An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure, and preparedness always beats post-disaster trauma.
We are not sit back and watch our friends in New England suffer through the negatives they can change. So here are just a very few of the things we can post today to help:
If your house is habitable, keep what doors and windows you have closed, and Simply cutting down on wind works wonders with keeping warm.
2. Water. Do NOT try to purify flood waters or any standing water in your area regardless of any filing you may have. Flood water is some nasty stuff. Use a clean plastic sheet to catch some rain water if any rain This also holds true for toilet tanks in upstairs bathrooms provided there is no "bowl cleaner" product used.
DO NOT HEAT WITH CHARCOAL INDOORS! Charcoal is a big carbon monoxide producer and is dangerous indoors. If safe to do Use this small fire for cooking, heating as you & gt; re gathered around it, and Steam will moisten everything and everyone making things that much colder when the heat wears off.
4. You can warm food by wrapping it in aluminum foil and placing it directly on Use of electric products. The engine to warm (and you can warm your hot water bottle this way too), you can siphon fuel for generators, and provided the car & # 39; s exhaust is not damaged, you can stay inside it for a bit to take advantage of Hint: If you have a carbon monoxide. Hint: If you have a carbon monoxide detector in your house, take it out the car when someone is inside with the engine running to make sure there are no Many people overlook this as a source of power so if any automated or hardware stores are open at all, They may have a few. Headlights can be used to illuminate small are He told me that he was needy to signal for help for can burn a tire. Heavy smoke can be seen from a long way off.
5. food in short-term survival is actually over-rated, especially in situations where manual labor is not very intensive. Food is king of morale, so look for comfort foods. One overlooked source is vending machines if power in Do not let them do this.. aquatic animals will be contaminated by all the nasties found in flood waters, and with as many as there are running rampant in the wildlife that borders civilized areas, you really have to know what you & # 39; re doing to prep and cook an animal to ensure food safety.
6. Throat. So far. One thing. Some spirit of animals, you may run into issues with the two-legged variety as well as the four-legged variety. Some looting has been reported, but not nearly as much as was found after Katrina. And if you sleep in shifts. even if you 're alert others if you do not have a wildlife wander uninvited into your area. There are too many hidden dangers to list, so "if you go out, do not go without."
7. Multimedia (sending pictures) can work sometimes when text can not because of some different communication protocols some systems use Colored towels make good flags, torches at night can be washed, tires can be burned for smoke or light, paper lanterns illuminated with a "tea candle" can be floated like a small hot-air balloon at night, the shiny side of a CD can be a signal mirror as can the flat surface of an iPhone.
8. Insertion companies (after regional catastrophe like this) will be more I am aware of yourself, your phone & # 39; s camera is your last-minute Child ID kit. Take pictures of all family members Now (including pets) so, have children too young to talk or remember phone numbers or things like that, take a sharpie and write the parent & # 39; s name and info on their arms and chest.
Check with neighbors or see if any stores are open (kitty litter will generally be low on a looter & # 39; s or shopper 's list). Take an empty plastic bucket, line it with a double layer of plastic trash bag, sprinkle in about an inch of litter, and then after you make your own "deposit" sprinkle on just enough litter to cover... place sort of lid on it to keep it covered until next use. One bucket for each person and the rest you can figure out on your own.
10. Mutually shared perspective. It is actually morale. It 's all up to the true leaders in any given group to keep spirits up and keep everyone focused on the goal of rebuilding A few keys: Stay fed and hydrated and take regular work breaks; tell jokes and help keep a smile on your buddy "face" look at " Destruction "as a clean slate and opportunity to build something you more hop off your diet for a little while if you have some of your favorite" comfort foods "available; remember that many of our grandchildren lived every day without running water or electricity; and remember that the worst is behind you.
If you have a generator, power inverter hooked up to a vehicle, or other power source, offer to share by possible neighbors to recharge laptops, cellphones, and other communication devices. or other recorded media player, you can help neighbors by offering some entertainment, or by setting up a child "day care" for your immediate neighbors to free up the adults for other work.
12. Help people find you. Navigation after a destructive event is difficult. Mailboxes with house numbers are gone, etc. Do what you can to label streets and houses so that utility workers will know where they are, emergency responders can navigate, and often for insurances claims adjusters to find the correct property.
