SpaceMika

All the recent high-profile earthquakes has mixed with my disaster-training to the point where I need write my quasi-annual “Are you prepared?” post.

Out-of-Area Contact Number
In case of a major regional natural disaster, the local phone network will be overwhelmed. Instead of trying to make a dozen calls to each other all checking in to tell your entire family you’re alright, make one call to an out-of-region contact. This is especially important if your family mostly lives in the same region and can all be affected by the same disaster. Pick someone who would certainly not be impacted (no earthquake in the PNW will knock out phone lines in Alberta; no storm in Florida will swamp the network in Ohio), and if a disaster strikes call in to give your status (are you alright, where you are, etc), and they’ll tell you who else has called in.

If you cannot get through using your cellphone, try text message, then try using the internet (both use different networks and might not be overloaded). If you use a landline, pick up the receiver. If you do not get a dial tone, STAY ON THE PHONE. You’ve been placed in a queue, and you WILL eventually get a dial tone (designated emergency responders jump the queue, so you might be bumped back if it’s immediately after the disaster). Corded phones will work even if the power is out.

If you’re the out-of-area contact for your family, do not make any outgoing calls during the disaster: you do not want your line busy if someone is trying to call in, and you don’t want to tie up their local network with more calls.

Household Plans
Inside your household, you should make a plan of where you’d meet up if a disaster made your home uninhabitable (exe: an earthquake makes the building unsafe to enter, so we’d meet at the local park).

Survival Kits
You can make two levels of emergency preparedness packs — a “Grab’n'Go” bag for 12-hour disasters, and a “Stay’n'Survive” bag for more major catastrophes (72-hour survival). In the Grab’n'Go you should have all the basics you’d want if the house caught on fire — the out-of-area phone number, photocopies of ID, a flashlight, maybe some water & snacks, required medications (spare glasses), something warm (socks, blanket…), very basic first-aid gear (bandages, painkillers…), a bit of cash (at least payphone change) and optionally sturdy shoes (for nocturnal evacuations), a radio, and an external hard drive of photos, thesis-data or other digital-irreplaceables. Communal residents, this is the bag you grab every time the fire alarm goes off and everyone needs to evacuate; it should be near the door, lightweight, and easy to carry (mine’s in a spare backpack).

The Stay’n'Survive bag is more intense, but it’s more things to have around the house than an actual bag. Most municipal emergency plans assume that everyone can independently survive for 72 hours while the official response gets sorted out, so keep a few days of food & water, and for-certain some form of radio.
For more suggestions, check out the Canadian government preparedness site.

Tailor the supplies to the local conditions — staying warm isn’t nearly as important in California as it would be in eastern Canada in the winter. If you don’t know what your local hazards are, here are some resources to get you started:
Canadian natural hazards map & more info
The US doesn’t have a single nice map; instead I offer a maps produced as part of disaster-planning advertising and an interactive map run by the US government, and the link to
more info from the USGS.

If you’re in a major earthquake or are warned of an impending disaster (tornado warning), try to fill your bathtub with water as the system might shut down later. Toilet-tank water is a potable supply of last resort if the water’s already shut done. If you live somewhere with frequent rain (like the PNW), keep a tarp in your Stay’n'Survive gear to collect your own water.

To keep the supplies fresh, rotate food, batteries (if the flashlight/radio need them), and medications out of the bags at daylight savings time each year (it’s also a good time to check batteries on smoke detectors).

Personal Preparedness
In case something happens that leaves you unconscious (even a traffic accident), program into your cellphone an ICE number (“In Case of Emergency”). It’s also a very good idea to have a notecard in your wallet with your name, any life-threatening info (allergies, medications), and that same ICE number (in case your phone is busted). If you’re traveling, it’s a good idea to have both an ICE Home and an ICE local number. ICE is an internationally-agreed acronym that paramedics will check for before continuing on to other common names (like “dad”).

It’s that time of year again. Swap the food in your emergency kit, replace your batteries, update your phone numbers, and evaluate your emergency plan.

Psst.

If you have lived in California or British Columbia, can you give me a bit of data for an informal essay I’m writing? Estimated time required: 30 seconds.

update: I’ve got enough info for my essay, thanks! I’ll let you know how it comes out.

whoops: I haven’t gotten around to updating y’all, but the funniest trend was “Exposure to Mika increases disaster prepardness”

Not very good at keeping rhythm during CPR? Try singing Staying Alive by the BeeGees.

The second Wednesday in October (today) is designated by the UN as Disaster Reduction Day. In my eternal fascination with all things that go squish in the darkness, I have some suggested activities:

1. Play a round of Stop Disasters! It’s a simcity-style game that will introduce you to common-sense mitigation strategies for a variety of disasters. All rounds are timed, so you won’t lose your whole day (unless you get addicted to playing more and more difficult scenarios for better payoff…)

2.  Prepare your home for earthquakes. Vancouver is a subduction zone triple-plate junction with the potential for megaquakes, so today is as good of a day as any to make sure heavy objects are down low where they won’t hurt you if they fall, delicates are earthquake-tacky’ed into place, and your Grab’n'Go bag is stocked with flashlights, food & water, copies of ID & research data, and whatever else you absolutely need in case of emergency.

3. Do a hazard spot-check. Are there broken gutters (which can lead to rapid erosion events)? Are there flammable materials leaning against walls? Are there things you would trip over in a nocturnal evacuation? Batteries in fire alarms, food good in emergency kits, contact info up to date?

5. Read up on local hazards. The very best popsci book I’ve read in the past several years is an illustrated guide to Vancouver geohazards, John Clague’s “Vancouver: City on the Edge.” Check out government websites for regional hazard maps, and figure out what your most likely hazards are.