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- Be Ready Utah - 12 Steps to Emergency Preparedness
Be Ready Utah - 12 Steps to Emergency Preparedness
You can only last three to four hours in extreme conditions without adequate shelter. Maintaining your body temperature in hot or cold temperatures is vital for survival. This can be hard to do if you are out of your normal environment or the power to your home is out. Knowledge of how to maintain your optimal body temperature can help you "Be Ready" to save your life or the life of someone you care about.
Do This
- Learn the science of sheltering and layering so you can create life-saving shelters in any situation, then practice
- Gather sheltering supplies like blankets, tents, sleeping bags, Mylar, cold weather clothing, and clear plastic sheeting. Include sheltering items as needed in disaster supply kits
- Learn how to keep your home warm or cool as needed if the power goes out
- Learn how to safely build, start, and put out a fire using a variety of different starting and extinguishing methods, then practice
Learn more by going to the "Be Ready Utah" Shelter, Clothing & Fire page.
Water is necessary for life and survival. You are 60 to 70 percent water. It’s necessary for all bodily functions. If you are thirsty, you're already dehydrated. You can only last three to four days without it. Having a storage of clean drinking water and knowing how to safely treat more is vital to "be ready" for survival.
Do This
- Store a MINIMUM of 1 gallon of clean drinking water per person per day.
- Store a MINIMUM 2-week supply (14 gallons each) for you and your family.
- Gather and store water treatment supplies in your disaster supply kits and at-home supplies.
- Secure your water heater with earthquake water heater straps.
- Store more water as space, budget, and ability allow.
- BONUS: Store a full month of water for your entire household.
- BONUS: Practice using only your stored water for two or three days. See if you can live on only one gallon of water per person per day.
- BONUS: Learn how to conserve water in an emergency by practicing things like washing dishes and laundry by hand.
Learn more by going to the "Be Ready Utah" Water page.
There are a lot of stories throughout history of people eating strange things because they were starving. Through war, famine, political and economic turmoil, and natural and man-made disasters, people have been known to eat tree bark, shoes, dirt, pets, and worse. You can only last three to four weeks without adequate nutrition. Have a basic food storage supply for maintaining your energy and health in an emergency, and to keep yourself and your family from hunger and malnutrition. Gathering and storing food and other supplies now will help your family "be ready" for an emergency and have peace of mind in the event of a disaster.
Do This
- Determine the dietary needs of your family members. Are there allergies or other food restrictions?
- Make a list of the foods that your family eats for a month and create a one-month menu of foods that can be made from your pantry and food stores. Make sure you are covering the basics of nutrition.
- Store a MINIMUM one-month food supply in your home for you and your family. Work towards a three-month supply.
- Create a food and emergency storage room or area in your home.
- Develop and maintain a food rotation system to prevent waste.
- Try new foods and recipes to add to the variety in your food storage. Keep the ones you and your family like and will eat.
- BONUS: Try growing sprouts for healthy greens any time of the year. Incorporate them into your meals.
- BONUS: Start a garden and learn how to grow your own food.
- BONUS: Store enough food for your entire household for a year.
- BONUS: Learn how to preserve food to add to your food storage.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Food page.
The second emergency after an initial disaster is a disease outbreak. Improper hygiene and sanitation lead to deadly diseases like typhoid, dysentery, and cholera. Prevent disease and illness by keeping yourself and your surrounding environment clean. Having a storage of hygiene and sanitation supplies and knowing how to safely use them at home and away is vital for you and your family to "be ready" for survival.
Do This
- Gather emergency sanitation supplies including at least one month or more of toilet paper, feminine hygiene as needed, hand sanitizer, paper towels, garbage bags, and cleaning supplies.
- Add hygiene and sanitation supplies to your disaster supply kit.
- Create a hand washing station and add it to your emergency supplies.
- Create a "port-a-potty" kit (second page) and add it to your emergency supplies.
