Just in Case (27 page)

Information in a crisis is critical. If the lights go out in the middle of a blizzard, the reason is pretty obvious, but what if they go out in the middle of a sunny, windless day? If there has been an automobile accident that has taken out a power line, the problem will be fixed in a couple of hours. If a main switching station has gone down, however, you might be waiting for lights for days or even weeks. It is important to be able to get news and information so you can plan accordingly. It will also be important to reach friends and family.

KEEPING INFORMED

T
HE MOST LIKELY
obstacle to keeping informed about a crisis is lack of electricity. Traditional alternating-current (AC) items like televisions and radios will be out of commission. A laptop computer may remain operational as long as the battery holds up, but if any of your equipment for connecting to the Internet relies on electricity, it won’t be of much use to you in finding out what’s going on.

A battery-operated radio would be the minimum you want to have available in order to get the latest news and weather updates. A hand cranked radio could be a better choice, since you don’t need to stock batteries to keep it operational. If you can afford two radios, keep one at home and one in your evacuation kit.

HAND CRANKED RADIO (WITH CELL-PHONE CHARGER)

Other options for getting and sharing news include emergency scanners, CB radios, and emergency alert radios. Scanners will let you listen in on communications among local fire, police, public safety, ambulance, aviation, and government transmissions. They are pricey, though, costing several hundreds of dollars. CB radios don’t have a long range, only a few miles, but they are useful for finding out about road conditions, especially if you travel a great deal.

Emergency alert radios receive weather forecasts and warnings from the National Weather Service. This is also the service that provides the Emergency Alert System, which you have probably heard tested on your local television and radio stations. Emergency alert radios feature an alarm system that will turn on automatically and warn you with an alarm if an alert is issued for your area. These are inexpensive devices and well worth the cost if you live in tornado or flood country or close to a nuclear or chemical plant.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

H
AVING FAMILY MEMBERS
away from home when a crisis hits can be incredibly stressful and worrying. Drafting a plan for contacting each other will ensure that you know where everyone is and that they are okay.

Of course the easiest way to stay in touch is by phone. There are three kinds of phone connections: land lines, portable, and cellular. While portable phones need to be plugged into electrical service to be operational, an old-fashioned land line does not need electricity to work. As long as the phone lines are up, your phone works.

A cell phone is the obvious choice for person-to-person communication. If you don’t live, as I do, in a cell-phone dead zone, keeping your phone charged is then your biggest obstacle. You can store extra batteries, but I would recommend one of the hand cranked radios with an attached cell-phone charger. That way you can always be sure of being able to charge your phone.

In the case of a local emergency, local phone lines can quickly become overwhelmed with calls. In this case making a long-distance call may be easier than making a local call. So it’s a good idea to designate an out-of-town family member or friend as your family’s main contact person. In the event of a natural disaster or other emergency that has your family scattered and trying to get in touch with each other, each member can call that out-of-town contact to check in.

Do not underestimate the importance of having emergency contact information for all family members in a hard copy. So many people keep all of this information on their computers or PDAs. They are handy, but relying on technology as the only repository of such vital information is a risky proposition. I spent a profitable hour making a master list of names, addresses, phone numbers, work numbers, and e-mail addresses of all family members on my computer and printed copies for myself and each of my children and other family members. I e-mailed a copy of the list to myself, then saved the e-mail on my server, so even if my house burned down or my hard drive crashed, I could retrieve the information.

Every family should have three meeting-place plans. The first is a plan to meet in a specific neighborhood location should you need to evacuate your home, as in the case of a house fire. This is especially important for large families. If you are all gathered on a neighbor’s porch or under a large tree, there will be no doubt about who is safe and who is among the missing.

The next plan should be for a local disaster such as a wildfire, small chemical spill, or flash flood. Agree to meet at a friend or relative’s home or a community location, such as a school or civic center. Avoid choosing locations, such as hospitals or fire stations, where your gathering could hinder emergency response teams.

If there were a more widespread crisis, such as a terrorist attack or large chemical spill, you would need a regional safe location at least fifty miles away. In the best situation, your entire family would travel there together, but in the event that you’re separated, you’ll all know where to head. Again, a friend or relative’s home is probably a good bet. Just be sure to communicate this information to your whole family and update it periodically.

