Emergency Preparedness

Growing up in the Mormon Church it’s a requirement to have sense of emergency preparedness. When I became an adult and started a family I felt a greater responsibility to be prepared.

Living in Utah, where “everyone” is prepared, it felt less important. After moving to Portland my awareness of the need to be prepared kicked into high gear. The PNW is earthquake country. It’s part of the lifestyle. Unlike the freak ice storm in Texas, we know an earthquake is going to happen, we just don’t know when. Knowing something will happen but not knowing when is what makes preparedness essential.

Thanks to the internet getting prepared is a rabbit hole. It’s next to impossible to know where to start or what to do. Any kind of catch all information will leave you with bags of pinto beans you won’t eat, or a hand saw that is too impractical to use.

Getting prepared takes a little research into knowing what you need to be prepared for.

If you’re building a food supply, start with what your family will eat (for us it’s black beans not pinto beans)

If you’re preparing for a natural disasters what kind of disaster are you preparing for? (The most common natural disaster in Washington is a flood).

For the most part preparedness doesn’t mean being completely prepared but having a plan, or even just an idea of what to do when things go south.

• Do you know where to go and what to do if your house catches on fire?
• Do you know where you can go if you have to evacuate the area?
• Do you have things in place if you can’t go back to your house?

For most of us small decisions and having a few things in place will, at worst, make a crummy situation more comfortable, and at best save your family’s life.

I wouldn’t call myself a “prepper” but I am happy I reloaded the go bag in my car when we’re out for a hike and I forgot a raincoat, or we’re moving from one after school activity to another and I can give my kids a snack without having to wait in line for fast food.

Like so many things a little preparedness goes a long way.