IF THE “BIG” ONE HITS

I’ve heard it referred to in many different ways: “the big one,” or, “when the bat meets the ball,” etc. What it is referring to is when disaster strikes, what will happen then? I’ve thought about that a lot. I’ve researched it a lot, not because I’m a prepper, but because I’m one of those people who likes to do their best to keep things on an even keel whenever possible. I’m an “ounce of prevention” type of person!

So, what do I worry about? Not a great deal, as I have made advanced preparation for what I would need in the event of a disaster. I’ve learned more and more about it as I have experienced emergency events in my life, and I’ve learned from those events that never happened, but that I feared were inevitable, such as being stranded on a dark road in the middle of a winter night. I’ve taken the time to think through what I would need to get by and how I’d survive.

The one I’m finding most interesting now is called an EMP: an electro-magnetic pulse. This is the disaster the government predicts is the most like scenario to happen if we are attacked on a country-wide basis. An EMP happens when a nuclear bomb is detonated in the stratosphere and it sends out an electro-magnetic pulse that will take out all our electric and battery operated devices.

Think about that…all of the things we depend on daily that use electricity would no longer work. That would include the garage door opener, your car, (I guess the garage door opener won’t make a difference!), the source of heat in your home if you don’t heat with a fireplace. Your ability to cook food, get water, run medical equipment, etc.

I’ve thought a lot about that. What if I were at work when it happened? How would I get home if my car wouldn’t run? How would I get water without a pump to pull it out of the ground? I’ve tried to think through all the scenarios and come up with ways to get around each of them. That’s my emergency preparedness plan.

I don’t live in fear of disaster dropping on my head every minute of every day. I do try to be reasonable in examining the possible things that could go wrong, and designing a plan to give me the best possible chance of survival should something happen.

PREPARING FOR WINTER STORMS

Yes, it’s that time again. Freezing cold weather, snowy roads, and icy sidewalks…all the things I don’t look forward to about winter! Here are some tips to surviving winter’s storms and extreme cold. Before winter arrives, add the following items to your Go Kit:

• Rock salt to melt ice on walkways
• Sand to improve traction
• Snow shovels and snow removal equipment
• Sufficient heating fuel
• Adequate clothing and blankets to keep warm

Check over your communications plan. It’s important that it addresses how you will contact other family members, how you’ll get together if you are separated, and what you’ll each need in the event of a disaster. Having a weather radio on hand that is powered by a hand crank is also helpful. Check NOAA Weather Service or other local channels for information from the National Weather Service. Be alert to changing weather conditions.

Check what the forecast is before you travel, and keep a disaster kit in your car. Be sure to bring your pets indoors during bad weather, or move them into sheltered areas with non-frozen drinking water.

 

ALTERNATE ROUTES

With all the road construction going on around here, it’s been a challenge getting to meetings and trainings on time this summer. I have to leave early for anything that’s going on in case I get stopped on the road and have to wait to get through a construction zone. When you add in flooded roads, utility crew work zones, and the like, you start to see why it’s recommended you have more than one route to your emergency shelter.

I have a map that I keep in my car with several different routes marked off on it for how I’ll get to my best friend’s home in the event of an emergency. I found out the hard way how difficult that could be when I headed out to visit her recently and found the main road to her home was closed. Fortunately, I had my phone with me and could call up my GPS to get me there. In the event of an emergency though, I might not have access to GPS, so knowing ahead of time how I’ll get there can make all the difference between a necessary drive through the countryside or a harrowing trip where I don’t know where I’m going and I’m praying I find the right roads to get there.

Have a place you can go if you are asked to evacuate. If you don’t have to rely on an emergency shelter, all the better. I have pets, and taking them to the local emergency shelter site isn’t an option. Because they mean so much to me, I have a plan for putting them up at my friend’s home. She lives out of town, over 35 miles from where I live. It’s a perfect set up for me, and she uses me as her emergency shelter site. If the roads we ordinarily take are blocked, we’ll still make it. Now there is some peace of mind!

Hurricane Weather

While we don’t have full blown hurricanes in Michigan, we do get the after-effects of the rain and windy weather. Sometimes we even get tornados thrown in, so it doesn’t hurt to be aware that we can be affected by storms that aren’t even in our state!

Hurricane Dorian struck the coastal region of the southeastern U.S. this week. High winds and rain hit Michigan on Tuesday. You never know when you may be traveling in an area when disaster strikes. Know what to do if you are caught in a hurricane and storm surges are predicted. Storm surge is the abnormal rising of water generated after a storm. When storms cause storm surge, over twenty feet of water can be produced and pushed towards the shore and inland.

Please consider making an evacuation plan now! If you are told to evacuate, do so. Have supplies on hand for up to seven days, including prescription medications, water and non-perishable food, and any supplies you will need for caring for children and pets.

Keep extra cash on hand and collect important papers to take with you. Keep your car’s gas tank full so if you need to leave, you won’t have to sit in a long line waiting to get gas. If you are planning a trip to the southeastern United States, take a copy of your plan with you, and make sure everyone in your family has a copy.

ELECTRICITY

Have you ever thought about how dependent you are on electricity? I’m reading a book at the moment that is based on a Power Company learning that they are no longer going to be able to meet the publics’ demand for electricity. It certainly has given me food for thought over the past few days.

Electricity makes our lives easier. I would hate to go back to washing clothes by hand, hanging them outside to dry and then ironing them with a fire-heated iron! I wouldn’t enjoy having no television or radio, or computer and all the other technology I take for granted on a daily basis.

I’ve been thinking about how I would survive without power if forced to do so. How would I heat my home during the winter? How would I cook food? With no electricity I could still drive my car, but there would be no stoplights…and don’t gas stations rely on electricity for their pumps to work?

