Week 4: Storing Water

This week's task: 

1. Add a 3-day supply of water to your emergency supplies.  (1 gallon per person per day).  If you already have a 3-day supply and have room to store more, increase your supply to 2 weeks worth. 
2. Print out this guide to storing food and water and put it in your emergency binder (it has important information about hidden sources of water in your home, outdoor water sources, and how to purify water in a disaster situation).

Once you have completed the task (or if you already have your water supply), leave a comment to win the February prize (to be announced)!

The Red Cross suggests that every family store at least 3 days-worth of water in containers that are portable enough to put in the car and take with you if you have to evacuate.  They recommend that you store a full 2-week supply at home.

The standard rule of thumb for emergency water is that you should plan for one gallon per person per day.  Want to store water for four people for three days?  4x3=12 gallons of water.   Want to store enough water for a family of four for two weeks?  That's 4x14=56 gallons total.

Water storage ideas:

1. Purchased bottled water.
2. Re-purposed 2-liter plastic soda bottles.  The Red Cross recommends that you sanitize these before using them.  See this guide for details.  They recommend against using plastic milk jugs or juice containers (the milk proteins and sugars cannot be cleaned out thoroughly and the milk jugs will leak over time).  It's the beginning of the month, so you have plenty of time to drink all those 2-liter sodas and still enter to win the February prize!
3. 5-gallon mylar bags.  After you fill the bags, they can be stored in cardboard boxes and stacked, allowing you to store your water somewhat compactly. (Just make sure the box doesn't have staples sticking up out of the bottom that will puncture the bag and cause it to leak - been there, done that.). When you need to use your water, the bag can lie on a table and water is released by squeezing the spout (it's works well).  The full bags are heavy (~40 pounds), but are still portable.  They are also relatively inexpensive.
4. Water Barrels.  Barrels are a good option if you want to move your water storage out of your house to your garage, yard, patio, or deck.  Make sure you purchase a food-grade barrel.  You can get water barrels in  15-, 30-, or 55-gallon sizes.  (If you find these cheaper locally, let me know!)  You'll also need a bung wrench like this to open it and a siphon hose or hand pump to get the water out.  This siphon hose works great. Keep in mind that a 55-gallon barrel of water weights 400 pounds, so you won't be moving it once you fill it up.  

The Red Cross and FEMA say that you do not need to treat stored water with chlorine if it comes from a municipal water supply that already treats its water (EBMUD treats our water).  They suggest that you replace the water every 6 months if you are not using commercially bottled water.

Week 3: Important Documents

This week's task:  Make an Emergency Folder/Binder to add to your emergency supplies (store it where you can grab it quickly if you have to evacuate).  Put the following in your binder:

1. Your emergency contact list
2. The "important documents" described below.  

When you're done, leave a comment to enter to win the January prize (a 10-pack of light sticks)!  Remember, you can still finish the Week 1 and Week 2 tasks and leave comments on those posts to increase your chances of winning the prize.  Comments left before midnight on Jan. 31 will be eligible for the drawing.* 

Emergency Binder:  This will be a place to collect hard copies of information that is likely to be useful after a disaster if you have to evacuate your home and/or if you do not have access to the internet.  I will suggest other things to add to your emergency binder in future posts.  .

Emergency Contact List: Make a list of emergency phone numbers that includes your local emergency services (police, fire, animal control), your local utility companies, your doctors and dentist, your insurance agent, your out-of-state contacts, and anyone else you might need to contact in a hurry.  Keep a copy near your home phone, in your emergency binder, and on your cell phone, if you have one. Here is a spreadsheet to get you started (I've already filled in the local emergency and utility phone numbers for Albany/Berkeley/El Cerrito):  Excel version, Pdf version.

Important Documents:  The Red Cross suggests that you keep a copy of the following personal documents in your disaster kit so that you will have them if you have to evacuate your home:  medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address (e.g. utility bill addressed to you), bank statement showing your name and account number, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies.  

Family Plan: If you created your family plan during  Week 1, add that to the binder too.

*The prize drawing is open to past and present members of the Berkeley Ward.

Week 2: Information and Communication

This week's task:  Add a battery-operated radio to your disaster supplies.

Once you get your emergency radio (or if you already have one), leave a comment on this blog post to enter to win the January prize (a 10-pack of light sticks)!*

After an earthquake or major storm, the power could be out for days.  Infrastructure could be damaged, water quality could be an issue, and large-scale fires could be a danger.  It will be important to stay informed.  Each household should have a battery-operated radio in its disaster supply kit.

Basic Radios:

The Kaito Pocket AM/FM radio and the Sony Pocket AM/FM Radio are inexpensive, battery-operated AM/FM radios that get great reviews (around $10 each).   If you are on a limited budget and you live in California where you don't need to be warned of hurricanes and tornadoes, these work great.

Fancy Emergency Radios:

If you want to invest a little more, three good emergency radios are the Eton FR160b (about $30), the American Red Cross FRX3 (about $60) and the Eton ARCPT300W (about $60).  I got the Eton ARCPT300W for Christmas.  The other two get great reviews on Amazon.  What you get with these radios:

• NOAA weather stations (critical if you live in an area prone to hurricanes or tornadoes, less critical in California, although apparently we are subject to occasional megafloods): The NOAA weather stations continuously broadcast weather information and alerts for your area.
• Severe weather alerts (FRX3 and  ARCPT300W only):  The radio can automatically broadcast emergency weather alerts for your area even when it is not on.
• Multiple power source options: These radios have an internal rechargeable battery that can be charged with a hand crank, a solar panel (FRX3 and FR160b only), or by plugging in to a USB AC adapter (the adapter itself is not included).  The ARCPT300W can also take AAA batteries. 
• Integrated LED flashlight (not super bright, but okay)
• Ability to charge a cell phone from the radio's internal rechargeable battery (I tried to charge an iPhone with the ARCPT300W and it worked pretty poorly, so I don't know how much weight to put on this feature).

