When disaster strikes (and it will)…are you ready?

Local officials tell us to plan that Four Seasons will not get help for a week after a major disaster.

1. 5 gallons of water/person
2. 7 days of nonperishable food/person
3. First aid kit.
4. Flashlight and batteries
5. $500-$1000 cash (Stores & Motels will only take cash)
6. Cell phone with extra charged power banks
7. 7 days of prescription medicine
8. OTC medicine (Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, anti-diarrhea, antacid, etc.)
9. Pet food for your pet
10. Sleeping bag or blanket/person
11. Complete change of clothing: long sleeves, long pants, sturdy closed-toe shoes.
12. ½ tank of gas or more in the car.
13. If you have electric dependent health equipment, e.g., oxygen concentrator, or nebulizer, you must have a generator and fuel to run it for seven days.
14. Battery operated radio with batteries for seven days.
15. Butane lighter
16. Personal hygiene supplies
17. Notebook and pen.
18. Whistle
19. N-95 dust mask
20. Can opener, bottle opener
21. Plastic/paper plates, forks, knives.
22. Utility knife, duct tape, monkey wrench
23. Local maps

Use technology so you needn’t try to gather up those photos, insurance policies, medicare card, insurance ID,  and other documents when disaster strikes.  If you have a computer, all-in-one printer, or scanner,  scan your photos and documents and copy them either to a USB Flash Drive that you can take with you, or upload them to one of the many free cloud storage facilities such as Google Drive, One Drive, or Dropbox. You should compress and encrypt the files with a free program like 7-ZIP (for Windows) or I-Zip (for Mac).

If you don’t have scanning abilities, buy some pastries, and bribe a neighbor to let you use their device.

While having a copy of some documents is great, you should ALSO have your original drivers license, passport, and credit cards.

If your home or the area in or around Four Seasons becomes uninhabitable, make a plan of where to go. If you have friends or relatives outside the disaster area that will host you, make those agreements now. Tell members of your family where you’re likely to go in the event of a disaster. If you need to meet up with household members who were not at home when disaster struck, agree on a meet-up place. If you have a smart phone, download maps of Hemet and surrounding areas so you can use them offline. Have a friend or relative out-of-state act as  a phone message center where family members can call to determine the status and location of other family members. Think. Plan. Survive.

Your street captain is part of a team that co-ordinates light search and rescue, first-aid, and other activities in your neighborhood until fire department and other first-responders arrive. The more information she/he has the more effective the response will be.

The street captain assigned to your home should be informed if a household member has disabilities that affect  mobility, e.g., wheel-chair bound, walker needed, etc.  If someone is oxygen dependent, how long  without resupply or electricity can they go.  If there are other special needs, inform your street captain. If you have a generator, please inform your street captain.

Information  provided to the Street Captain will be held confidential, and only released during a emergency to appropriate emergency responders.

 

If you have a medical emergency such as heart attack, stroke, injury from falling, or difficulty breathing, DO NOT DRIVE TO THE HOSPITAL…CALL 911.  Paramedics can sometimes provide medications help you. They can notify the hospital so the hospital has a team ready for you when you arrive.

Fill out the medical form you find on this site with all your medications (include OTC) and allergies, place in a zip-lock bag on top of your refrigerator.  Notify the paramedics/EMTs of  the location. They will relay this to the hospital.