February 25, 2015
At Risk or Being in Risk
By Ron Enders
Preparedness planners identify certain groups of people as at risk populations. These are people who are oxygen dependent, have visual or other physical challenges, chronic disease, the elderly and a host of other conditions. Because these conditions impede their ability to totally care for themselves special considerations must be made to ensure their safety.
However, when we are faced with a dire winter storm, tornadoes or other natural disasters we are all part of an in risk population. When the blizzard rages, the flooding rushes through the hollers, and the ice crawls over us like a suffocating blanket, all are in risk of potential peril. In many ways this population is even more vulnerable than the at risk ones because they are expected to take care of themselves. Emergency management directors are going to ensure that the at risk people survive. It is like being on the Titanic. At risk get to go to the lifeboats first. How the rest fare during the course of the event depends on how seriously they take their role as being part of the in risk group.
No one truly wants to stay on a sinking ship listening to the band play. While you may be in risk the story does need not to have an unhappy ending. Because you are in risk it means you have to spend time and effort figuring ways to survive the best you can when an in risk situation unfolds. That requires accepting the fact that one day you and your family, and pets if you have them, will be in peril. I know that telling you to make a home readiness kit is like preaching to the choir. You hear it so much that it becomes just a matter of fact thing, like a TV commercial that you hear over and over again until you just tune it out. Perhaps you had put together a disaster kit years ago and everything you collected expired or spoiled. You think what a waste of time and money. Truth be said, preparedness goes on the back burner. So you start to evaluate your priorities; something like a new fishing pole versus twenty cans of beans and five gallons of water to sit and suffer a long death in the back corner of your readiness closet.
Now we are not stating for fact that one day while you are out on the lake reeling in a bass with that new pole a tornado barrels down and you wind up with no water and power back home. A few trees have also fallen down blocking the access road to where you live. Meanwhile the wife and kids at home have a half case of pop in the fridge and a bunch of stuff in the fridge that will spoil as the power outage lingers. The last of their batteries went to run little Mike’s electric toys. They don’t have any lighters for candles because you gave up smoking months ago. Worse of all, Emergency Management won’t even know they are in risk because your cell phone isn’t working, and the road from the lake is blocked. In fact, you won’t even know for quite the while that anything is wrong at home. There is no “at risk” member in your household so there won’t be a priority rush to come looking to see if they are in danger. Suddenly that the old TV commercial mentality doesn’t seem so tedious anymore. You are no “at risk” group and your chances to come through this for better or worse just became worse.
So what can you do to be prepared without it being a lesson in futility or an ongoing money pit of useless supplies? Let’s start by thinking of your preparedness stash as a bunch of things that you bought to be used not just stored away. If you put yourself in this mindset then stashing away stuff won’t seem so wasteful. Go ahead and plan on actually using what you buy. Don’t spend your money on things your family won’t eat just because some brainiac tells you it is what you should have. Food is food and you might as well have stuff you and your family likes. I for one would chose a bag of cookies over a can of cold lima beans. The situation will be stressful enough. You will want to have comfort foods, providing what you select can store well over time. Sure you will want to have bottled water, but don’t forget that kids love juice and it is also good for them. If you can store items that your family eats and drinks on a regular basis then the disaster “time out” won’t seems as painful.
The next thing to consider is not to let the stuff hang around for very long. Since the items are things your family uses on a regular basis anyway, then go ahead and raid the preparedness stash every so often. Just make a mental note to replace the items the next time you head out to the store. Too many people consider the preparedness stuff to be like a buried treasure chest that some one-eyed pirate squirreled away on a secret island. My dad was a readiness fanatic and stored half of our cellar with stuff for a disaster. After ten years passed without any disaster the things in our cellar looked like part of a CDC infectious disease control lab.
It really is all about using commonsense. Commonsense would tell you what you should or should not buy to meet the needs of your family, and your pets if you have any. Common sense would tell you have if communications go out you would like to have a battery operated radio to keep in the loops. This means that you should have batteries, but not just for the radio. If you have kids they will want some for their favorite toys. You will also need a flashlight to see which of the kids ran off with the last bag of chips. Having a first aid kit is also practical, just as long as you don’t buy one that comes with three bandages, one wipe cloth and a note saying “hope you never really have to open this.” Remember that everyone will get a headache and depending on the time of year, at least one member of the household will have a cold. Common sense would tell you to have some general medicines on hand. If for some reason you run out of your favorite snack or beverage, please don’t think you are indestructible and run out in the storm to get it. Set aside your superman cap and stay at home with your family. They need you more than a box of Twinkies.
Another practical thing is to get a short list of friend and family who will contact you if bad weather is imminent. Ask them to call you now and then during the storm to make sure you are okay. Usually not everyone will lose power. If you have a dire need they can let your Emergency Management people know about your situation. If you have no phone service and they call, it will tell them that either you have lost power or that you really don’t like them and just won’t answer the phone. Pre disaster networking can really be a life saver for the “in risk” crowd.
A practical attitude towards preparedness is a smart course of action. It will cut down on panic, keep you from doing foolish things and make sure that you ride out the storm as calmly and comfortably as possible. Whichever way you chose to get your household ready for a disaster be sure to make it your plan. As long as it includes the essentials, tailor it to your own special needs. If you cannot live without popcorn, then include popcorn.
If you want to view a website that follows this line of thinking when preparing a household kit see: Build a Kit Ready. Gov http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit. It contains a list of essentials around which you can tailor your own unique preparedness response. You can also call Ron Enders at the Lawrence County Health Department for suggestions or assistance at 606-638-4389. Stay safe, and by the way, hope that new fishing pole works out great for you.
