Week 15

FOOD STORAGE TIP OF THE WEEK

Food Storage: 20 Lbs. of Sugar

Extra Item: 3 Months of Dish Soap

Some Local Bargains:

LDS Cannery! Remember this is our ward's week for the cannery. We'll see you there at 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 14th.

Sugar (#10 Can) - 6.1 lbs. @ $5.30 ($0.87/lb.) ***Favorite Find***

Lin's

Western Family Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $14.99 ($0.60/lb.)

Western Family Sugar - 10 lbs. @ $5.49 ($0.55/lb.)

Western Family Dish Soap - 28 oz. @ $2.19 (7.8 cents/oz.) SunSations Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $1.19 (4.8 cents/oz.)

Dollar Tree

SunSations Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $1.00 (4.0 cents/oz.)

Smiths

Kroger Sugar - 4 lbs. @ $1.89 ($0.45/lb.) ***Best Value***

Family Dollar

Family Gourmet Sugar - 4 lbs. @ $2.25 ($0.56/lb.)

Smart Solutions Dish Soap - 38 oz. @ $1.50 (3.9 cents/oz.) ***Best Value***

Big Lots

SunSations Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $1.00 (4.0 cents/oz.)

Wal Mart

Great Values Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $14.12 ($0.56/lb.)

72 Hour Kit: CONGRATULATIONS!!! You now have a basic 72 Hour Kit. Check it often. Change or add things as needed. Next week we will start on our Car Kit.

Family Preparation: Beware of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can be deadly in large concentrations or over long periods of time in low concentrations. It is a product of incomplete combustion. Check the furnace and flue and wood stove chimney regularly. Be cautious with any open flame heating or cooking devices and never use charcoal indoors. Install at least one CO detector in your home.

Spiritual Preparation: Read the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Pick one thing in your life that seems like a Goliath and work to overcome it.

Food For Thought:

Here is the last of our five-part series on Family Disaster Preparedness:

LESSON FIVE:

"This is a Simulated Disaster Scenario"

Try this exercise as a family for a weekend.

A major earthquake has just now occurred in the Kanarraville area registering 8.0 on the Richter scale and Class VIII on the MMIS Scale. You are at church. You can get home. You must assess the damage to your dwelling, which has suffered the following damage, but thereafter assume that power lines, broken gas mains and damaged bridges make conventional travel too dangerous to try.

If you live in a home built after 1990, your dwelling maintains its structural integrity, although many windows have been broken.

If you live in a home built before 1990, your home has been so structurally damaged you must assume that it is now an unsafe dwelling, and that you may only enter it to retrieve essentials. However, if your home has been retrofitted with earthquake tie-downs, assume that it has weathered the quake as a post-1990 home would.

You must assume that there will be aftershocks in the next few days in the 6 to 7 range on the Richter Scale.

Your home can be entered, but there is broken glass and debris all around from shattered windows and the contents of cupboards, etc.

All electrical and gas connections to your dwelling have been knocked out of service, or are to be assumed unsafe to use. All ground served telephones are inoperable. Many cell towers have fallen down. Some left standing have lost power and cannot function. Those still operating have been taken over by the civil authorities to help direct rescue and recovery operations.

There is water coming from broken pipes serving your dwelling, but it looks muddy and is flowing into basements, crawl spaces, or other subsurface areas.

There is the faint smell of natural gas in the air, but you don't know if it is from your dwelling or not.

The sewer and/or septic systems have been plugged or broken.

There is no power to pump fuel at the gas stations.

All glass jars on storage shelving that does not have a lip on it are assumed to be broken and on the floor.

If your water heater is strapped down properly, assume that it can serve as a source of drinking water. If it is not, assume that it has tipped over, the electrical or gas connection has been broken and all the water has drained out. Assume that the electrical connection is still hot, and/or that the gas connection is allowing gas fumes to permeate the dwelling. This means that until an hour after the gas main is shut off at the meter, the least spark may cause your dwelling to explode.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Take inventory of your available supplies and assess how your family will fare until assistance arrives (3 to 5 days) and develop a plan for your family. Include the following in your plan:

a) What will you eat? Be specific using only what you have at home right now. Exclude anything in glass containers if you don't have a lip on your shelving.

b) How much water do you have? Is it safe? How do you know? (3 gallons per person per day)

c) How will you keep warm and dry?

d) Where will you sleep?

e) How will you communicate with others?

f) Can you receive emergency radio messages?

g) What first aid supplies do you have on hand?

h) What about essential medications for yourself or family members?

i) How will you deal with sanitation and personal cleanliness issues?

j) Which members live close by that you can check up on and offer assistance to?

k) What assistance and services are you able to provide for those around you?

l) Do you have the tools and know-how to shut off gas meters? Electrical service at your service panel? Water at the water meter?

