Be Ready To “Grab & Go”
Be Ready To “Grab & Go”
Natural disasters kill an average of 60,000 people per year worldwide according to published statistics. The effects of climate change are becoming more evident . . . being ready to make a quick dash to safety may be the new normal.
D. S. Mitchell
Extreme Weather
You never know when an emergency might strike. The recent tornado devastation across four states highlights our need to be ready for such events, day or night. In the last dozen months we have seen the devastation and chaos caused by wildfires across the west, freezing temperatures in Texas leading to dozens of deaths, and a ‘Heat Dome’ that hovered over the Pacific NW sending temperatures to 117 degrees, killing nearly 100 people. It can happen anytime, anywhere. In my little corner of the world, the North Oregon coast, we are subject to evacuation orders because of tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, floods and even a rare tornado, on a regular basis.
Being Ready
No matter where you live there is always the possibility that you will be forced to move quickly out of harm’s way. Not all incidents of danger are natural in cause, often these tragedies are man made disasters, such as toxic spills. The idea is that you can, in some small way, help yourself by being prepared. In a true emergency you will be under extreme pressure and critical evacuation time can be lost as you race around the house looking for medications and other supplies. So, do yourself and your family a favor, and pack for survival.
Researching
I spent the morning flipping through recent and not so recent magazines and newspaper articles looking for pieces on emergency preparedness. I have a ‘library’ of at least 1500 old magazines and periodicals, taking up valuable space in my office. Mostly they are corralled in a large armoire, but today I was pulling out stuff from the bottom of the stack and creating a small bit of chaos in the office. The bird gets upset when things are not “as they should be,” and was screeching irritatingly.
