preparednessblog

Many health officials consider an influenza pandemic not only possible, but highly likely. I’ve found two really terrific sources of information about pandemic flu, and how to prepare for it.

Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching is a non-fiction book about pandemic flu that is available in whole online at http://birdflubook.com. This book covers the history of pandemics, such as the 1918 flu outbreak, as well as an analysis of various government’s states of preparedness. There is also a good deal of scientific background for those interested.

A Will to Survive is a novel chronicling the life of one well-prepared family during a pandemic. The writing is at times a little flat, but, the information about this family’s day to day life, and the steps they took to prepare are invaluable.

A bit of the most valuable information from both:

Most agree that vaccinations and anti-virals will be in short supply. But, a few different sources I’ve read have suggested a few strategies that will help prevent a large amount of transmission of the flu.

The most basic and most effective is hand-washing. Do it after every use of the restroom, every handshake, and every cough or sneeze, and you will cut down your risk of infection significantly.  Alcohol gel hand sanitizers were found to be even more effective and less drying to the skin than soap and water.

Social distancing — that is, avoiding crowds, avoiding touching those who may be sick, and even going so far as to self-quarantine — is another measure described in both books.

A third measure people can take on their own is the use of masks. Surgical masks known as N95 masks can effectively screen out the fluids that contain viruses. They can help keep ill people from transmitting the virus, and well people from catching it. They also serve as a reminder to keep people from touching their eyes, nose or mouth, which are the most common routes for infection.

In order to make this blog more useful to all my readers, I’m looking for a widget that will show the reader his or her local weather.

So far, almost all of what I’ve found can only be set to one city. I chose the one that is currently on the left because you can at least click it to get information for your location.

If anyone knows of any small weather widgets that do automatic geo-location, please comment and let me know!

The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st, and runs until November 30th.

The NOAA has released their predictions for hurricane activity this year. They are:

• - 6 to 9 hurricanes
• - 2 of which will be major, which means sustained winds of 110 mph or more.
• - 12 to 16 named storms

This year, the organization also added that they consider their forecast about 60 to 70 percent probable. Officials say that they included this information this year because many people take the predictions as a hard figure, and relied too heavily on the forecasts.

I think this observation sums it all up perfectly:

“Living in a coastal state means having a plan for each and every hurricane season. Review or complete emergency plans now — before a storm threatens,” said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator. “Planning and preparation is the key to storm survival and recovery.”

You can read the Yahoo! News story here .

Reader pinkink suggested the other day that I cover the need to evacuate with pets. This is a great suggestion, as it requires specific information.

If you have pets and will need to evacuate, you need to have a plan in place. Make sure that your bug out bag includes pet food, any medications for your pet, vaccination records, a leash or crate, and litter, if you have a cat. Do not leave pets behind if you need to evacuate. It is unlikely that they’ll be able to survive alone; if they do, you may have trouble locating them when you return home.

Many shelters are not yet equipped to accept animals.

Finding a friend or family member outside of the disaster zone who can take your pet is the best option. You can also inquire with veterinarians and boarding facilities to see if they can take care of your animal.

If you find yourself needing to stay in a hotel, there are many that are pet friendly. PetsWelcome is a site that lists lodgings that accept pets. 1ClickPetHotels is another.

You can find more in-depth information and many more links at PetTravel.com .

Today’s Preparedness Challenge: Identify and discuss with your family a meet-up location in case you are separated during an emergency.

By the time our third hurricane evacuation of 2004 came around, I was pretty fatigued by the whole experience.

After that fall, I started keeping a “bug out bag”. This is simply a bag you can grab quickly and easily that contains everything you need to be (relatively) comfortable for three days. It saves the time and stress of last-minute packing. And, if you have to get out in a hurry — think of the wild fires that have ravaged parts of both Florida and California in the past year, or the floods in the midwest — you can be sure that you have everything handy and in one place.

What should be in your bag?

Changes of clothes for every family member. If you are in a situation where you may get wet, pack clothes made of synthetic fibers, as they dry more quickly.

Hygiene kit with toothbrush, toothpaste, a wash cloth, soap, and baby wipes.

Medicines. If you have a prescription you take regularly, ask your doctor to write a scrip for an extra month’s supply to keep with your emergency supplies. Remember to rotate medicines so that you do not wind up with expired meds!

First aid kit.

Paper and pens.

Money. Cash in small denominations and a roll of quarters.

Plastic garbage bags for storing dirty or wet items.

Seventy-two hours worth of shelf stable foods that can be eaten without further preparation.

Water. Each person in your group needs one gallon per day for drinking and washing.

Flashlights. Have batteries stored separately, or buy a crank or squeeze flashlight that can work without batteries.

Radio.

Entertainment. I have a novel for me, and word searches and Sudoku  for the kids.

There’s a fun little video here on what to stock:

We just had a harrowing little incident here at the house this afternoon.

