Sanitation

During a major disaster, water mains may break, the municipal water processing system may fail or plumbing may be disrupted.  Something we take for granted, a flushing toilet may not be available.  In the event of an earthquake, it’s not too much of a stretch to expect that your plumbing, both incoming and outgoing could be disrupted.

Human waste, if not disposed of properly, can not only cause a sanitation and hygiene mess but if not managed properly will spread disease.  

For those who live in rural areas and your water source is a spring, you may be in good shape, barring any damage to your plumbing.  Our disaster preparedness plan isn’t complete until we have considered some alternative way to dispose of waste.

Several solutions are available from a toilet seat that snaps to the top of a five-gallon bucket for $10, to a chemical porta-potty costing $200 plus.  If you opt for the five-gallon bucket solution, don’t forget to get some small trash bags to use as liners.  

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti taught responders several lessons.  In a region that was marginally sanitary in the best of times, it became painfully aware that in a post-event environment, the health climate deteriorated rapidly and drastically because of the lack of adequate sewage capability. Health officials are still battling a cholera epidemic in Haiti since their earthquake.  Any disruption of sanitary service poses significant health risks.  Every so often a major city experiences a shutdown of garbage services.  The mountains of accumulated trash are an attractive nuisance to all sorts of disease-bearing vermin, including rats, mice and dog packs.

On a different note, researchers are learning about compost piles and their drawbacks after a disaster.  Composting is basically managing the decomposition of certain biodegradable products.  In other words and in base terms:  it is simply a managed collection of garbage intended for a noble purpose, eventually.  (My apologies to all organic gardeners everywhere.)  The word of caution here is to insure that your compost pile is well-secured and does not get scattered nor become an attractant for disease-bearing rodents or other scavengers.  Communities will have their hands full with trying to restore basic services without worrying about the runaway rat population.

Send your comments and questions to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Stuff About Generators

The best thing about generators is they give us the ability to function with some normalcy when the power company fails.  Generator owners exude a certain smugness knowing they can still function, to a degree, when all others have just been relegated to the stone age.  The generator owners I know don’t realize they’re being smug, nor do they purposely conduct themselves with an air of superiority, but it’s there. Trust me.  
If you have been considering joining this exclusive club of generator owners, first ask yourself some questions.  What do I plan to do with it?  Am I going to just power up my travel trailer when I’m camping or do I intend to provide electricity for my home when the power goes out?  
The power company does an amazing job of keeping the electricity flowing, especially during our winter wind and rain storms.  How those lines stay attached to their poles and keep the juice running is a marvel of engineering.  We all know there are times when things happen and service is interrupted.  Sometimes things get fixed right away and sometimes it’s days before the lights come back on.  It’s those times when it takes more than a day or so that you need a generator.  You’ve got to pump water out of your well, keep your refrigerator and freezer cold, or in some cases open your garage door.  
Here are some things to keep in mind.  Unless you’re in the position to spend upwards of $15,000 for a permanently mounted unit, don’t plan to energize your whole house.  A smaller, portable unit of 3500 watt capacity will handle your fridge, freezer, a few lights and your TV.  The going cost for a unit like that will be in the $500 range.  The bigger the wattage output, the more the unit will handle.  Like everything else, you get what you pay for.  Avoid the $99.00 2-cycle unit.  It will probably do more damage (like to your computer or to your $2000 flat-screen TV) than it does good.  A high quality surge suppressor is a really good bit of insurance for your delicate electronics.
The main drawback with generators; they require fuel.  Don’t plan on using your generator as a long-term solution.  Even running the unit only a few hours a day for more than a week, you’d need to store more stabilized fuel than most budgets allow.  Not to mention the inherent dangers of storing gasoline.  Some generators run on diesel, some on propane and some of the permanently-mounted units will run on natural gas.  Speaking of gasoline, today’s ethanol-infused product presents its own problem.  Ethanol naturally attracts water, thus dramatically shortening the storage life of gasoline.  A generator sitting idle for months on end will almost surely fail to start because of bad gasoline.  The solution is to purchase non-ethanol gas (at a much higher price) or using a product such as Sta-Bil to keep fuel fresh for 12 months or longer.
As always send your comments or questions to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Hunting Season

