Planning for a Natural Disaster

When we hear of natural disasters, they may feel like an irrelevant event. We may believe that we are immune to natural disasters because it has not happened to us. Admittedly, the weather is unpredictable and weather models can only predict what could happen. However, we know that nature and weather events are completely out of our control which may result in our lack of preparation. Once we experience a natural disaster, though, we are forever changed and will view future weather events through the lens of our past weather experience. To help us prepare for or even recover from a natural disaster, there are several steps we can take.

For public service professionals like EMS, fire, or military personnel, there is an adage they like to use: Go to your training. While it’s not expected for people to train each week for a natural disaster, it can be helpful to create a plan for survival.

Make the plan, practice the plan, teach your plan, use your plan.

  • What supplies do you need to survive a few days? You likely do not need to store several months’ worth of food and supplies, but having a few days of supplies on hand can be critical to your survival. In addition to bottled water, some common food supplies can include nonperishable foods like Spam, ready-to-open canned soups, crackers, or whatever nonperishable food you like and can store.
    • Other supplies should include important documents, flashlights, flashlight batteries, your cell phone chargers or battery backup, a simple first aid kit, medications, clothes, and shoes. Most of these supplies, you can throw in a backpack and get it out when bad weather is forecast. 
  • Where is your rally point? This can be a room in the house, a place outside like the end of the driveway, the home of a friend or family member, or a local church or organization. When bad weather is predicted, it is best to talk about and visit your rally point.
  • Who can you contact or go to in the event someone is hurt or lost? You can always call 911, but sometimes emergency personnel are unavailable. It is good to identify a family member, friend, or neighbor close by to get help from.
  • Discuss your plan before bad weather. Talking about your plan, locating your supplies, visiting your rally point, and discussing your go-to contact person helps lock the plan into your brain. Think of it like putting on a pair of pants. Putting on pants is automatic, and you do not need to “think about it,” you just put them on. That’s what you want with a plan because when you are stressed or scared, you may not be able to think clearly.

For cold weather disaster preparedness, there are a few supplies and actions to add to your plan to ensure that you stay warm and dry.

  • If you are without heat, close off rooms and spend most of your time in a smaller room of your home. If possible, hang blankets or bedding over doors and windows to help keep the heat in the room.
  • Consider purchasing small, propane-powered camping heaters and a few propane bottles. A small propane heater costs about $90 but can easily heat a closed off 15-foot-by-15-foot room. The heaters also have safety sensors to prevent fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. When running a propane heater, make sure you do not seal off doors or windows with tape or foam to ensure adequate ventilation. Do not use generators or gas grills indoors.
  • Pack a few extra layers in your emergency backpack, which should include a pair of thermal pants, a thermal shirt, a toboggan hat, gloves, and a fleece or insulated jacket. Also, place an extra pair of socks in the pack as well. Remove damp or wet clothing as soon as possible to avoid quick onset hypothermia even if temps are in the 40s.
    • If possible, keep rain gear and a tarp on hand.
    • To help prevent hypothermia, especially at night, keep extra blankets or bedding nearby to create layers. When layering, it is important to create a barrier layer between you and the floor. A barrier layer can be a tarp with a bed comforter or camping pad. Then other layers can serve as additional bottom and top layers.
    • Children: It’s important to note that young children and infants cannot generate heat like adults, so parents need to consider sleeping under the same covers with their children. Signs of hypothermia in children including numb toes and fingers, stumbling, shivering, slow breathing, confusion or slurred speech, and clumsiness. Sleep with young children and infants in the same room as you.
    • Infants: It is not recommended that parents sleep in the same beds as infants. If you lose power or heat and have an infant, then seek alternate housing. If you are unable to seek alternative housing, then bundle up your infant with extra clothing and check on them frequently. Signs of infant hypothermia include rapid or labored breathing, pale or purple skin, lethargy (difficulty rousing them), or no interest in feedings.
    • The GOAL is to keep from getting hypothermia.

References:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2022). Planning Considerations: Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place. D. o. H. Security. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/planning-considerations-evacuation-and-shelter-in-place.pdf

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2022). Make A Plan. Ready.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2022 from https://www.ready.gov/plan

Source: Paul Norrod, DrPH, RN, Extension Specialist for Rural Health and Safety

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