen, noting when they need to take their medications, what condition they have, and any other important details.
• Keep a copy of all insurance/medical information — as well as home insurance information — since you may not be able to get back into the house to get policies. If you must evacuate, take it with you.
• Have a backup person (neighbor, close friend who lives nearby) who can check on and evacuate your loved one if you can’t get there.

 

CERT TRAINING

Have you ever considered attending CERT Training?  CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team, and the training prepares you to assist neighbors in your community in the event of a wide-spread disaster.  I completed the course several years ago and have found the education to be of value to me in several different circumstances other than disasters.

CERT Training covers Disaster Preparedness for the home and workplace, Fire Safety and Utility Controls, it gives you some basic first-aid training, and light search and rescue instruction.  It also will help you understand the disaster organizational structure and who is responsible for what.  There is a chapter on Disaster Psychology which I found very interesting, and there is even a chapter on Terrorism that will help you understand likely targets and how to prepare for terrorist activities.

While I found the course fascinating, I was even more delighted to find there are jobs someone my age can do to help in a disaster.  While it would be difficult for me to assist in search and rescue operations, I can certainly act as scribe for those who do.  Documentation is an important part of the work first done following a disaster and it’s a way I can contribute to helping my neighbors in the event of a disaster.

CERT Trainings are offered in Ottawa County at the Sheriff’s Department.  Please consider joining a class.  Your family and your neighbor’s welfare may depend on it.

 

LIGHTS OUT

This past week I visited my sister who lives in St. Paul.  While there, I was searching for something good to read, and I found a book called, “Lights Out,” by David Crawford.  The book is about what happens when a solar pulse takes out all our electrical grids and literally leaves us in the dark without electricity.  It was pretty scary, but also probably a pretty good rendition of what could happen in that scenario.

Have you thought about what it would be like to live without electricity for an extended period of time?  My first thoughts were that mankind has managed just fine for many centuries, but today’s generations are really dependent on electricity.  No television?  No telephones?  No lights, no dishwasher, no cars, the list is endless.  All those things that we take for granted today could easily be gone.  How would you get to the grocery store?  How would the grocery store restock their shelves without trucks to bring the goods in?  How safe would you feel during the night without lights?

The book was very interesting and made me think about what life could be like and what I could do to make it easier on myself if a solar pulse were to occur.  I’m going to pick up a few more batteries for my radio and flashlights.  I’ll also stock up on some extra dog food to keep on hand to ensure the dogs get fed.  Oh, and I’m thinking I may want to spend a little more time getting to know my neighbors – who knows when I may have to rely on them for assistance?

I recommend the book to you if you haven’t already read it.  It certainly gets the brain juices going and makes you think about how dependent we are on electricity.  Happy reading!

THE EFFECT OF DISASTER ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

People with disabilities, particularly those who reside in nursing facilities or receive in-home care services, are at increased risk during a disaster.

We know the types of problems that exist for people with disabilities during disasters, including inadequate evacuation and shelter, disruption of needed services, separation from family members and caregivers, and death as a result of poor planning, inadequate risk communication, and slow response.

It is time to invest in the development of plans that address those specific needs.  People with disabilities should be included in the development of preparedness plans, and, contingency plans should be developed to ensure continued staffing for in-home and personal assistance services.  Health communities need an alternative format to address the informational needs of individuals with limited vision, hearing, and cognition.

Hurricane Katrina left us with many lessons in how disaster has a disproportionate effect on persons with disabilities.  Now is the time to begin developing plans for how we can mitigate those effects.

 

SURVIVING EXTREME HEAT

This time of year, things can really heat up!  While we are often more active outdoors than at any other time of year, it can get pretty hot out there some days and that heat can catch up with you.  It can catch up to people with disabilities too…sometimes even faster than we expect.

In hot weather, do:

• Have a fan and plenty of water on hand if you do not have air conditioning.
• Put wet towels or washcloths on your head and body to keep you cool.
• Limit your outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day.
• Use caution if you use a wheelchair, walker or other metal or dark colored plastic assistive technology items. If it sits in the direct sun, it can become very hot to the touch and can even burn you.
• Go to a building that has air conditioning – a shopping mall, theater, or church – for the hottest part of the day.
• Drink water beyond your level of thirst. Sometimes we don’t feel particularly thirsty, but out body needs the extra water to function correctly.
• And don’t forget about your service animals or pets: don’t leave them in hot cars, make sure they have plenty of cool, fresh water and that shade is available when they are outside playing.

Summer is a wonderful time of year…just so long as we keep things cool.

SHOULD YOU STAY OR SHOULD YOU GO?

In an emergency situation, you may be forced to make the decision of whether to evacuate or to stay put and try to ride things out.  When you’re in the actual situation, authorities may not immediately know which to recommend to you.

It’s a good idea to continually monitor your television or radio so you receive any instructions as they become available.  If it is suggested you evacuate, you should do so immediately.  That suggestion comes from professionals who are evaluating the risk involved in the situation you are faced with, and they will have more information that you are likely to have.

If you are told to shelter-in-place, it means stay where you are!  It is likely the threat is headed your way and your best bet is to seal yourself in the room you’ll be inside.  To seal the room, do the following:

• Bring your family and pets inside.
• Lock your doors, close all windows, air vents and fireplace dampers.
• Turn off fans, air conditioning and forced air heating systems.
• Go into an interior room with few windows, if possible.
• Seal all windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting and duct tape. Consider measuring and cutting the sheeting in advance to save time.
• Be prepared to use what you have on hand to seal gaps so you create a barrier between yourself and any contamination.
• Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening or what you should do, so stay tuned on your television or radio or check the internet frequently for official news and instructions.