Southwestern Oregon has its fair share of hunters.  We also have our fair share of deer and elk to help keep the hunters coming back.  Whether you cruise the back roads or hike the trails in search of your quarry, sooner or later you will run across someone who needs help.  Some slide off into the ditch, others have a dead battery or some simply need directions, the trick lies in making sure it’s the OTHER guy that gets in a pickle.
Just last week a hiker in Central Oregon got himself in trouble through a series of missteps.  Hiking across the sagebrush-covered flats he somehow lost his water bottle.  Seeing the river at the bottom of the canyon, he decided to hike down to get himself a drink.  About halfway down he found himself in the proverbial pickle.  He discovered he couldn’t go down any farther but couldn’t get back up either.  He was on a ledge described as two feet by three feet in size.  Conditions were such that rescuers were unable to reach him.  After spending a chilly night on the ledge wearing jeans and a tank top, an Army National  Guard Black Hawk helicopter plucked him from his predicament the next morning.
As it is with most ‘pickles’, the problem actually began hours before when he decided to take a hike.  His choice of what to take and what to wear, coupled with his lack of good judgement added up to a precarious, life-threatening experience that didn’t really have to happen. His choice of clothing offered little in the way of protection from the chilly night air.  Then he lost his water bottle.  He had used his cell phone to call for help, but accidently dropped it during the course of the evening.  A question I would ask is, “Was it all that important to get a drink?” Even if he made it to the river, that’s not exactly potable water.  
When hunters or hikers get in trouble, their situation can be greatly lessened with just a little planning.   Cell phones are great and most of us carry one these days, but there are still a few hundred square miles in our region that have no coverage.  Most of those square miles are where we like to play, hike, hunt, camp and otherwise recreate. Here are some suggestions.  Pack like you’re going to spend the night, even if you have no intent to do so.  The kit I always carry in my pickup includes a jar of peanut butter, a couple of MREs, and some other snack food.  Fire starting implements are a must and I also have a small tarp that could be fashioned into a shelter if the need arose. Then let someone know where you’re going and what time you plan to return.  These items, among others would go a long way toward keeping a person comfortable should you find yourself in that pickle.  As always direct your questions and comments to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Group Prep

Until now my focus has been on family and home preparedness.  And while I still believe that should be the individual priority, I am equally convinced that whatever service club or church organization with which you are involved  should also be prepared to meet needs when necessary.  Historically when a disaster or traumatic event strikes, church attendance swells.  It seems to be a pattern anytime there is a crisis, people tend to look to a higher power for stability and comfort.  There’s not a church in the country that doesn’t want to be known as the place that met the needs of its community when disaster happened.  Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that families need to stock up.  Get a kit, make a plan, and be informed, are very viable and essential for home preparedness.

Seven years ago when two major hurricanes struck the Gulf Coast, more than 40,000 refugees fled to the city of Austin, Texas.  Several pastors showed up at shelters only to be turned away because they were neither trained nor had any qualifications to deal with the situation.  Since then the Red Cross (upon request) has provided training to thousands of pastors and church members in their city.  As a result, Austin is now one of the most ready cities in America.  To date members of the Austin Disaster Relief Network have been called upon to respond to floods and fires in the surrounding area.  Some were even sent to Joplin, Missouri, to assist following the devastating tornado in that area last year.

Many churches in our region already have some food supplies on hand,  some are operating their own mini food bank and most have a commercial-grade kitchen.  Moving ahead with an expanded disaster plan, including increasing supplies on hand, would be a small step toward making a big difference.  And while you’re at it, how about compiling a skills inventory of your group.  Who has medical experience?  Is there a nurse or doctor in your group?  Does anyone have skills in working with children?  How about counseling?  Maybe a team of musicians that don’t need electricity to make music.  You get the idea.  If this sounds familiar, it should.  Your church or service club is a microcosm of the community and it may be every bit as important to map your group, as it is to map your neighborhood.  

The next time your service club or church has a planning session, show them a copy of this column.  When all the lights in the neighborhood are out except for the Coleman lantern in your gathering place, people will naturally be drawn to you.  If there is a pot of soup on the propane stove and some coffee going, you might just make an impression on someone.  You could save lives.  Food for thought...

As always send your comments and question to me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.

Mapping Your Neighborhood

       Lets play a little game of pretend.  A major disaster has hit your neighborhood.  The electricity just winked off all over town.  Maybe a tornado or earthquake or hurricane-force winds.  You’re pretty sure there’s damage on your neighbor’s house so you pick up the phone to call 9-1-1.  The line is dead.  Cell phone, “Sorry all circuits are busy try your call again later,” in that irritating, metallic voice you hate to hear.  You can’t reach anyone.  But you feel a responsibility to your neighbor, after she’s an elderly lady, lives alone and someone should probably go check on her.  After all a big tree just fell across her house.  She could be injured.  You try the cell phone again.  Same answer.  Pick up the landline, still dead.

The reality is that during a major catastrophic event, YOU are the first responder.  This is why neighborhoods all across the country are instituting a progam called ‘Mapping Your Neighborhood’.  This is a simple grass-roots plan that relies on people organizing their own neighborhoods and building a network of contacts based on who lives on your block or in your immediate vicinity.  Generally made up of fewer than 20 homes, a list is compiled of who lives where.  Do they have natural gas or a propane tank?  Is there an elderly person in the home, one who may need assistance in the event of a disaster.  Are they on oxygen?  How about insulin?  Does anyone have a toddler or infant in the home?  On the other hand, is anyone in your neighborhood equipped with a backhoe, generator, chainsaw or other item that could come in handy during a crisis.  How about skills?  Is anyone trained in medical care, maybe a nurse or someone who can give care to an elderly person or a young child?  Does anyone have carpentry skills?  Anyone skilled in counseling, maybe a minister?