- Gather supplies for doing laundry and dishes by hand. Teach household members how.
- Add hygiene and sanitation supplies to work and school emergency kits.
- Check with your local municipality on what local plans and regulations are in place for local disposal of garbage and human waste in the event of an emergency.
- BONUS: Practice proper outdoor hygiene and sanitation by going camping. Learn how to safely create and use a latrine.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Hygiene & Sanitation page.
Emergency lighting is necessary for safety and for emotional and mental health. Light helps you see and avoid hazards. It can help you better see and understand your situation when a disaster happens. Have you ever been in a cave with absolutely no light? It can be disorienting at the very least. Power outages are very common, especially during emergencies and disasters. Knowing what to do in a power outage situation can help you "Be Ready" for your own safety and the safety of others.
Do This
- Add electrical power and natural gas company phone numbers in your emergency contacts.
- Put flashlights, batteries, and chemical glow sticks in emergency kits.
- Store batteries in original packaging – not in flashlights, radios, or other electronic devices.
- Learn how to safely shut off all of the utilities at your home and teach all responsible people how and when to do the same.
- Store a gas shut-off wrench near your outside gas meter.
- Have emergency chargers for mobile phones and other emergency communication equipment.
- Install safety lighting where needed around your home.
- Get power backups if someone uses life-saving electronic medical equipment.
- BONUS: Get a generator and learn how to safely use it to power larger appliances in your home.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Light & Power page.
In a disaster situation when emergency services are overwhelmed and professional medical care may be unavailable, it is vital to have a basic understanding of first aid and have necessary medical supplies on hand. Your personal health is of paramount concern, especially during an emergency. Disasters can be physically and emotionally taxing. You are much more likely to get through the incident if you are physically fit. Additionally, when you are healthy, you are in a better position to be of help to others. "Be Ready" for medical and health emergencies with proper first aid training, first aid supplies, and personal health.
Do This
- Determine yours and your family's unique health and medical needs.
- Make a plan to meet those health and medical needs in an emergency without outside help.
- Update prescriptions, and when possible, keep a few week's supply of medications on hand.
- Become first aid certified and maintain your certification.
- Become CPR and AED certified and maintain your certifications.
- Add first aid supplies to your disaster supply kit.
- Build a supply of first aid and medical supplies at home.
- Take a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course and become actively involved.
- BONUS: Take more extensive medical training like an EMT course.
- BONUS: Become involved with your local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" First Aid page.
- Communication
- Safety & Security
- Tools & Personal Items
- Cooking
- Important Documents
- Transportation & Navigation
Accurate information allows you to make informed decisions. Communication is often the first thing lost in an emergency. Reliable and true information sources are essential during a disaster. Not all sources will be available depending on the emergency. Knowing and having multiple ways of giving and receiving information will help you "Be Ready" to communicate and be reunited with family and friends.
Do This
- Establish an out-of-state contact for family members to call and report status and location in the event of an emergency.
- Establish an outside-the-home emergency meeting place.
- Establish an outside-the-neighborhood emergency meeting place.
- Gather and maintain emergency communications supplies.
- Learn the emergency communications plans for your city, schools, and places of employment.
- Learn various kinds of emergency signaling.
- BONUS: Get a HAM radio operator's license.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Communication page.
Safety is all about preventing injuries and accidents from ever happening by eliminating or reducing hazards and mitigating risk to life and property. The easiest recovery is an emergency that never happens. Security is being situationally aware of the risks that are beyond your direct control and knowing what to do to minimize and deter outside threats and also how to act when confronted with a threatening situation. Knowing what to do to increase your safety and security will help you and your family "Be Ready" before, during, and after emergencies.
Do This
- Perform a Home Hazard Hunt of your home
- Correct the issues found in your home hazard hunt
- Make a home escape plan for a house fire
- Learn protective actions
- Practice and teach safe internet use
- Practice locating exits, fire alarms, and extinguishers when entering new locations
- Practice situational awareness. Always be aware of your surroundings.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Safety & Security page.
