M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Preparing to Provide Refuge
By Carolyn Nicolaysen

So you think because you don’t live in a flood plain, near a river, or in the probable path of a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake or tornado, that you are exempt from being prepared?  Think again.

This past week I spent a lot of time reading the accounts of disaster survivors. Their experiences highlight the fact that every natural disaster has a crisis zone where victims experience the horror of life threatening danger.

But all around that zone, there are others affected by less dramatic traumas and challenges — power outages, flooding, a breakdown of infrastructure, a run on the banks and the stores, and a lack of services. Evacuees and refugees fill the roads, the Home Depot, the hotels, the supermarkets, and line up at ATM machines. The consequences of disasters extend beyond the crisis zone where the helicopters hover and the TV networks beam back their images of heroes at work.

From the experience of survivors and eyewitnesses, there is much to learn. Perhaps something you see here or in the news will inspire you to share some thoughts with your family about being prepared for the unexpected, and preparing to help. For reference, see our Meridian Magazine story:  Thirty More Days and Thirty More Ways to Prepare.

I remember my husband’s grandmother telling us stories about the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. She lived along a highway 70 miles from San Francisco that had more horse-drawn traffic than motor vehicles — but she remembered hundreds of people who made their way to California's Central Valley as a place of refuge, where they could find food, water, housing, and work.

The same thing happens today as those escaping storms and fires evacuate to safe havens. Even if you live in an area far from a disaster zone, that disaster can affect you.

Providing a Safe Haven

Consider a few ways your home might be affected in a disaster.  There are things you can do to provide a safe haven for your family and others:

  1. Electrical outages occur far from the initial disaster site. Experts predict that after the Big One (an earthquake that measures more than 7.0 on the Richter scale) in the Los Angeles area, there will be huge power outages for weeks. The reason? Power is generated outside of the LA basin, and the power lines cross the fault lines. When the fault goes, so will the lines supplying much of Southern California.

    Last year we watched residents in the Buffalo, New York area suffer without power for weeks. In 1998 a huge ice storm caused power outages in eastern Canada for more than three weeks. After Katrina evacuees thought they would be safe 50 miles away; the power went out there too.
  1. Store foods you like to eat that are easy to prepare. Foods that can be prepared without a lot of work are worth their weight in gold when you are trying to feed a crowd. Emotions might be running high, and no one will want to be grinding wheat or letting beans soak and then cooking them for hours. When friends and family evacuate to your home, you will be responsible to feed them. I read several accounts of families who volunteered their home to friends as an evacuation site, and when they arrived they had other families with them!

    If you live within 100 miles of a disaster area, begin preparing as soon as warnings are issued, or immediately after the earthquake occurs. Fill your gas tank and buy any last-minute items like milk, bread and eggs. Once friends and relatives arrive for refuge, gas stations will run out and local supplies may be gone, and you will be in a position to offer help. Remember your generator? How much gas do you have for it? The time to store fuel is ahead of disasters — now.
What will disappear first at the grocery store? Milk, bread, water, ice, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, hygiene items such as soap and toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, diapers, baby formula, headache and muscle ache medications, anti-diarrhea medications, and batteries. Don’t forget the insect repellent (see above). Wouldn't it be better to have your own inventory of things that store well?
If a power outage affects your area, you may have to wait in long lines to get into a store as employees take you through the store with flashlights to guide the way. As supplies are diverted to disaster areas, deliveries to your local stores may be delayed or non-existent for several days or weeks.
  1. Think prescriptions. As people come to your hometown, they will be in need of prescription medications. If you are down to the last few days and an evacuation is ordered nearby, renew your prescription immediately.
  1. Be prepared to entertain: As conditions improve around you, children and adults alike will become impatient with the disaster routine. Almost certainly, you will be without electricity for a few days to a few weeks. Be prepared with some good age-appropriate books, travel editions of favorite games, coloring books and crayons for the kids, and balls and other toys for outdoor use. If you are the designated evacuation site for family and friends, you will need to have these items on hand. Evacuees will not have room to bring these non-essential items. Everyone should have small games and other small items in every 72-hour kit.
  1. Sanitation can be a huge problem. One of the comments I read over and over was about the awful way people smelled. Although those coming to your home should bring soap and toothpaste in their 72-hour kits, be sure to have some extras on hand. Also consider purchasing a port-a-potty (bucket-type), especially if you are dependent on a well for water.

