Build a Kit to be Ready

Being informed is very important so that you and your family will be able to take action in advance for a natural disaster.  Today on the news we are hearing of a tornado watch issued for NY and CT, what better time to take a look of what you would need in case our area has a severe storm watch issued.

Build a Kit

A disaster supplies kit is simply a collection of basic items your houshold may need in the event of an emergency.

Try to assemble your kit well in advance of an emergency.  You may have to evacuate at a moment's notice and take essentials with you.  You will probably not have time to search for the suuplies you need or shop for them.

You may need to survive on you own after an emergency.  This mean having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours.  Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster but they cannot reach everyone immediately.  You could get help in hours or it might take days.

Additonally, basic sevices such as electicity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week or longer.  (depending on how strong the storm or event is)  Your supply kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.

Family Supply List 

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents.

Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First Aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Infant formula and diapers, if you have an infant
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

Clothing and Bedding:
If you live in a cold weather climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes. One complete change of warm clothing and shoes per person, including:
- A jacket or coat
- Long pants
- A long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy shoes
- A hat and gloves
- A sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Family Supply List (continued)
Below are some other items for your family to consider adding to its supply kit. Some of these items, especially those marked with a * can be dangerous, so please have an adult collect these supplies.
- Emergency reference materials such as a first aid book or a print out of the information on www.ready.gov
- Rain gear
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
- Cash or traveler's checks, change
- Paper towels
- Fire Extinguisher
- Tent
- Compass
- Matches in a waterproof container*
- Signal flare*
- Paper, pencil
- Personal hygiene items including feminine supplies
- Disinfectant*
- Household chlorine bleach* - You can use bleach as a disinfectant (diluted nine parts water to one part bleach), or in an emergency you can also use it to treat water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Medicine dropper
- Important Family Documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container

Be Informed and to Be Prepared

        I started this blog after thinking for years about how an event can affect you and your family.
 You may ask what event are you referring to?  That is a good question and the answer is, a man made or natural disaster.
There are many ways to categorize a disaster, in most cases the disaster that would affect South Eastern PA, would not be a major event because we normaly do not see strong weather.  This is an important topic, if our climate is changing then how do we know that our weather could change enough for us to see stronger weather than before.  Remember the earthquake in Virginia?  When did you feel a tremor like that before?

The_Weather_Vane was inspired by my personal interests to learn how and why our weather and man made accidents affect us.   I thought for awhile about what should I do different on the first anniversary of the Blog.  I initially could not think of anything, however I did learn from doing research this year is that the same message is heard after each storm that we hear about in the news.   "We did not know it was going to be that bad", this is the quote I just heard that a woman mentioned in the news in Northern Louisisana.  The area she is in was more affected than it was during Isaac than it was with Hurricane Katrina.  This is exactly why we need to be informed and to be prepared. For a local comparison, we need to remember how we were affected by T.S Irene.

For our first anniversary I wanted to use new tools to inform our public to help to be prepared for storms in our area.   I only ask everyone to not only read the information but to help spread the word to family, friends and co workers so that we do not see people perish like what happened last year during Tropical Storm Irene in PA.


I have joined a group with FEMA to collect more information about being prepared and I will make sure that on a regular basis this information is shared with my readers.  This information will be posted on several social Media sites, like Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter.  If you are not part of these social media sources then look for the box in the upper right side of the blog to subscribe to regular emails. "I will not spam you".

The_Weather_Vane and FEMA

Here is a brief view of some of the information that will be shared from FEMA and ready.gov

Get a Family Emergency Plan form
http://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/Family_Emegency_Plan.pdf

Terrorist Hazards
http://www.ready.gov/terrorism

• Ensure you and your family know your surroundings and risk for specific weather.
• Have an emergency plan, and know what to do before severe weather strikes. Post your
plan in your home where family and friends who visit can see it.
• Find out from local government emergency management how you will be notified for
each kind of disasters and sign up for additional alerts through social media and local
news. Understand these local warning systems and signals and share your knowledge
with your coworkers, friends. Email these resources to your friends, post to your social
media account.