Recently
I attended an Anchorage Chamber of Commerce luncheon, and Anchorage
fire chief Chris Bushue brought up a really good point while discussing
disaster preparedness. Anchorage sits on an earthquake fault. We are 
bordered
on 3 sides by water. He stated that it's not a matter of "if" Anchorage
is going to have another major disaster, it's "when". Last week was the
50th Anniversary of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and after all these
years, it's still chilling to think about the death and destruction it
caused. We Alaskans take this stuff seriously (at least I hope we all
do). It is such a real possibility, that last week first responders
ranging from the Coast Guard to volunteer groups to the national guard
participated in a multi organization training event in Valdez. Earthquake, Tsunami Training with Alaska Shield in Valdez
Having grown up in Alaska, it's something I have always had bouncing
around in the back of my mind, but I sat down and REALLY thought about
how my family and I would react in a natural disaster. Here is what I
came up with:
bordered
on 3 sides by water. He stated that it's not a matter of "if" Anchorage
is going to have another major disaster, it's "when". Last week was the
50th Anniversary of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and after all these
years, it's still chilling to think about the death and destruction it
caused. We Alaskans take this stuff seriously (at least I hope we all
do). It is such a real possibility, that last week first responders
ranging from the Coast Guard to volunteer groups to the national guard
participated in a multi organization training event in Valdez. Earthquake, Tsunami Training with Alaska Shield in Valdez
Having grown up in Alaska, it's something I have always had bouncing
around in the back of my mind, but I sat down and REALLY thought about
how my family and I would react in a natural disaster. Here is what I
came up with:
1.
We have a camper and always keep propane in it, along with a change of
clothes, linens, etc. If need be, we have alternate shelter. Bonus- it
is mobile.
2. We have 2 generators. One generator is run on natural gas and is set up so that it can be plugged into our home's heating system. The assumption is that we will be able to access the nat. gas. At least we'll have heat. The other generator is a Honda portable that runs on gas. We use it for the camper, but of course it can be used for anything.
3. Our camper also has a solar charger hooked up to it's battery, so we have some electrical back up there too.
4. We keep gasoline on hand year round. Whether it's for the snow blower, the lawn mower, or in the snowmachines and cars. If we need it, we have it. is it enough? I hope we never have to find out.
5. Food- We have a freezer that I always try to keep over full and a pantry that is the same. As a kid, we had all kinds of food on hand simply because if my mom felt like cooking something, she would rather open the pantry and start cooking instead of waiting until she could visit the grocery store. I am pretty sure I get that habit from her. However, my wife and I have decided we want to try our hand at canning. Not just because it'll insure more food "just in case", but also because we want to enjoy the experience of catching our own fish, picking our own berries, etc.
6. Batteries- need I say more?
7. Radios- I have a few radios that operate via cranking them up. This charges the built in battery so that then we can listen. They also incorporate short wave bands, weather band, emergency channels, etc. A good way to monitor what is happening in a emergency as TV channels and regular radio stations may be out of service. 8.Bullets- I'm not arming for the zombie apocalypse, but the possibility of having to subsistence hunt or protect my family during civil unrest could happen. I believe we are all too civilized, but I am also realistic. Look at the looting that occurred in New Orleans after the hurricane.
9. Possibly the most important thing- A plan. My family has discussed what to do if there is an emergency. They know where they need to be and what to do. Will everyone remain calm? probably not. Will it all work out? Hopefully so.
Something
else to consider- your pets. It's easy for people to prepare, but I am
willing to bet we (as a whole) forget about our pets. We have two cats,
and after listening to Chief Bushue, I have decided I will have our pet
carriers easily accessible so we can make sure they are safe and go with
us if we need to go. We always have cat food on hand, but we don't keep
water necessarily, so now I know I need to stock up on water for us AND
the cats. Not something I would have thought of otherwise....shame on
me. Municipality of Anchorage Animal Care and Control Disaster Preparation.
This is just a blog, it's not gospel, and I am NOT an expert, although I used to be heavy into disaster relief as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. I would recommend that anyone and everyone think about this. Visit the Municipality's website there's a ton of info on there about how to prepare your family. There are also links to DHS and other agencies that I thought were helpful too. Stay safe, be prepared.
2. We have 2 generators. One generator is run on natural gas and is set up so that it can be plugged into our home's heating system. The assumption is that we will be able to access the nat. gas. At least we'll have heat. The other generator is a Honda portable that runs on gas. We use it for the camper, but of course it can be used for anything.
3. Our camper also has a solar charger hooked up to it's battery, so we have some electrical back up there too.
4. We keep gasoline on hand year round. Whether it's for the snow blower, the lawn mower, or in the snowmachines and cars. If we need it, we have it. is it enough? I hope we never have to find out.
5. Food- We have a freezer that I always try to keep over full and a pantry that is the same. As a kid, we had all kinds of food on hand simply because if my mom felt like cooking something, she would rather open the pantry and start cooking instead of waiting until she could visit the grocery store. I am pretty sure I get that habit from her. However, my wife and I have decided we want to try our hand at canning. Not just because it'll insure more food "just in case", but also because we want to enjoy the experience of catching our own fish, picking our own berries, etc.
6. Batteries- need I say more?
7. Radios- I have a few radios that operate via cranking them up. This charges the built in battery so that then we can listen. They also incorporate short wave bands, weather band, emergency channels, etc. A good way to monitor what is happening in a emergency as TV channels and regular radio stations may be out of service. 8.Bullets- I'm not arming for the zombie apocalypse, but the possibility of having to subsistence hunt or protect my family during civil unrest could happen. I believe we are all too civilized, but I am also realistic. Look at the looting that occurred in New Orleans after the hurricane.
9. Possibly the most important thing- A plan. My family has discussed what to do if there is an emergency. They know where they need to be and what to do. Will everyone remain calm? probably not. Will it all work out? Hopefully so.
Something
else to consider- your pets. It's easy for people to prepare, but I am
willing to bet we (as a whole) forget about our pets. We have two cats,
and after listening to Chief Bushue, I have decided I will have our pet
carriers easily accessible so we can make sure they are safe and go with
us if we need to go. We always have cat food on hand, but we don't keep
water necessarily, so now I know I need to stock up on water for us AND
the cats. Not something I would have thought of otherwise....shame on
me. Municipality of Anchorage Animal Care and Control Disaster Preparation. This is just a blog, it's not gospel, and I am NOT an expert, although I used to be heavy into disaster relief as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. I would recommend that anyone and everyone think about this. Visit the Municipality's website there's a ton of info on there about how to prepare your family. There are also links to DHS and other agencies that I thought were helpful too. Stay safe, be prepared.
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