Disaster preparedness & living with your parents

Disasters can happen to anyone and everyone should be prepared, even people living with their parents.

Updated 23may07

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Ordinary preparations

Make a travel kit. It has everything you need to spend a night or three away from home except your clothes. It saves an hour of looking for stuff every time you get ready.
Make a small zip-kit and keep it in your backpack, purse, or book-bag. See the section on small zip-kits below.
Know where the trash bags and duct tape are. There is no limit to the things your can make out of them. You can fix things with tape, carry things in bags, make rain ponchos & rain skirts, cover things against rain, etc.
Keep some slippers by your bed and put them on at the first sign of trouble. A common disaster injury is walking on broken glass with bare feet.

Everyone should make these simple preparations.

Power failure

The power fails several times a year. A short outage is not a problem, but you never know how long its going to last. Some outages last days.
Tape the refrigerator shut so nobody forgets and opens it. The food will last for two days if nobody opens the door.
Cover the garbage disposal so nobody puts garbage into it. Nobody wants to be around a stinky garbage disposal.
Don't waste the candles or batteries.
Unplug all the expensive electronics. The power can be erratic coming back on and this prevents damage.
Remember that there will be many short outages for every long one. Do not get tricked into thinking they will all be short.

Water outage

An unplanned water outage can sometimes last a long time.
Tape the lids to all the toilets down so nobody forgets and uses them.
If you have a back yard, dig a toilet hole and put a privacy tarp around it.
If you do not have a back yard, line a wastebasket with a trash bag and call it a toilet. Seal the bag, throw it away, and reline the can after use. Improvised liner if you run low on trash bags: Line a plastic grocery bag with newspaper, and line that with another grocery bag.
Cover the garbage disposal so nobody puts garbage into it. Nobody wants to be around a stinky garbage disposal.

Fire

If your house catches fire, get out as quick as you can and call the fire department. Smoke rises, so keep down.
If the hillside is on fire and its coming your way, grab a few things and leave in a hurry. Get out before the smoke and fire blocks the road. Try to keep everyone together.
Remember that the smoke is much more dangerous than the fire, it can blind you or make you pass out.

Flood

Stay out of the water. Floodwaters make sewers overflow, so it is full of sewage. If you touch something that has touched floodwater, and then eat before washing your hands, you can get sick with vomiting and diarrhea.
If your house is in danger of flooding, grab a few things and leave in a hurry. Leave before the road floods, just 3 inches of water can block a road. Being stuck in a stalled car in rising water is a bad thing.

Sewage backflow

Floods and clogged sewer mains cause sewage backflow if your house does not have a sewage backflow prevention valve. Whenever anyone uphill flushes their toilet it will come up out of your toilet and into your house. Grab a few things and leave.

Earthquake

The dangerous part of an earthquake is things falling on you. Get under something and grab onto it (furniture jumps around in a strong earthquake).
If the earthquake is really strong, the building may come down. You want to lay down next to something solid, not underneath it. The falling roof or wall will squash everything, but big solid things hold up a little part of the roof.

What if you have to leave in a hurry?

Bring the money, zip kit, travel kit, and jacket.
If there is time grab some water, clothes, a cell phone, trash bags, and duct tape in a suitcase.
Do not bring any animals with you. They will be there when you get back. If you bring them, they will find a way to escape, and you may never see them again.

Other notes

Do not try to "help" animals in a disaster. A frightened small animal can tear you up.
Someone trying to help a small animal sounds like this: "Oh the poor little thing! He needs help! I'll help you little fellow. AAAAAHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! I sure wish I could get seen at a hospital!"
Disasters displace snakes & rodents. Expect this and be careful.
Wear gloves when cleaning up after the trouble.

Zip Kits for kids

A zip kit is a little kit that ensures you can breathe and walk long enough to get where you need to go in an emergency. It ensures you can communicate once you get there.

A zip kit must be as small, light, and cheap as possible. It should not have anything that can leak or go bad.

The key to zip kits is always having one with you. Put one in your backpack, purse, or book bag.

Zip-lock bag: Everything fits in a resealable bag.
Desiccant: Take the tiny desiccant pouch from a box and put it in the zip-lock. Use a fresh one.
Respirator: A dust mask with two strings is called a respirator. Get the kind that fold flat.
Leather bootlaces: Shoelaces always pick the worst time to break, and leather bootlaces serve as string or rope.
Band-aids for blisters and scrapes.
6 first-aid wipes: First-aid wipes in tiny individual pouches treat a cuts & scrapes. They clean & sterilize your hands & face so you can eat & drink. They clean glasses.
Notepaper: Writing things down and leaving notes is important. Post-its are good because they are the right size and have glue on the back.
Pencil stub: If the pencil is too long it will be broken when you need it. Three or four inches long is about right.
Little bitty pencil sharpener: Smaller is better.
Photographs: Have a recent family photograph. It helps when you can show a picture of who you are looking for.
Phone numbers: Have every family and close friends number written down, including those out of the area.
Prescriptions: Have a copy of all prescriptions, including eyeglasses. Photo-reducing makes them smaller.

Detailed disaster preparedness	More details on what to do
Deluxe zip kits	NBCS kits