How Did You Do Questionnaire

Answer the following questions after participating in the simulated disaster. The answers will identify areas needing improvement.

1. Were you able to account for each member of your immediate family?

2. Did your family have a plan of where to reunite after the disaster?

3. Were you able to ascertain the condition of those members of the Church in your neighborhood and report to your priesthood leader or R.S. leader?

4. Was every member of your family trained and able to turn off the utilities such as the natural gas, water and electricity?

5. Is someone in your family trained and able to give first aid if necessary?

6. Did you have an emergency kit for each vehicle?

7. Did you have an emergency kit for each family member or a family kit that can be transported quickly?

8. Did you have a battery operated radio (with fresh batteries) or a handcrank radio to receive emergency messages?

9. Did you have adequate food for your family?

10. Did you have adequate water for your family?

11. Do you have adequate bedding for your family if you needed to relocate to a shelter?

12. Do you have adequate hats, coats, gloves, warm clothing, and protective rain gear for each member of your family?

13. Do you have a secondary source of heat and fuel to heat at least one area of your home?

14. Did you have sanitation supplies adequate for your family? (i.e. bucket, hygiene kits, soap, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, clothes, etc.)

FAMILY DISASTER PLANNING SUMMARY

Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home. What would you do if basic services - water, gas, electricity or telephones - were cut off? Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away.

Four Steps to Safety

1. Find Out What Could Happen to You

• Contact your local Red Cross chapter or emergency management office before a disaster occurs - be prepared to take notes.


• Ask what types of disasters are most likely to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.


• Learn about your community's warning signals: what they sound like and what you should do when you hear them.


• Ask about animal care after a disaster. Animals are not allowed inside emergency shelters because of health regulations.


• Find out how to help elderly or disabled persons, if needed.


• Find out about the disaster plans at your workplace, your children's school or day care center, and other places where your family spends time.

2. Create a Disaster Plan

• Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.


• Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.


• Pick two places to meet - one outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire, and another outside your neighborhood in case you can't return home. Everyone must know the address and phone number.


• As an out-of-state friend to be your "family contact." After a disaster, it's often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact's phone number.


• Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.

3. Complete This Checklist

• Post emergency telephone numbers by phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.)


• Teach children how and when to call 9-1-1 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.


• Show each family member how and when to turn off the utilities (water, gas and electricity) at the main switches.


• Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.


• Get training from the fire department for each family member on how to use the fire extinguisher (ABC type), and show them where it's kept.


• Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms.


• Conduct a home hazard hunt.


• Stock Emergency supplies and assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit.


• Take a Red Cross First Aid and CPR class.


• Determine the best escape routes for your home. Find two ways out of each room.


• Find the safe places in your home for each type of disaster.

Home Hazard Hunt:

• In a disaster, ordinary items in the home can cause injury and damage. Anything that can move, fall, break or cause a fire is a potential hazard.


• Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections.


• Fasten shelves correctly.


• Place large, heavy objects on lower shelves.


• Hang picture and mirrors away from beds.


• Brace overhead light fixtures.


• Secure water heater. Strap to wall studs.


• Repair cracks in ceilings or foundations.


• Store weed killers, pesticides and flammable products away from heat sources.


• Place oily polishing rags or waste in covered metal cans.


• Clean and repair chimneys, flue pipes, vent connectors and gas vents.

4. Practice and Maintain Your Plan

• Quiz your kids every six months or so.


• Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills.


• Replace stored water and stored food every 6 months.


• Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer's instructions.


• Test your smoke detectors monthly and change the batteries at least once a year.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Working with neighbors can save lives and property. Meet with your neighbors to plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster until help arrives. If you're a member of a neighborhood organization such as a home association or crime watch group, introduce disaster preparedness as a new activity. Know your neighbors' special skills (e.g. medical, technical) and consider how you could help neighbors with special needs, such as disabled and elderly persons. Make plans for child care in case parents can't get home.

If Disaster Strikes

Remain calm and patient. Put your plan into action.

Check For Injuries

Give first aid and get help for seriously injured people.

Listen to Your Battery-Powered Radio for News and Instructions

Check For Damage to Your Home

• Use flashlights. Do not light matches or turn on electrical switches if you suspect damage.


• Sniff for gas leaks, starting at the water heater. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas valve, open windows and get everyone outside quickly.


• Shut off any other damaged utilities. (You will need a professional to turn gas back on)


• Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline and other dangerous or flammable liquids immediately.

Remember to... confine or secure your pets. Call your family contact - do not use the telephone again unless it is a life-threatening emergency.

• Check on your neighbors, especially elderly or disabled persons.


• Make sure you have an adequate water supply in case service is cut off.


• Stay away from downed power lines.

This concludes our five-part series on Family Disaster Preparedness. We know it is a lot of information to digest but we hope it has been helpful to you and your family. Happy Planning!