Emergency Preparedness
Are You Ready?
There are a many reasons to prepare for possible disasters in Lehi City. We live in a time where natural disasters are leaving thousands of people at the mercy of others to rely on during their great time of need. These disasters range from natural (earthquakes, floods, etc.), unnatural (power outages, engineering failures) and human involvement (terrorism, industrial incidents, etc.). Being prepared for such an occasion can reduce the fear, anxiety, and losses that accompany disasters. Each disaster has lasting effects, to both people and property. If a disaster occurs, local government and relief organizations will try to help, but you need to be prepared as well. Local responders may not be able to reach you immediately, or they may need to focus their efforts away from you. You should prepare to be self-sufficient for at least three days in the event of a disaster. This may mean providing for your own shelter, first aid, food, water, and sanitation.
Depending on the disaster circumstances, the first important decision is whether to stay or evacuate your home. You should understand and plan for both possibilities. Use common sense and available information to help determine your decision. Have a plan to either relocate to an area outside the disaster zone or shelter in place and seal the room. Regardless of the location you chose, you should have a 72 hour kit with you for each person in your family. By preparing your own 72 hour kit, you have to ability to configure your needs into the kit. You can also find kits that are prepared and ready to use at the time of an emergency. Either way, be familiar with what you have in your kit. Common first aid supplies should be considered and any necessary medications that you may need. Food and water supplies should be able to last a single person a minimum of three days. Ready-to-eat meals are a great food supply for an emergency. Store bought foods are just as reliable and shelf-stable foods can be stored for at least 18 months. As a general rule, one gallon of water per day, for each person, should be stored for use. This will include drinking water and sanitary usage. You can store water in food grade plastic containers (2 liter soft drink bottles) or heavy duty reusable plastic containers. Water storage containers should be sealed tight and replaced every six months.
These are a few ideas and suggestions. For more information you can do a web search for emergency preparedness or go to:
http://72hours.org/
http://www.ready.gov/
http://www.fema.gov/
http://www.bereadyutah.gov