If you are like many people, you’ve probably been meaning to put together an emergency kit, but haven’t yet. Don’t despair. There are many resources out there to help you. Start with one thing at a time, and soon you will have a well-stocked kit.
One of the most important things you can do is have an emergency supply of water. People can survive for weeks without food, but only a few days without water, so water is a good place to start your preparedness efforts. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the general rule is to have one gallon of water per person per day to last you 14 days (and don’t forget about your pets!). You can store your emergency water supply in your own containers or buy commercially bottled water. Click here to learn more about how to store your emergency water supply.
If preparing for the BIG ONE seems like a lot of work for something that my not happen in our lives, think about it this way – preparing for a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake will ensure you are also prepared for other, more common emergencies. here are three things you can do to prepare for emergencies:
- Get a kit. Being prepared means having the right supplies and being able to access them easily when you may need them. You can stock your own emergency kit or purchase a ready-made one. Find out more about what to include in your kit at http://www.redcross.org/local/oregon/preparedness/preparedness-toolkit or http://www.regionalh2o.org/get-your-kit-together.
- Sign up to get public alerts. PublicAlerts.org is a website that provides news and information on major service disruptions in the Portland-Vancouver metro area. PublicAlerts.org’s sign up page includes links to county-specific emergency notification systems throughout Oregon and SW Washington.
- Know how to shut off your home’s water supply. Knowing where your home’s shut-off valve is, and making sure the other members of your household do too, will help ensure you can quickly shut your water off during or after an emergency. Learn more at http://www.regionalh2o.org/how-shut-your-water-emergency