Emergency Preparedness – Sizable Seismic Events Worldwide 284,010 people died in 2004, and 89,354 in 2005, in earthquakes, Utah’s biggest threat. An earthquake is Mother Nature exercising her option to reshuffle resources. She is quite regular about it, too. During the week ending 2/3/2006, there were 146 quakes in the world of 2.5+, 62 quakes were greater than 4.0, and one was 6.7 on the Richter scale. Of the total, 85 quakes were in the US with…
72 Hour Emergency Kit — #3 Clothing Moisture and salt are your enemies when it comes to clothing. Have a rainproof exterior garment (poncho) coupled with layering to regulate body heat and moisture from the outside in and the inside out (sweating). Body heat is lost 70 times faster when you are wet. But, when clothing dries out, body salts retained in fabrics will feel like sandpaper against your skin. A “no sweat” goal is achieved by layering….
Emergency Preparedness – First Responder Kits. A 72-hour kit IS NOT the foundation of a home preparedness program. But, it’s a start. What are the essentials of a three day First Responder Kit? (priority order) Water Food Considerations: “Will it all fit into something Clothing that won’t break my back?” Shelter “Can technology lighten my load?” Sanitation “Will I be able to afford it?” First Aid “I don’t want something else that will Communication just sit and…
“It’s still snowing and it’s clear up to here,” said the weather briefer. E-T-B-A-W followed as abbreviated suffixes to the printed aviation weather forecast that followed. (F) means fog. (S) is snow. (RI) stands for rim ice – something you never want to fly in. The weather was bad, but how bad? “What’s ETBAW,” I asked? The briefer replied: “Even The Birds Are Walking.” BAD! BAD! BAD! Some things are hard to understand about the weather. This…
Irving Berlin made the idea of a “White Christmas” a desirable, warm experience of the holiday season. For 70,000 Utahns, neither was Christmas week of 2003 warm, nor was it desirable to be without power in the aftermath of the biggest winter storm in 20 years. Some were cold for up to 7 days, with little food and drink. Barbeques were brought indoors for heat, poisoning scores of ill prepared families. Look around and find seasoned, all-weather specialists…