The main advantages of the two more expensive models over the less expensive FR160b are the severe weather alert feature, ergonomics (the crank is easier to use), better speaker quality (the sound quality on my ARCPT300W is very good), and the ability of the ARCPT300W to take regular (AAA) batteries.

Other communication/information issues to consider:

• Use your smartphone (if it's still working...)
• Follow the Red Cross on Twitter to get up-to-date information during a disaster
• Get an NOAA weather radio app for your iThing or Android device.
• Download the Red Cross Earthquake app 
• After a disaster, search for a shelter by texting SHELTER + your zip code to 43362 (4FEMA).  For example, if you live in Albany, send a text to 43362 that says SHELTER 94706.
• Sign up to receive automated messages from your community's emergency alert system. Check your city's website for more information.  For the locals:
• City of Berkeley Emergency Notice System
• University of California, Berkeley alert system 
• Landline phones will often still work when the power is out as long as you have a phone that doesn't require electricity (cordless phone systems won't work because the base needs electricity). You can get an inexpensive corded phone here.
• Consider getting your Ham radio license.  Hams can join local clubs that provide communication assistance in emergencies.  

*The prize drawing is open to past and present members of the Berkeley Ward.

Week 1: Make a Family Plan

This week's task:  Create a family disaster plan.

Create a family plan

Where will you meet if you have to evacuate your home after a disaster and some family members aren't home?    Who will pick up your children from school?  How will you let loved ones know you are safe?   If you have special needs, how will you get help?

These are all questions you should answer before a disaster happens by making a Family Emergency Plan.  This Red Cross Family Plan template will work well for most families (or you can create your own):

Red Cross Family Plan PDF Template
Instructions for using the Red Cross PDF template

In addition to the overall plan, each family member should carry an Emergency Contact Card in his/her wallet/bag/backpack.

When you finish making your plan, leave a comment to enter a drawing to win the January Motivational Prize (a 10-pack of lightsticks)!*

Get involved in neighborhood disaster planning

Here are some additional recommendations to consider from the City of Berkeley's Easy Does It website:

CREATE A "SELF-HELP TEAM"  (recommended by the American Red Cross) that includes people in your life that you spend the most time with or around. This network of individuals can include relatives, roommates, neighbors, teachers, co-workers, etc. These should be people you know and trust, because you will exchange information with them about your needs in a disaster. Create a "buddy system" that will know how to help you.

GET INVOLVED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, especially in disaster preparedness and crime watch activities, both of which support community organizing to meet a disaster. Work with neighborhood groups planning for the next disaster (e.g. CORE in Oakland or the Block Captain program in Albany). Network! Add your skills to neighborhood disaster response plans.  If you live in Albany, click here to find out if your block has a captain.

Additional information for seniors and people with special needs:

If you have special needs (you use medical equipment that requires electricity, you have difficulty with mobility, etc), you need to do some extra planning.   If you live in the City of Berkeley, you can register with the city's "Easy Does It Voluntary Emergency Services Registry" to let fire and police authorities know that you will need special help in the event of a city-wide disaster, such as an earthquake. To register, download and fill out the form below and send it to Easy Does It Services, 1936 University Ave., Suite 191, Berkeley, CA  94704 or scan it and email it to info@easydoesitservices.org.

City of Berkeley Voluntary Emergency Services Registry Form
Easy Does It Services informational brochure

It is also especially important that you create a "self-help team" (described above).  After an earthquake, downed power lines or other obstacles may make it difficult or impossible for friends and family who live outside your immediate neighborhood to get to you.  Make sure you connect with your neighbors before a disaster happens so that they will know how best to help you.

For more information, the following pamphlets can be downloaded from the Red Cross website:

Disaster Preparedness: For Seniors by Seniors

Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs

*Only past or present members of the Berkeley Ward are eligible for the prize drawing.  

Get Prepared for Emergencies & Win Fabulous Prizes

Welcome to the Berkeley Ward Emergency Preparedness Blog.

Over the next six months, I'll suggest one thing you can do each week to get more prepared to weather natural disasters and personal crises.  If you already have preparations in place, I hope that walking through a wide variety of topics from week to week will help you review your plans and fill in any missing areas.  If you are just getting started, I hope these small weekly steps will feel doable and allow you to make progress in getting your family ready for the unexpected.  

And if you find all of this so boring that you can hardly stand it, I will try to motivate you with fabulous prizes.  That's right, getting prepared = chances to win fabulous prizes.  How will it work?  If you complete one of the weekly assignments (even if you already had it done and didn't have to do anything more), you should leave a comment under that week's blog post.  At the beginning of each month I will announce the prize.  At the end of each month, I will randomly draw one comment from that month's assignments and award the prize to the commenter (if you do more than one assignment, your name is entered into the drawing more than once).  The catch: You have to be a current or past member of the Berkeley Ward to win the prize.  

January's Prize:  A 10-Pack of 12-hour light sticks.  Fun for you, fun for the kids, great for emergencies!

Ready, Set Go!