Preparing for a Natural Disaster

Natural disasters are inevitable and being prepared is crucial to recovery should you ever be affected. With the wildfires ravaging through California, I wanted to share with you my own disaster preparedness plan. In Iowa, we deal with different natural disasters, such as tornados and floods. You can use this plan that I have made, and format it to any disaster that you may encounter to help to keep you and your pets safe.

Preparedness before a flood:

• Preparing an emergency kit is an easy way to be ready for anything. In this kit, we may want food, water, and necessities for all family members for 3-5 days. Medication is important to remember (currently we don’t take any daily medication, but always having some ibuprofen just in case is a good idea!). A small first aid kit, battery-powered radio, and flashlight with batteries are essential. Water-purifying supplies, sleeping bags, and blankets and extra clothing are also important things to have. Keeping these supplies in a Rubbermaid tub would be an easy way to store the supplies and can easily be grabbed in a hurry.
• How will you contact one another if you are in separate locations? Sometimes, in my family at least, we have problems keeping our phones charged and at the ready if we need each other. This is something that I think we need to work on, in case we ever faced an emergency, or we need to come up with a different way to contact one another.

Preparedness during a flood:

• Get emergency supplies
• Never ignore an evacuation order
• If there is time, disconnect electrical appliances to prevent shock when power is restored, turn off gas, electricity, and water as the main switches or valves, don’t touch electrical equipment in wet or standing water
• Avoid floodwaters—may be contaminated by bacteria, be electrically charged from downed power lines, etc.

Preparedness after a flood:

• Cleanup safely: wear rubber gloves and boots, don’t use water that might be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, prepare food or make ice, use caution with gas-powered equipment (carbon monoxide)
• Exposure to floodwaters in cold weather can lead to hypothermia and extreme heat can lead to heat stress or exhaustion
• Food/water safety: throw away food that may have come in contact with floodwater (when in doubt, throw it out!)
• Use safe water: bottled, boiled, or treated for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene

Staying safe is important for my family, as well as our pets. At present we have 2 cats, 1 parrot, and 2 geckos. We can create a plan for them as well!

• Before:
  • Create an emergency supply kit for pets:
    • Food/water, transport carriers, vaccine history, rabies certificate, blankets/towels, special supplies (heat lamps, live food supply, etc.) Evacuation plan for pets. Find pet-friendly locations (petswelcome.com)
    • Check with boarding facilities outside the area
  • ID
    • Take photo of your pets and keep with medical records
  • During:
    • Avoid leaving pets behind! If there is no other alternative, leave loose inside with plenty of food and water
      • DON’T LEAVE THEM ENCLOSED SO THEY CAN’T ESCAPE DANGER!
      • Place notice outside your home with the location and type of pet inside, their names, contact number and veterinarian
    • After:
      • Behavior can change, so be aware!
      • If pets were left behind, they can become confused and lost so be sure to maintain close contact and reintroduce food in small servings.

Other things to do to be prepared include

• Determining the risk of flooding in our area (http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/ or weather.gov)
• Know potential hazards on your property (how to turn off electrical power, gas, and water supplies)
  • I called my handy dad and asked him about this (he was a former electrician).
• Install sump pumps with backup power (battery)
• Safeguard possessions (gather copies of critical documents and keep in a secure place such as safe deposit box or waterproof containers)
• Get flood insurance!
  • This is something that I actually already have through my renters’ insurance.