When my daughters arrived home from school, my youngest, J., was crying and clawing at her chest, saying that it hurt. We pulled off her tshirt, and found that a small wasp had flown inside and was biting her repeatedly.

My boyfriend, S., quickly dispatched the wasp (saving the body in case J. had a bad reaction to the stings) while I grabbed a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer to use as an ice patch.

I was about to consult Dr. Google on what else to do, when  S. reminded me of an excellent remedy for insect stings: a wet tobacco compress. We don’t smoke, but, I had a tin of chewing tobacco in the garage that I bought for making an organic insecticide tea for the garden.

I wet small pinches of tobacco and put them over eat bite. We put the ice packs back over this, and gave her some Children’s Benedryl for good measure.

It’s about two hours since the stings, and you can’t even see where they were. She says the area itches a bit, but, other than that, she feels fine.

Research and preparedness pays off.

How much food do you need?

Many people, particularly members of the Mormon Church, believe that you should stock one full year’s worth of food. There is even a calculator here to help you decide how much to have on hand to satisfy a year’s nutritional needs.

Obviously, this is not a one-size-fits-all solution. I, for one, am not at a point where I would even know what to do with 600 pounds of wheat berries. It makes no sense to stock food that you do not know how to prepare or will not eat.

But, I will say that the calculator is a good way to start thinking about how much is enough, and what sorts of foods you would like to keep on-hand for your family.

If there is ever an event that damages the water supply in your area, making sure that you have access to clean water is a must.

The best option is to have potable water stored. The minimum you should have is one gallon per person per day, enough to get you through three days.

If you do not have that on-hand, you will need to find other water sources and make those safe to drink. Most bacteria can be killed by boiling water for five minutes. After boiling, pour water back and forth between two pitchers to re-oxygenate it and take away the flat, boiled taste.

Water can also be purified by adding small amounts of bleach – a couple of drops per gallon. Let it sit for several minutes before drinking.

A third, less well-known option is solar water purification. This method uses nothing more than PET plastic bottles and the sun’s light to kill germs. Exposure time needed ranges from 6 hours in warm climates and bright light to as long as two days in cloudy conditions.

There is a great step-by-step tutorial here . It’s a good option if you are in a situation where fuel is limited but water needs to be purified to drink, cook and wash.

While reading various disaster-preparedness and survival blogs (and, really, you should get as much information as you can from as many sources as you can) you’ll occasionally run into odd acronyms and initialisms that can be confusing if they are unfamiliar to you.

I’ve put together a brief list of some of the most common ones and their translations:

BOB – Bug Out Bag. A bag that you keep ready-packed with items to get you through an evacuation, such as hurricane or flash flood warnings. I’ll cover this in more depth at a later date.

H5N1 – the CDC’s designation for Asian Avian Flu, aka bird flu, a particularly virulent flu that many suspect could lead to the next influenza pandemic.

MRE – Meals Ready to Eat. These are US Military field rations. Many people concerned with preparedness keep these on hand because they are dense in calories and last, just about literally, forever. They are expensive and don’t get high ratings on flavor, though, so I have never sought them out for my own stores.

NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A US federal agency, most closely associated with weather data. When I’m watching a hurricane (I live on Florida’s gulf coast) I go to them first. (www.noaa.gov.)

NOLA – New Orleans, Louisiana. What happened there after Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call for a lot of people. The government does not have the ability to be everywhere, immediately. If your family is going to be safe, you need to provide for that safety yourself.

SHTF – Sh*t hits the fan. Basically, any large-scale disaster.

TEOTWAWKI – The End of the World as We Know It (pronounced “tee-aught-wah-kee”); this harks back to traditional survivalists who were/are preparing for a total breakdown of society.

TVP – Texturized Vegetable Protein. A dry, granular meat substitute made from soy beans. It stores well and is a great source of protein. (It’s more appetizing than it sounds, really!)

YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary; meaning, your situation and results may wind up different than mine. Research and test all ideas for yourself, and adapt plans to your personal situation.

I want to talk about Myanmar, but I just don’t what to say.

As you have almost certainly read, the cyclone has left about a million people homeless. The death toll is, now, as many as 60,000, and that number rises every day that the government there keeps aid workers out. The area that was flooded was the country’s largest agricultural area, so the Burmese people’s suffering is only going to get worse as the months go on.

This refusal to grant visas to humanitarian workers is according to many organizations, unprecedented.

Despite the fact that much of the pledge aid is being turned away, I feel it’s still important to try to get help to the people of Myanmar.

There is a list here of organizations you can donate money to in order to help. There is no assurance that your help will get there if you give. The only certain situation is if we don’t help.

I’ve donated $100 that I can’t afford, but I’m figuring my finances are far less dire than anyone’s there. Please comment and let me know if you have donated, as well.