Preparing for an Emergency
by Jordan Marie Williams

Church members around the world know well the time in which we live. It is evident, no matter where you live, that yesterday was the time to prepare for natural disasters.

Church leaders have advised members to prepare spiritually by fasting, praying, having family home evening, and honoring covenants. They have also asked us to prepare financially by staying out of debt, saving money for the future, and getting insurance. It is important to collect a year’s supply of food by storing basic non-perishable items and to have certain basic emergency and first aid supplies.

Beyond the basics, religion-specific disasters like fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes require particular safety knowledge to keep our families safe.

Fires
The first thing you can do to protect your family from fires is to install smoke detectors. Most fatal home fires happen at night because the poisonous gases cause you to fall into an even deeper sleep. When you install smoke detectors in your house, the risk of death from a residential fire is cut in half. Follow these steps to be sure they are working properly:

• Clean and test your smoke alarm monthly.

• Place a smoke alarm outside each bedroom and on every level of your home.

• Make sure that everyone can hear the alarm even when doors are shut.

• Place alarms high on a wall or on the ceiling, as smoke rises.

• Don’t borrow batteries from smoke alarms to use them for something else.

• Don’t install alarms near windows or doors where drafts could affect their operation.

Have a plan for your family to get out of the house with two escape routes from every room. Draw a map including every exit (doors, windows, and hallways); the main shut-off points of gas, electricity, and water lines; each bedroom, the best two exits from each room; and a place to meet outside of the home upon evacuation. Teach family members that when they hear the alarm they should feel a closed door with the back of their hand. If the door is cool, they may open it slowly and walk out, if the door is warm or hot, leave it closed and get out using the second route.

Plan a safe place to meet ahead of time, far enough away to be safe from harm, and practice with you family. When the drill ends, have your children pretend to go to a neighbor’s house to call 9-1-1. Practice this drill often so that you can improve your time. Teach your children the "stop, drop, and roll" drill if their clothes catch on fire. At your signal, have them immediately stop, drop to the ground, and roll around until the imaginary flames are out. If they practice, it will become an immediate response.

Floods

Listen to weather reports to find out if there is a flash flood watch, warning, or advisory. In a warning or an advisory you should immediately find high ground and remember:

• Don’t try walking through floodwaters. Just six inches of rushing water can lift you off your feet.

• Don’t try driving through floodwaters as the road may be out and your car could be carried away. Try driving another way to higher ground. If your car stalls, leave it and walk to higher ground.

• Be extra careful at night, since flood dangers are harder to see when it’s dark.

• Never eat food that has been in floodwater. Floodwater is contaminated with sewage and garbage. Likewise, drink only treated water.

• Wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants to avoid cuts caused by debris. If you are cut, wash and clean the area before bandaging it.

• If you are in an area that’s flooded, be sure to wash your hands and body thoroughly, using uncontaminated water, as soon as possible.

Earthquakes

Rule number one: Stay calm. If you are indoors, stay indoors. The most dangerous thing you can do is to try to leave the building. Practice the “duck, cover, and hold” drill. Duck under a stable desk or table or lean against an interior wall away from windows or hanging objects. If you're under furniture, hold on and move with it when the ground is shaking.

If you are outside, don't go into a building. Lie flat on the ground until the shaking stops. If you are in a car, stop and don’t get out. Avoid collapsing bridges and ramps. If you are on a sidewalk, hide beneath a doorway frame.

Once an earthquake stops, find your family members or meet at a predetermined place. Check for injuries and provide medical help. Also, check for gas, water, and sewage breaks. Listen for instructions from local authorities on the radio and be prepared for aftershocks.

Tornadoes
Here are some basic rules to protect you during a tornado:

• Go to a safe place, like a storm shelter, basement, or low-lying area.

• Go into a hall and get on your hands and knees. Put your head on the floor in the direction of the interior wall, and cover it.

• Avoid all windows.

• If you can’t get to a nearby shelter, get inside a bathtub and cover yourself with a mattress.

• If you are caught outside, lie flat on the ground (not in a ditch or stream bed).

Hurricanes

Have an evacuation route, backup plan, and gathering place planned; most areas only give a twenty-four-hour evacuation notice. Protect your windows by taping or boarding them. Be aware of nearby shelters and store general disaster supplies, and always keep you gas tank full.

Stay indoors and away from water. The most dangerous winds are just outside the center of the hurricane, but don’t be deceived by the calm of the eye of the storm. Sometimes the eye is so large it takes several hours to pass over an area. Without electricity to hear broadcasts of the status of the storm, some people mistake the eye for the outside of the hurricane. Stay inside until authorities say the storm has passed.

During a hurricane watch, keep your valuables and important papers in a watertight container at the highest level of your house. Avoid using electricity and check your food and water supplies. If you must evacuate, turn off the utilities and lock your home. Be sure to bring your emergency supplies and blankets or sleeping bags. Inform someone you know of where you are going.

If you live in an area in which there are repeating disasters, it is likely you already know this information. However, even if a certain disaster doesn't affect your area, be aware of how to handle that emergency if you are visiting an area prone to the disaster, or if you get caught in one of those wrong time, wrong place moments—sometimes a record-breaking hurricane spins off the equator, an unlikely tornado rocks downtown Salt Lake City, or an underwater earthquake whips a sixty-foot wave onto the coast.

LDS Living Magazine