    If you are on a well, how will you supply water for clean-up and essential laundry? Wet wipes, hand sanitizers, and extra water storage in barrels would be one approach. A supplemental water tank is another way that many ranchers prepare to care for livestock, and you could store water in tanks too, if you live in a rural area.
  1. Garbage will become a concern. Have plenty of large plastic trash bags or biohazard bags on hand. Because no one will have the energy or desire to clean up after meals, I also suggest you stock a supply of paper plates, cups, bowls and plastic utensils — but if you do, have a strategy for managing the waste they create.
Advice for Evacuees

What if a natural disaster, pandemic, or terrorist attack occurs in your city and you are the one evacuating? What then? Some years back, friends of ours who lived in Hong Kong, were in the Philippines for a vacation. A volcano erupted and they were trapped in their hotel room for weeks, with an infant just three months old — living with two other families in their room, and without a source for diapers or baby formula. Yes, things can even happen while you are on vacation.

Here is some advice that may help you if you find yourself in a similar situation:

  1. Get good footwear now. If you don’t have good hiking or work shoes or boots for all family members, get them now. Too many people said they were not prepared to walk out or back over the debris that followed their disaster. There may not be stores left to purchase shoes and if there are, the competition will be great and stores will be sold out quickly.
  2. Money, money, money. Cash is absolutely essential during an emergency. Many families reported not being able to use credit cards because electricity was out. No one accepted checks — including banks.

    Think about it. After a natural disaster, there will be no way to confirm there is money in your account. If you bank at a local bank, it may not be able to provide services for days, weeks, or months as corporations dig out and rebuild. ATM machines will be emptied of cash rapidly, and there will be no employees to restock the machines — they will all be home caring for their families and evacuating themselves. When, or if, you can find food, clothing, or gas for sale, you will have to pay in cash or be out of luck. Keep several hundred dollars in cash for the Big Event. This should be in small denomination bills and coins.
    Never carry all your cash in one place and never let anyone see that you have more than a few dollars. Most people are honest, helpful and trustworthy, but it only takes one dishonest person to hold you up and steal your cash.
  1. When you evacuate, bring your own toiletries. You may think this is not necessary if you are headed to a hotel, but their resources are limited.  During an emergency, families may have to share a room with friends or large families and may be limited to one room. If you are evacuating to a family or friend’s home, they may have several other families expecting to be housed there also. You should have a good 72-hour kit so you won’t have to think too much about including them as you pack to evacuate. Remember to include TP, feminine hygiene products, and diapers.
  1. Medications. If you are taking any prescription medications, they may not be available to you for several days or more. Local pharmacies will not be prepared for new customers in the great numbers that will need to be serviced. A national chain may not have access to computer records to fill orders. If there are no refills left on your prescription and/or if you normally purchase your medications from a small pharmacy, you will need to have your prescription rewritten. Good luck trying to find your doctor to okay the order! If there is any way to stock up on a month's supply of your prescriptions, do it now, and then never leave home without them. If you wear glasses, you may ask your optometrist for a copy of your prescription to include in your 72-hour kit.
  1. Purchase a car top carrier. Over and over I read of families who gathered their family and pets to evacuate, and there was no room in the car for everything. Do a trial run and determine how much you could take in your vehicle and how much more space you will need to accommodate everyone and everything.
  1. Plan for those who are ill. For goodness sake, never stay at home during an evacuation warning if any of your family has medical problems. If you have someone on oxygen, you will need a constant supply of electricity. Even a generator will eventually run out of gas and you could be stuck. If you have a family member with a weakened immune system, even the smallest cut that comes in contact with contaminated water could prove life-threatening.
     
    Even now, two years after Hurricane Katrina, the majority of the hospitals in New Orleans are still closed. Almost half of the doctors and nurses have not returned to town. Can you imagine the chaos right after the disaster for anyone needing medical care? Medical personnel have families they need to care for too; they cannot be everywhere.
  1. Families have been separated. If you are told to evacuate, please do it. After Katrina, conditions were so bad that people were desperate to get out. Some families were separated as they loaded buses and airplanes. Everyone was doing their best to get people to safe and sanitary locations but in the process, some families ended up in different towns and even different states.

No matter how desperate you are, never allow yourself to be separated from family members. Always have an out of state contact person — someone every family member knows to call just in case the worst happens. Everyone should have that phone number memorized. It may take a few days before phone service is available, but everyone should check in with that person frequently and as soon as possible. It would be advisable for every teen and every adult to have a phone card for just such an emergency.

Whether someday you are the provider of refuge, or the refugee, is not up to you. However, our willingness to prepare — and to prepare now — is up to us.   

Preparation for emergencies truly begins when we listen to the experiences of those who have been through such events, and apply what they learned toward creating a safer home and community. The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked at least twice, but with optimism and faith, he pressed forward.

Surely with all our resources, we can do something to prepare ourselves temporally, as well as spiritually, so that when the hour arrives to show foresight and courage, we will be ready to press on, too. Hopefully in this article you have found something you can do, to be ready to help yourself and others when the Big Event comes knocking.

© 2007 Meridian Magazine.  All Rights Reserved.