Family Communications Plan

When I was a junior in high school, a natural disaster hit.  Late one spring afternoon, I was at my school at the softball field.  My softball team was having sliding practice since the field was so muddy and the weather was so overcast.  All of a sudden the wind started whipping around so fiercely that large drums that we used as garbage cans tipped over and started blowing away.  Debris stirred up everywhere and the air seemed to fill with dirt and dust.  The sky turned dark and it started to rain.  We all started running for our cars.  My mom was supposed to pick me up about an hour later, but we all just ran to cars and left as quickly as we could.  I jumped in the car with a teammate and we took off.  As we passed the school, the air pressure that had built up resulted in the windows of the school exploding.  Large tree limbs scattered the road and a horrific roaring seemed to be right on top of us.  We had no idea what was happening, we just knew we needed to get as far away as fast as we could. 

We later learned that a tornado had hit our city.  We didn’t live in an area where tornadoes occurred very frequently and we were caught by surprise.  I ended up going home with a friend, and didn’t know if my mom and sister were OK.  A few hours later, we were all reunited since the phones were only out for a short time.  Trees fell on houses and there was substantial property damage to some homes.  We were lucky.  It could have been much worse.  We didn’t have an emergency plan in place and we could have been separated for days, not knowing where our loved ones were or if they were safe. 

I have worked on an emergency plan with my family so that my kids know what to do in an emergency.  If we need to evacuate our house (think house fire or gas leak) we meet at the park across the street from our home.  If we have to evacuate our city, I am in charge of picking up our children from school and then meeting my husband at a local fast food place just off an interstate exit.  We know that whatever may occur, we have a plan in place so that our family can be together.

Water is the most essential thing you can store in times of emergency.  Let me say that again, water is the most essential thing you can store.  You can live for weeks without food, but only about 3 days without water.  Think of the ways you use water every day:  to brush your teeth, to wash your hands, to flush a toilet, to wash dishes, to run your washing machine, to fill a pot for dinner.  We use water and we use a lot of it.

It takes about 35-40 gallons of water to fill a bathtub and we use about 5 gallons a minute when we shower.  Because water is so accessible and so cheap, it is often hard for us to imagine a time when water might not be available.  In areas that have had to enact a boil water order due to an emergency situation, it takes about an hour and a half for bottled water to sell out.  Make water storage a priority.  30 gallon drums, 5 gallon stackable water containers and filters such as the MSR miniworks are great ways to get your water storage going.

We need to store a minimum of 14 gallons per person in our household which equals out to a 14 day supply.  Half of that is set aside for drinking water and the other half is for things like bathing, laundry, and food prep.  Take steps to make water storage a priority and make this essential resource a necessity for your personal preparedness program.

In the 1940s, researchers at Harvard University, in conjunction with the US Army, formulated a water disinfection tablet at the request of the United States military. They wanted an easier way to be able to disinfect the water that their service men and women sometimes needed to drink. Thus, Potable Aqua was born!

Potable Aqua is an iodine water disinfection tablet that makes water bacteriologically suitable to drink. Although it was previously used only for our military, it is now also available to consumers. Many people keep it with them whenever they go camping or backpacking, in case of emergency. So what exactly is Potable Aqua, and how does it work?

Potable Aqua tablets are made to be dissolved in water that may be of questionable quality. When dissolved, diatomic iodine and hypoiodous acid are released into the water. These chemicals work at breaking down the cell walls of the bacteria that might be in the water you are trying to disinfect, making the water safe for you to drink. You should wait 30 minutes after using the tablets before drinking the water, to allow time for the tablets to break down the cells. You should add two tablets to one quart or liter of water.

Potable Aqua may be used in conjunction with a water filter. It is very effective against bacteria, such as Streptococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli; viruses, such as Infectious hepatitis and Poliomyelitis; and also treats water for flatworms and many cysts, such as Giardia lamblia. While Potable Aqua has proven very usefull in making questionable water drinkable again, you should remember that it is to be used as a short-term treatment. You should limit your use of it to less than 6 weeks.

Potable Aqua is a proven method for obtaining drinking water in an emergency situation. It is very simple to use and is time efficient. Put it in your 72 hour kits to prepare for times when clean drinking water for your family may not be available!

Ok, to be honest, when I first heard someone mention a “bung wrench” I thought…a WHAT??? It is obviously not a word that comes up in everyday conversation! I am here to explain what a bung wrench is, and why it can simplify your emergency preparedness.

When I was small, my parents had rows and rows of round, white, plastic climbing structures stacked up nicely in our basement. How fun for me as a child to climb upon tall white castles (yes, I have always had an active imagination), and jump off into a pile of soft blankets down below! Well, for years, I thought these climbing structures were strictly for my recreational enjoyment. Until, one day, I saw my mom take a screwdriver to the top of one of the plastic containers. What was she doing, I wondered? She explained to me that inside of these plastic barrels was a grand supply of wheat that my parents stored in case of emergency.  She was trying hard to get into the top of this plastic drum by using a screw driver to pry the lid off. Oh, if only she had a bung wrench!

Openin g a bucket, barrel, or drum without usinga bung wrench can turn a simple job into a nightmare! A bung wrench is a tool that is used to pry open these items, and more, with ease! Some bung wrenches can even be used as a gas shutoff wrench, or sometimes even to turn on a fire hydrant. A “bunghole” is the hole on the top of a bucket or barrel that is used for emptying or filling the container. A bung wrench fits into those holes and, with applied pressure, will pop the top off in no time! I’m sure my mom wishes she would’ve read this article years ago! No more screwdriver, ok mom?