All these questions will be answered at your first neighborhood meeting.  What is needed is for someone to grasp the vision of seeing their neighborhood come together and get organized on a very local level.  Only one meeting per year is really necessary and only then to update files.  Some groups simply compile a list of their neighbors and make a basic plan while others do fundraisers to buy needed equipment like fire extinguishers or community-owned chainsaws.  The extent of involvement is strictly up to the local neighborhood.

To begin simply search online for “Mapping Your Neighborhood Oregon.”  You will find a booklet you can print off to get you started.  If politics isn’t exactly your thing, but you want to contribute to your neighborhood, this may be just the opportunity for you.  There is no federal funding, but most cities in our region have someone who is designated to assist with disaster preparedness.  If that fails you may always contact me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com  Other information can be found on my blog at www.disasterprepdave.blogspot.com.

#38 Mindsets  

       There are those who make things happen, those who watch what happens and those who wonder what happened.  I find a similar set of breakdowns when it comes to disaster preparedness.  

The first group is absolutely convinced the sky will fall in at any moment.  Society will collapse, electrical power will be cut off, and gangs of lawless marauders will be running free in the streets.  But this group has it covered, they have planned ahead.  Their “bug out location” is hidden in the mountains, well fortified and stocked with beans, bullets and band aids.  Their “bug out vehicle” is fully capable of carrying all their bug out gear and is ready to spirit them and their family to safety. These people are gung-ho and fully committed to their cause.  For them, disaster preparedness is almost a form of religion to be preached and practiced to a level of high fanaticism

       At the other end of the spectrum is the guy who, for whatever reason, has no intention of making any kind of preparations.  When the topic comes up in conversation his response goes something like this:  “Well if anything happens, I’ll just come to your house.” That’s the best way I know of to irritate a prepper.  To which one person answered, “Why would you take food out of the mouths of my children when you had ample warning to prepare?”

No matter where a person finds themselves in this discussion, sooner or later you will be required to rely on what you have set aside. Your disaster may be nothing more than a wind storm that takes down the power lines between you and the grocery store, or it could be a 9.0 megaquake that devastates an entire region for weeks.  Either way you will fare better with just a bit of foresight, a few of the basics on your shelves and an attitude that says, “We’ll get through this, and hopefully help out our neighbors along the way.”

Most of us, I’m sure, fall somewhere in the middle of the debate.  Not quite fanatical, but not quite complacent either.  So now is the time to get started.  On your next trip to the grocery store, watch for sales, pick up some non-perishable foods strictly for the purpose of setting them aside.  Next time, do the same.  Search your closets and drawers for old candles.  You know, the ones that are either broken  or just don’t match your decor this month.  Presto, emergency lighting.  Clean out your old Coleman stove and fire it up just to make sure it still works.  See how easy this is?  You’re well on your way to being prepared. For other suggestions check outwww.ready.gov or www.redcross.org.  And comments or questions can always be sent to me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.

Attitude Check

       When considering disaster preparedness, supplies and equipment are important.  Many of my columns have dealt with the issue of “Get A Kit, Make A Plan, Be Informed.”  More important than stuff, is knowledge.  But ultimately knowledge will take a backseat to attitude.   Time after time those who found themselves in a survival situation did not make it even though they had all the equipment necessary.   In the book Deep Survival:  Who lives, who dies and why: true stories of miraculous endurance and sudden death, author Laurence Gonzales points out, “....experience, training, and modern equipment can betray you. The maddening thing for someone with a Western scientific turn of mind is that it’s not what’s in your pack that separates the quick from the dead.  It’s not even what’s in your mind.  Corny as it sounds, it’s what’s in your heart.”
       My father’s generation grew up during the Great Depression.  Often times they were forced to make do with what they had on hand.  When I was 17 years old, my uncle took my cousin and me camping and deer hunting in the Callahan area northwest of Roseburg. He had an old International pickup and it was a barebones camping trip.  When we arrived at our campsite, we discovered we had no matches. This didn’t even faze Uncle Eddie.  He pulled a greasy rag from behind the pickup seat, siphoned some gasoline onto the rag, shorted a wire across the battery terminals that tossed a spark on the rag and we had fire!  I was amazed.  He acted like he did this sort of thing everyday. There was no panic, no temper tantrum, just the attitude of “we’ll figure it out.”
       The depression years taught “The Greatest Generation” they could make do with whatever they had at hand.  I have learned that when I need something, I simply make a trip to the store and get it.  My father would encourage me to “skip the trip and make do with what I had on hand.”
       During a catastrophe, we may be required to make do.  This is not a matter of making sure we have an extra ton of PVC fittings, although that can’t hurt.  Nor is it a matter of storing up several cases of freeze dried food, not a bad idea.  But it is the attitude of being able to conquer this challenge using baling wire, duct tape and zip ties.  
       So start developing your ‘can-do’ skills.  Next time you need a fastener for the garden gate, make one.  Need a widget to store your nuts and bolts? Make one.  You’ll save a few bucks and find that you really can “make do” successfully!
       If you’ve managed to get by with what you’ve got on hand, I’d be interested in hearing about it.  You can email me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  Previous columns are posted on my blog at www.disasterprepdave@blogspot.com