If you are told to evacuate, it will save time if you already have a plan for where you’re going and how you’ll get there.  When creating an evacuation plan:

• Call or email the “out-of-state” contact in your family communication plan to let them know where you’re going.
• If there is damage to your home, or if you’re instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
• Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
• Check with neighbors who may need a ride.

JUST THE BASICS

If you’re thinking about doing any advanced emergency planning, you might want to start with the basics.  Keep a few extra days worth of food and water in the house.  Keep some fresh batteries on hand for the flashlight, and don’t let your gas tank get below half empty.  Toss a few extra dollars worth of change in a safe place, and talk to the kids about where to meet if you get separated by a disaster.  Then, at least, you’ve got a few things covered if disaster does strike.

The world isn’t as safe as it used to be, and, while you don’t have to spend each day waiting for the sky to fall, you can still rest assured that at least you’re somewhat prepared if something does happen. I think a lot of the time people don’t make any plans because they think they can’t do it all, so why try at all?

Yet, there are many things you can do to prepare that don’t take a lot of money or require a lifelong commitment.  Think about doing just one of them this month.  Pick up a first aid kit.  Jot down the names and numbers of the friends you could go to if you had to leave your home.  Get an I.D. tag for the dog and make up a small “Go Kit” for the pets in your family.  It won’t take a great deal of effort, and it may bring you a lot of relief if it’s ever needed.

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

Unfortunately, it seems no matter how hard we try, sometimes when disaster strikes, it is going to find us unprepared.  How we respond can make the situation either uncomfortable or much, much worse.

This weekend, my computer was hacked.  Even worse, without realizing it, I also compromised the brand new computer I’d just purchased and allowed it to be hacked too.  The very people I thought were connecting to my computer to fix the problem were hackers saying they were official Microsoft remote support and I was in good hands!

Ok, I’m a fool, but in my own defense, I’m older and I’m not computer savvy.  I let them into my computer thinking they were the designated troubleshooting repair people.  Yes, I’m naive.  I finally recognized something wasn’t right when the “repair” people told me for $3,000 they could make sure this never happened again!

Long story short, I had to take both the new and the old computer in to have them serviced.  I had to close out my credit and debit cards.  It’s a lot of hassle, and at first, I thought this was a really bad way to start out the week!  On second thought though, it’s not so bad.  In fact, it could have been much worse.  The hackers had not gotten into my bank accounts before I got down to the bank and shut them down.  I don’t know what the future holds as far as what they can do with the information they have, but I know it could have been much, much worse.

I think the way we view whatever type of disaster befalls us can have a huge impact on how we view life from that point on.  Yes, terrible things happen.  But there are often silver linings to the dark clouds that befall us, and focusing on that instead of the disaster can help get us cope.  And, it really doesn’t help to focus so narrowly on the bad aspects that you never see the brighter side.  After all, we want to be prepared, not terrorized.

MAKING A “GO KIT”

I have a Go Kit all set up for if I ever have to evacuate quickly from my home.  Mine is a rather unique kit, I believe, since I have to consider the animals I have too.  My kit has all the basics recommended by FEMA for preparing for disaster:

a flashlight, wind-up radio, mess kit, a change of clothes, an air mattress, space blanket, etc., etc., etc.  But in addition, mine has a tie-out cable, dog dishes, toys, chewy sticks, and other things to occupy my dogs if I have to bug out at any time and take them along.

You may think it’s silly to be this prepared.  I’ve been one of those “ounce of prevention” people all my life, so this is nothing new!  But, it’s more than that.  These dogs are my livelihood.  They are also my companions and my pets.  I love them and would never be able to leave them behind if I had to go.  I have a plan of where I can take them and how I’ll be able to care for them causing the least amount of stress to those I’m with.  That’s important to me.

This weekend I took the time to get my Go Kit out and go through it.  I found my emergency food rations were about to expire, so I took them out and will replace them with new ones.  The same was true of the water supply.  I made some adjustments of the items I carry in the pack as my needs have changed some since I first assembled the kit.  But I feel it now has the items I’d need in it to keep me and those I am responsible for as comfortable as possible when and if it’s ever needed.

 

WHO DEPENDS ON YOU?

Weather patterns are changing; I’m not sure if it’s true that we’re seeing more tornados and hurricanes than ever before.  I do know though that many, many people have died or lost everything due to tornados, high winds, hurricanes and other natural disasters.  Add in earthquakes, winter storms, flooding, etc. and you can see that it is not so unlikely that you’ll eventually experience a disaster, at least on some scale.

Knowing that, have you thought about those you are responsible for caring for and what will happen to them if a disaster should strike?  Do your children know how to reach you following a disaster?  Do they know where to meet if there is a fire at your home?  Who will care for your elderly parents if a disaster strikes and you aren’t home?  If your mother is in a nursing home, where will they take her if they have to evacuate?  If you are at work and can’t get home when the order to evacuate comes through, what will happen to your pets?    If you are a farmer, how will your livestock survive?  How will you survive if they are destroyed?

Yes, there are a lot of “what ifs” in the world and, hopefully, most of them will never happen to you or those you love…but why not be prepared in case one should?  Have you made a plan?  It’s not just you that could be affected.  Those who depend on you are relying on you to do your best for them too.  If you haven’t already, make your plan today.  You will find material to help you think through the process at BeReady.com.  Do it for the ones you love.