You are a unique person with unique needs and abilities. Your personal preparedness plans should be as well. Do you have allergies? Vision or hearing impairment? Special medication? Other issues unique to you? You need to have plans and supplies to meet those needs before the emergency starts. What tools and supplies do you need to be happy, healthy, and comfortable in an emergency situation? Do you have medical training that requires specific medical tools? What tools do you have in your vehicles and do you know how to use them? Think about where you spend time, what skills you have, and what tools and supplies you will need to "be ready" during difficult times.
Do This
- Customize your and your family members' disaster supply kits to meet your own and their own personal needs.
- Have an assortment of hand tools, equipment, and other supplies that will be useful in an emergency situation. Learn how to safely use and maintain them.
- Add personal items to your home emergency supplies according to your and your family members' needs and abilities.
- Create a prioritized emergency "grab list" of important items and tools that do not fit in your disaster supply kit. Most important items first.
- BONUS: Get spare parts for your emergency tools and learn how to make repairs.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Tools & Personal Items page.
Can you prepare food without your normal kitchen appliances? It's important to know how to safely make meals when the lights are out and the gas is gone. You can eat "ready-to-eat" meals for a while, but you will need something more substantial for longer-term physical and mental health. Some foods require cooking before they are safe to eat and can slow the deterioration of food as well. Cooking is not only used in the preparation of food, but also in purifying water, and sterilizing pots, pans, utensils, and medical equipment. Having a safe source of cooking heat and knowing different means of cooking are vital to "be ready" for emergency survival.
Do This
- Learn how to safely use BBQ and other outdoor cooking equipment.
- Gather cooking equipment and keep it in working order.
- Safely store cooking fuels (charcoal, wood, propane) according to local regulations.
- Learn how to safely build, start, and put out a fire using a variety of different starting and extinguishing methods, then practice.
- BONUS: Build additional cooking supplies like a solar box oven or soda can stove.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah, Cooking page.
It is important to have printed copies of documents for identification and reference during an emergency and to help in post-emergency recovery. At the same time, during disasters, ATM machines, banks, and credit card readers may be inoperable. Having cash on hand will help cover costs until normal services resume. It is important to have your important documents in order and have some finances set aside to "be ready" for emergencies and hard times.
Do This
- Gather and make copies of your important documents and put the originals in a fire/waterproof safe or safe deposit box.
- Put COPIES of important documents in disaster supply kits.
- Secure digital copies of important documents in a secure cloud account.
- Put together an ICE (In Case of Emergency) finance book.
- BONUS: Include in your budget a percentage of each check until you have at least a $1000.00 emergency fund. Keep the cash in small bills and store it with your important documents in the safe.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Important Documents page.
Transportation is about getting you, your loved ones, and basic preparedness supplies from Point A to Point B. Point A is anywhere that is not safe and Point B is where you may find safety for a time. Navigation is knowing where you are, where you are going, and the safest routes to take. Having emergency evacuation plans with details about where to go and how to get there is important to any preparedness plan. "Be ready" with the plans, knowledge, and tools you need to get you safely from here to there, wherever here and there may be.
Do This
- Make a plan for two areas to evacuate to in an emergency. One outside your home, and another outside your neighborhood.
- Have a comfortable, sturdy pair of shoes with each emergency kit.
- Learn how to use a map and compass.
- Put a compass and maps of your local area in your emergency kits.
- Keep fuel tanks in vehicles at least half full.
- Maintain vehicles with spring and fall tune-ups, and before long road trips.
- Make plans for the transportation needs of children, the elderly, those with access and functional needs, and pets.
- BONUS: Increase your physical fitness with healthy living and regular exercise.
- BONUS: Include a GPS device in emergency kits and learn how to use it.
Learn more on the "Be Ready Utah" Transportation & Navigation page.