Shakeout Day: Emergency & Natural Disaster Preparedness at Home
ShakeOut Day is coming up on October 17th (third Thursday every October). Everyone, everywhere should know how to protect themselves during a natural disaster which is why I always post about this time of year! As a concerned Mom living on the water in Marin County (a high-hazard zone for earthquakes and wildfires), I wanted to share how we can be prepared to protect ourselves in an emergency situation.
Any time I see a natural disaster in the news, even if it’s hundreds of miles away, it always hits way too close to home being a parent. I’m including below a bunch of guides you can print out and fill in. I hope you will take the time to read through so you can protect your loved ones too!
When I first wrote this, I was preparing for a natural disaster such as an earthquake or wildfire because we live in California where they’re all too common. I attended a ‘Get Ready’ class in Marin County, CA on Household Disaster. It was MUCH more than I anticipated learning. It taught me how to develop emergency plans and what should be done before, during and after an emergency. Now, I am excited to get my ‘Go Kit’ together and share it with my fellow Mama families.
It made me feel a little bit safer and more secure and I hope it makes you feel that way too! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions! ❤️
Have you ever taken a Get Ready class or something similar before? If not, read on Mama!
Check if your local Police Department has a program. You can hold one for your neighborhood or group. My local area Marin County is holding an event on October 20th, if you’re in Marin you can visit the Disaster Preparedness website here to get all the key info!
There is SO much material in this manual, but I will just hit briefly upon a few key points. If you want more info on anything please contact me.
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Emergency Food Supply
Maintain a 5-7 day supply
Foods you will enjoy, especially the kids
Ones that require little prep or water, no refrigeration
Low sodium
Extra baby formula if needed.
Don’t forget pet food
Change every 6 months and donate it
Equipment to cook your food like a camping stove if desired
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Water
Water is KEY
“Rule of 3”, which says that a person can live for 3 minutes without air (oxygen), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food
Store a minimum of 5 gallons per person
You may add a few drops of chlorine to the water to purify it before drinking or you can get water bottles that have UV technology to cleanse natural waters to make them safe for drinking like Larq
Change water stock every 6 months
Click on each each to expand it!
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KEY POINTS
Know how to shut off your gas and where your breaker panel is
Try to take a CPR / First Aid / Pediatric First Aid class
Your water heater water & water in back of the toilet tank can be consumed
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PRACTICE DRILLS
One of the key items I learned was to prop yourself in a doorway with your butt against the frame and hands on the other side with your children below you
Make sure your children know what to do in a fire or earthquake
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Make a PLAN
Does your county have a protocol for when a state of emergency is called? 🌪️
How will you evacuate, where will you meet, how will you communicate? 📱
Do you have cash? 💵
An emergency contact list?
What items will you grab if you had 10 minutes to evacuate?
My cousin’s husband’s mom’s house burned in the Napa fires… all she had was her purse, that is ALL, when they all arrived at my house that night.
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Sign up to Emergency Alerts
If you’re in Marin, here are some great options:
AlertMarin tells you when you need to take action to be safe
Nixle sends notifications with local information by Zip Code
PG&E alerts notify you when a public safety power outage might occur (you can sign up even if you are not an account holder)
Any events triggering a State of Emergency are sent out by the government to all smartphones
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go-bag/prep kit
Keep a backpack in your car with supplies in case you are stranded and need to walk.
5 topics to include: Food & Water, Tools & First Aid, Light & Comms, Shelter & Warmth, Hygiene & Sanitation
Our go-bag contains:
1 gallon of water
Sour Patch Kids (no, seriously 😂)
protein bars/Soylent shakes
first aid kit
body warmer/foil blankets/poncho
toilet paper
flashlight
radio
power brick
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grab before leaving home in an emergency
Prescription Meds
Eyeglasses
Copys of IDs and Passports (print in advance)
Cards & Wallets
Local Map
Power brick
Life & Medical Insurance Policies (print out in advance to keep in the kit because seriously who knows where these are in the house really?! 😅)
Pets need their own Go-Bags too! 🐢
