Emergency Preparedness – Tool Time. “The hot water was dripping, so we called a plumber. Can we send you the bill,” asked the renter? “You called in a plumber on a Sunday night because of a drip,” replied the landlord? For well under $110 anyone can buy a $30 wrench and a $.25 washer to fix a faucet drip problem. Thereafter, the wrench can be put to other excellent uses, saving its purchase price countless times….
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 — #4 Shelter As mentioned in last weeks clothing article, a good hooded poncho is probably the most useful survival item you can have. Not only will it keep you and your gear dry, but it can also be used as a ground cover, shade shelter, tent, and even solar still. Otherwise, consider a tube tent, two-person shelter or family tent with rain fly to keep you out of the weather if your van,…
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…
Emergency Preparedness – Sunshine Has A Price. “The first storm took down all of our trees. The next three worked on our houses.” Floridians will long remember late summer of 2004 when their state was hit by category 3 to 5 hurricanes an average of one every two weeks for 6 weeks. Imagine what you would do if half of your neighbors’ houses suddenly disassembled and half of your own roof lifted off, too. Expect 18…
Emergency Preparedness – The Department of Repetitive Redundancy Department. “Tie this rope on that concrete anchor,” said my friend. “I’m going after him.” A nine year old boy had tumbled over 300 feet from the summit of Mt. Timpanogus on the annual hike of 1967. My friend, a first-aider from the National Ski Patrol, had just asked me to be surety for his life. I was never stellar with knot tying in Boy Scouts, but I knew…
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…