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What Can You Do to Prepare?

There are many resources available that are intended to help you prepare for an emergency. Some are more useful than others and in some cases, there is conflicting information. Our feeling is that you need to think through what YOUR family would need to survive in the event that our community is isolated without power, transportation, and possibly have structural damage and personal injuries.

The following 4 links are to pages from the CER-T manual and can serve as a good starting point. Each page will open in a new window that you can print for your reference. Close the window to return to this page.

• Assembling and storing a disaster supply kit (assembly) - pg 1. Click Here.
• Assembling and storing a disaster supply kit (food) - pg 2. Click Here.
• Assembling and storing a disaster supply kit (first aid/tools) - pg 3. Click Here.
• Assembling and storing a disaster supply kit (clothing/documents) - pg 4. Click Here.

Many thanks to the Department of Emergency Services for allowing us to reproduce the above documents.

Don't forget pet food and medication if that applies to your family!

The following links are also good references. Some of the information we have included on this site was derived from these websites. Each will open in a new window so just close it to return to this section.

http://www.ready.gov

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.fema.gov

http://ccdes.org/HazardMitigation.html

A Storage Area Example

These storage shelves are located in an area of our basement that is well protected in the event of a structural failure. They are also accessible from the upstairs stairway and from either side by outside basement entrances. Food, clothing, personal items, etc. are stored in plastic containers that are readily available. The red container is a "First Responders" kit available through the American Red Cross site. (Click the "Store" link on http://www.redcross.org/). There are a varity of kits available. We supplemented this kit with specific items we would need in the event of an emergency.
Using the containers as shown make it easy to pull the supplies and put them in the car or to keep them dry in the event the roof is blown off. It also eliminates mouse and insect problems with food supplies. We rotate supplies through the containers to keep them fresh.
The 5 gal bucket is actually empty except for plastic bags inside. The CER-T training suggests using a covered container such as this for a "portable potty" in the event there is no water or septic.

Although it is easy to put off doing this, it really doesn't take that long once you commit to doing it and I feel better now knowing that we have it as a backup.

How can our CER-T team help you?

For those that are interested, we will have 1 or 2 team members take a walkthrough of your home with you suggesting things you might do to minimize damage or to improve your chances for survival in the event of an emergency. We'll announce this service when it is available.