Thought Patterns

As I watch the weather hazards in association with what is now Tropical Storm Katrina, I see that south of us is under a tornado warning. So I kicked into gear.

I use distilled water in my CPAP and we keep the emptied jugs for just this situation. For drinking water, I filled up three of them for human use, two more for the dogs, and pitcher of water went into the fridge. We also keep around a collection of relatively clean milk jugs that we fill with water and keep in the bathroom for toilet flushing. We can only flush twice max but hey, that is a lot!

I gathered together a collar for each dog and all the leashes I can find. With all our critters, ain't no way we can evacuate to an emergency shelter so they only reason we would leave would be if the roof was compromised.

Next I made sure the main flashlight (one of those honkin' Maglight things) was where it was supposed to be. I checked that the main candle had matches nearby.

I ensured our medications were in their bags. We don't put them on a shelf, we keep the bottles in two cloth bags with zippers. This makes it easier to grab them in an emergency. With all the meds that I take, they need to know the exact doses and names.

I found the corded phone and put it where I could find it in the dark. In case you didn't know, cordless phones are useless when the power is out. We keep an old corded phone around for just this purpose.

We have a weather radio around here somewhere, but we'd put it away since one of my amateur radios includes the weather bands. However, that is the radio I can't find. :rolleyes:

I loaded the dishwasher to see if there was enough to run it. I made sure our ice packs were in the freezers.

There are other smaller things that I made sure was in place or ready. All of this took me less than half an hour. Tomorrow Lorna will go to an ATM and get some cash. (ATMs need electricity ya know) She'll also fill the truck's gas tank up when she is finished with the route (due to the unknown weather, she is using My Truck).

The main thing we do not have is food we can eat without power. We don't keep that around in the summer since we usually are able to get out to get things. In the winter, however, we are often stuck at home with what we have on hand.

I mention all this because as I have watched the news and listened to the radio, I hear of people in the shelter needing assistance because they didn't bring what they needed or they brought the wrong things. Especially medication. DUH! If you are a crip like me and have lots of meds, keep them in one place so that all you have to do is either grab their container (like what I have) or sweep the shelf clean into a suitcase.

Make sure you have a printed copy of all your phone numbers, even if they are on your cell phone. They can't be reached if the cell phone battery is dead. And if you are away from home, telling the emergency personnel that your parents' number is Mem 2 is not exactly what you need to be doing. I keep a print out on the wall of both the numbers in the speed dial, but also any place we call regularly. All I have to do is grab the stapled sheets from their hook. It has come in handy when Lorna was sick or in an accident and I had to call her co-workers later.

Keep cash on hand, especially change. If you evacuate to where electricity is, cash gets you more, especially food from vending machines. If there is not power, cash works when the ATM/credit cards won't.

If you have special needs and know you will need assistance in emergency evacuations, let your local Emergency Management department know both where you live and what needs you have. If nothing else, make sure your neighbors know. In the winter, I always make sure my meds on hand is no less than 10 days worth.

And for goodness sakes, if the freakin' gov'nor says to evacuate, do it! If your butt needs rescuing later, you put the lives of those rescuers at risk, a risk they needn't be taking if you had listened! Think about it, what would you rather do: spend several nights in your hot, itchy attic or spend unknown hours in traffic on your way to several nights in a hotel? Hmm?

Resources:
FEMA Library
NOAA Weather Radio Information
National Weather Service (NWS) brochures
NWS/NOAA Weather Safety web pages
Storm Prediction Center (SPC) publication list