Comments on: Send Me A Preparedness Tip, Win A Disaster Kit — Call For Contest Entries

By: Preparedness Tips From Winners Of ‘In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog - CaliforniaVolunteers Disaster Kit Contest’

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:22:03 +0000

[...] are the winners of the ‘Send Me A Preparedness Tip, Win A Disaster Kit’ Contest. Readers were asked to send one of the following: an emergency preparedness tip, something you have [...]

By: David P. Chesler

David P. Chesler — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:47:57 +0000

I work for the Loudoun County Chapter of the American Red Cross. As part of our Community Disaster Education (CDE) program I provide to any group or organization a free one-hour Disaster & Emergency Preparedness presentation. I promote Be Red Cross Ready… Build a Kit, Make a Plan and Get Informed. I start out with a ‘Shelter in Place’ scenario to get the group thinking. I enjoy this part of my job. I let them know when it comes to Disaster & Emergency Preparedness… I talk the talk, but more importantly I walk the walk.

By: Jonathan D. Abolins

Jonathan D. Abolins — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:20:26 +0000

Minor tip the came out of ponderings while on a train this weekend and reinforced by the DC train accident….

Mentally prepare for resilience in daily activities. One way is to develop the habil of “having an exit plan” mapped out as you go along.

In the train carriage, note where the exits — including the pop-out window emergency exits — are. Count how many seats you are from the nearest exist. Similar practice applies to plane travel.

When going into an office, school, etc. pay attention to the emergency exits, fire alarms, extinguishers, and such.

By: Bruce Curley

Bruce Curley — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:46:59 +0000

Besides entering an ICE (in case of emergency) number in your cell phone, for important contacts, identify a role along with your contact numbers.
For example, you could enter “Robinwife” and not just Robin, or “Dr Finzi” rather than just “Eric.”
That way, in an emergency, when first responders or others are quickly trying to identify who to contact from your cell phone contact list, they know who to call because you have identified them in advance.

By: John Armstrong

John Armstrong — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:49:23 +0000

This emergency light can be used hands-free (it has magnets and a hook for hanging) produces enough light to light a large room and runs for 5 hours.

By: Antone P. Braga

Antone P. Braga — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:40:17 +0000

Some thoughts on disaster preparedness/recovery and big insurance:

Are You Disaster Ready?

What do you expect in case of loss? Who cares? Who has disaster preparedness/recovery money for that?
I don’t have all the answers, but I do have this one:
A letter pertaining to disaster (hurricane, earthquake, tornado, flood, fire, etc.) has been sent to President Obama on behalf of all insurance policyholders. As a matter of transparency on the record of insurance consumer protection, any response by President Obama will be posted on the following Website for review: http://www.disasterprepared.net/president.html

Qui potest et debet vetare, jubet: (Law Maxim)
HE WHO CAN AND OUGHT TO FORBID A THING [IF HE DO NOT FORBID IT] DIRECTS IT

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:35:40 +0000

I have been through three hurricanes. It is certain that I will lose electrical power. I have started a spreadsheet listing the battery powered items that I have and the number and type of batteries it requires. I also have added an inventory of the batteries I have. This way I know how many to buy when a hurricane is noted in the Gulf. I have a 12 volt marine battery for my television and a solar charger to keep it charged. My current problem is my digital to analog converter. It is 9 volts. I will have to get a 12 to 9 volt adapter or a inverter to get 110 volts for the converter.

By: j.k.

j.k. — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:02:48 +0000

Here’s what I’ve done:

*I’ve gathered important documents i.e. birth certificates, medical cards, insurance papers, will, placed them in a ziplock bag, and put them in my emergency kit. I’ve also scanned digital copies of each of them and uploaded them to a jump drive and emailed them to myself.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:09:05 +0000

Here are a couple I’ve gleaned from various sources:

1) Get several hundred dollars out of the bank, in small bills (ones and fives). If there’s a power outage, the ATMs and credit card machines will be down. Stores will run out of small bills quickly. Put the money in an envelope, and store it some place where you won’t spend it.

2) Make sure at least one of your phones can be powered with just the phone line, again in case of power outage you’ll still be able to make calls.

3) Keep a pair of old slip-on shoes under your bed, and a flashlight at hand. I use a Pak Light ( http://www.9voltlight.com/ ), attached with velcro to the underside of the bed frame.

By: Scott Kidder

Scott Kidder — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:21:26 +0000

I recommend keeping backup copies of your personal records in electronic form both at home and off-site. This can prove very useful in the event that your home is severely damaged or destroyed in a disaster. I purchased several rewritable DVDs with a capacity of 4.7 GB. Rewritable CDs may work, too, depending on how much information you want to store. To keep the information secure, I created an encrypted disk image (256-bit AES encryption) that contains all of my sensitive and valuable information. I consider it important to encrypt the data on the DVD so that the information is inaccessible should the disc become lost or stolen.

Information I store on the backup disc includes personal finance records (Quicken, Money, etc), tax returns, insurance policies, a home inventory (photos, videos, receipts), and irreplaceable photos and videos. I update the contents of the DVDs at roughly 6 month intervals. The update process takes only about 1-2 hours. You might keep a copies of the discs at work, in your briefcase/work bag, and in your go-bag/emergency kit at home. Having the information distributed lessens the likelihood of a total loss.