Help others gather their lost possessions by salvaging and saving anything that is to have either actual or sentimental value. Since the garbage and debris will FAR outweigh these valuables, use trash cans to salvage the good stuff and leave the debris for cleanup crews. a bit you can host a neighborhood "Found Your Stuff" gathering and see you can return item to.
14. In metro areas across the northeast, we 're see folks without some power and other utilities for a while, but with the repair infrastructure in the region, we & # 39; re sure to see repairs coming much sooner than we did after Katrina. Encourage others to alert neighbors when utilities are back. This gives the option of sharing when possible and safe.
15. If responders have not canvassed your area yet, they themselves labeling homes as to their extent of damage (if any), or the occupants are accounted for or missing, if any utilities are working, pets are missing or injured, etc. Simple dated notes on the door will work. Also, if cell phone services are back, leave the owner & # 39; s contact info on the door if emergency workers need to contact the owner or residents.
16. Light debris cleanup. Clearer roads mean faster assistance and repair. Light debris cleanup. As a follow-up to number two above, do what you can to move light devris off the roadways.
17. Help with communication. Get a list of "okay" or "not okay" messaging from neighbors and edit and collect the information along with the intended recipients. If anyone in your group is a Ham radio operator, if you run across a Ham radio operator, if the red Cross or other volunteer group can can get word to the outside, or if communication services start to return to your area, you & # 39; ll have a set list of messaging that you can get get out quickly to help your neighbors alert their friends and loved ones as to their safety.
18. When the rebuilding starts, encourage folks to be careful about the contractor they choose. FEMA 's info page is: http://www.fema.gov/news-release/ be-smart-about-hiring-building-contractor
19. Remind others that those in the unaffected areas across the country will be approached by fake charities and scammers that will use the current disaster as a way to cheat well-meaning Americans out of their money. Remind them to never donate without it & # 39; sa well-known charity and they & # 39; re sure the person contacting them is actually with that charity.
20. Now back to "survival" info. Food. Encourage neighbors to have "block cookout." But it looks rather exceptional for the situation, here are the advantages: First, a lot of people might not have all items Second, a group function like this helps with morale. Third, there & # 39; s safety in numbers which is important until life gets back to normal.
21. This tip is to make a smaller area within a room that & is not less than a room warm. 39; s easier to keep warm. Or, like kids love to do, take your dry furniture cushions and other items from around the house and build a "fort!" Smaller areas are easier to control temperature wise, but remember: no heating with open flame or charcoal, and make sure any small enclosure is NOT air tight. Do not want to suffocate.
22. Security. Above, we mention safety in numbers and also we are needing to coordinate with neighbors and send up an alert when suspicious people come into the neighborhood. Do not allow anything until that person is wearing a person who wants access to the inside of your house or access to personal inside. Regardless of ID, it 's best if you have a few friends with you if you decide to give any access or information to such a person. In an emergency the buddy system rules! Safety in numbers.
23. More on signaling Another tip to add to that list is your car does not have to to be drivable to still be useful. If the car still works in your car, the panic button on your Cover album can be used as your personal panic If you need help from friends and neighbors. How about air horns - the type you see at sporting events. Sports whistles How about a heavy metal spoon banging against a pot? Again, if you want to learn about all the potential noise makers around the house, ask the kids. Communication is only limited by the imagination.
24. Continue your vigilance of displace animals. Rats will probably be your most common problem. Keep keeping eye for for pets separated from their owners and help round them up for their protection and for later One or more of them are sure to have a BB gun or really good slingshot and would love to be "hero of The day "that protects the area from vermin. ?, remind them not to walk around with their BB gun if Police are in the area. Do not want to be mistaken for a shooter.
FEMA has a decent mold info brochure on their. The dryer the better than that is stall the spread of that. website.
26. Mutual supply. Do not ask any a (to yet) to give up physical possession of the actual item, but try trying together a group list of assets that people would be willing to give away or swap Then with do not you toilet paper, aluminum foil, feminine hygiene products, etc (Food and water is hopefully more available and a little more readily shared and will not need to be bartered.) Then do some swapping once some folding. You might want to set up a bulletin board for posting swaps, but wait to do this until you 're sure that looting or security in general will not be issues.