CHAPTER 6 PREPAREDNESS WITH CHILDREN

I first became interested in preparedness when my youngest son, Ben, was a baby. We were living way out in the country at the time, nearly a mile from the closest neighbor and miles from the main road. Ben woke up one freezing, stormy February night burning with fever and unable to keep anything down. He was only a few months old at the time and tiny, maybe twelve pounds. Bruce and I took turns walking the floor with him, trying not to panic. As that long night wore on, he became limper and limper. Getting to the hospital wasn’t possible. Every outside surface was coated with a thick layer of ice. The phone lines went down first; the electrical lines right after. All night we walked, listening to the raging storm, unable to get out or call for help. I knew Ben needed electrolyte replacement, an inexpensive concoction that will keep a small child hydrated until the worst of an illness passes, but I had given the last of mine to a neighbor earlier in the week and hadn’t gotten to town to replace it. As soon as it was light and the winds died down, Bruce hooked up a chain to our old John Deere and pulled enough debris from the road to make it passable in our four-wheel-drive pickup. We slipped down the mountain to the hospital and raced Ben inside. He spent the next eight days there, on the critical list for several days. I sat by his crib the whole time, vowing to never again put one of my children at risk from poor planning.

At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I must confess that I worry about our nation’s children. We are raising a generation who feel entitled to the trappings of an affluent society. Too many young people expect cell phones and computers and a life of instant: instant food, instant entertainment, and instant information. Our kids have lessons in every subject imaginable but are, in many ways, the least competent creatures ever to populate the planet. They can work a microwave but can’t cook. They know how to instant message but can’t communicate face to face. They know fashion but can’t replace a button. They can drive fast but can’t change a tire. The evening news has taught them about danger but not about how to survive in a changing world. As parents, our job is not just to protect our children, but also to raise them to be competent, self-reliant, and self-confident.

I am often asked whether hearing me discuss preparedness has made my children worried or anxious. I have found the opposite to be true. My children feel confident in their ability to handle a crisis, and each one knows he or she makes valuable contributions to the family welfare.

It is important to make family preparedness a family project. If your children hear you calmly discuss how to evacuate your home in a fire and have the opportunity to practice those skills routinely, the smoke detector going off in the middle of the night will put them on autopilot. They will know the steps to take to reach safety. If, in an effort to protect your children from the fear of fire, you never bring the subject up, the smoke detector going off in the middle of the night may well lead to panic, and panic is always dangerous.

In preparing to care for your children in an emergency, panic will be your biggest threat. If you feel desperate and out of control, you can be assured that your children will feel the same way. If you are prepared and confident, your children will draw their strength from you and will often show remarkable resourcefulness and resilience. For this reason, if for no other, family preparedness is crucial.

THE BASIC NECESSITIES

I
F YDU LISTEN
to advertisers, you may believe that your baby won’t survive without a plethora of gadgets, from battery-operated swings to exercise saucers. In reality, kids have lived for thousands of years without crib gyms (or even cribs!) or vibrating bouncy chairs. The true “needs” of an infant are simple. They need food (breast milk or formula). They need to be kept warm and dry. And they need to be loved. That’s it. You could have a perfectly happy and healthy baby without spending a dime on anything but diapers and clothing — and you could probably borrow those.

One area that does need extra consideration in a crisis is the health needs of children. Be certain to keep children up-to-date on immunizations and preventive health and dental care. Keep accurate immunization and growth records. Be sure to include necessary children’s medications in your first-aid kit.

In their early months, infants are unable to regulate their body temperature. During that time especially, it is critical to protect them from extremes of heat and cold. In the summer, that means protection from the sun. If you must be outside in the heat of the day, as many families were in the aftermath of Katrina, an umbrella provides shade and is easy to carry. Other than that, summer is manageable. It is the cold of winter that you will need to be most mindful of.

When it’s cold, keep your children in layers. In the coldest weather, there is no reason to dress your kids at all. They will stay warmest in a long-sleeved thermal shirt and pants topped with a zippered fleece blanket sleeper. Wool socks under the sleeper and a wool hat will keep them comfortable, even at night. At night they can sleep two or even three to a bed and benefit from the shared body heat. If it gets really cold during the day, add a sweater or zippered fleece jacket.

Changing diapers and bathing can be tricky when it’s cold in the house. You want your children to stay clean, but you don’t want them to freeze for the sake of hygiene. Don’t change your child’s diapers any more than you have to. When it’s diapering time, get all of your supplies ready, find the warmest spot in the house, and get the job done as quickly as possible. As for bathing, kids don’t need a bath every day. If their hands, faces, and privates are kept clean, they’ll be fine.