There are so many implications for how things would change if we lost power for any great length of time. It’s worth thinking about what we would need to survive, and how we would manage without power if necessary. No wonder it should be part of our emergency preparedness plan!

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

If you make the decision that it’s time to evacuate during or following a disaster, there are some points you might want to consider:

• If you are heading out to your evacuation site, try to carpool. It is likely many, many others will also be heading out on the road, and you don’t want to leave just to get caught up in a traffic jam. Have alternate routes planned for each of your sites.
• Dress appropriately. Be sure you are wearing sturdy shoes if there is a chance there will be debris you have to walk through. Also, keep in mind the weather may change at any time. You’ll want to be warm or cool enough, so bring a change of clothes that is appropriate to the weather.
• Bring your Go Kit.
• Lock the door to your home as you leave.
• Stick to the travel routes specified by officials. Don’t take back road short cuts; they may not be safe.

If it is necessary to leave, having done some advanced planning may make things a lot easier. No one wants to think about being involved in a disaster, but planning ahead may make it a better experience…it may even save your life.

Planning for Evacuation

You never know when an emergency will come up or disaster will strike. Having a plan for how you will respond may save your life. If you think about designing an evacuation plan, first consider what types of disasters you are most likely to encounter, then think about how each one could affect you. For instance, if you live in a cold climate during winter, you may want to consider that high winds may cause a power outage, or even blow a tree down on your house. Where would you go? How would you get there? If it were a wide-spread disaster, such as a tornado during the summer and many homes and roads in your area were destroyed, what route would you take to get to your evacuation site? Plan on having more than one way to get to your destination.

Be sure you follow instructions given by local officials. They will be the first informed of what is going on and may be able to save you a lot of headaches. Keep in mind that you may even be making the trip on foot, depending on the type of disaster. That’s why a good plan will have a destination somewhat close by and another out of town.

Keep a “Go Kit” with things in it that are going to make your life easier. Flashlights, extra batteries, a radio, extra food and water, a first aid kit, etc. will go a long way if you traveling light. Keep an extra set of clothing on hand too. And, be sure everyone in your family knows what the plan is and how to reconnect with you.

“Not happening to me” is not a plan! Taking the time to think through where you would go and how you would get there is a good idea. Make a plan today…it’s the only thing standing between you and disaster!

Say What?

One of the problems of helping older people during an emergency is that they may not understand instructions or directions due to difficulty hearing, processing, or reading information. As I am now in the age group that has the most difficulty with these issues, it’s a little scary for me to think about how I’d manage during and after a disaster.

In the event there was an emergency and I had to evacuate, I might be directed to do so by radio, television or even a police car driving down the street announcing that a mandatory evacuation was being enforced. I know without even thinking about it that the likelihood of my hearing all of an announcement like that is pretty unlikely. I have trouble now hearing on the phone, or the television, yet alone someone driving by and making an announcement. I am not sure if it’s that my brain isn’t processing information that fast any more, or if my hearing is bad, or if it is something else entirely, but I fear I’d miss at least part of the message.

That’s why it is so important to make sure your message reaches your audience. When planning for emergency response, you need to think about each group within your audience. Are you reaching older adults, those with disabilities, and those who speak foreign languages? We want to be sure the messages we send are reaching the people who need to hear them!

How Would an Emergency Affect You?

Have you thought about the impact a disaster could have on your life and how it might affect you specifically? There are many types of emergency situations that can affect us: tornados, flooding, fire, exposure to radiation or hazardous materials, etc. Think of how a disaster might have an impact on your life. Do you require transportation in a car with a wheelchair lift? Do you have a hearing or visual impairment that might make it difficult for you to hear or read directions? Do you depend on electrical equipment for survival (such as dialysis)? Do you use a service animal, wheelchair or other mobility aid? Are you recovering from surgery or an accident? There are so many factors that we need to consider when planning for our comfort and survival.

Thinking about how a disaster might have an impact on us with our specific needs helps us prepare ahead. Consider that first responders may not be able to get to you for several days. Being prepared may save your life. The better prepared you are, the better your chances are for survival.

Communicating With Non-Verbal Individuals in an Emergency

If you are prepared to help your neighbors during and following a disaster, then it might help to think about how you would communicate with someone who is non-verbal or has a limited ability to talk. MDHHS offers some suggestions. Alice Frame, Program Coordinator from the Disability Health Unit, reminds us that verbal abilities are not all the same. While some people may be unable to talk, they may be able to make their wishes known in other ways. It is important not to assume that just because a person cannot speak means they have limited cognitive abilities.

Some of the reasons a person may be non-verbal include:

• Developmental and/or intellectual disabilities that affect the larynx, vocal cords, or other parts of the body that are involved in speaking.
• Autism may sometimes result in verbal limitations.
• Certain brain injuries can affect the physical process of making and projecting sound.
• Psychiatric disorders can also be a consideration. Anxiety disorders may leave the individual unable to speak in certain social settings or contexts.
• Deafness may affect an individual’s ability to speak clearly, as the person may not be able to judge the volume of speech or if words are coming out correctly.

If you believe someone is having a difficult time speaking, try to limit your questions to those that can be answered by a yes or no, or a nod or shake of the head. Try using a pencil and paper if you have it, and don’t forget the use of pictures and gestures. There are also a variety of forms of assistive technology that may prove helpful. You may find the individual already has a picture board or a phone apps they know how to use.

Since you can’t know ahead of time if you’re going to run into someone who had difficulty making themselves understood verbally, carry a pencil and paper with you in your Go Kit.