Disaster Preparedness

In the wake of the astonishing destruction Hurricane Sandy wreaked on New York, bloggers and normal citizens alike are talking about how to be prepared if the unthinkable happens “here,” wherever we happen to be. Costco is selling a disaster preparedness kit: paranoia in a backpack. There’s a point where you lapse from envisioning the worst to flaming silliness. However, it certainly is reasonable to think through the most likely disasters that could happen in your part of the country, and to be prepared for them.

Hereabouts, believe it or not, we have had floods. Mercifully, nothing like people in other parts of the country experience, and since the Pacific is 350 miles from here, we don’t need to prepare for storm surges. The Salt River, which historically has flooded sections of Phoenix, is now dry, dammed to extinction upstream. Some of the dams on the Salt are earthen lash-ups that are, shall we say, pretty rickety; all it would take is for one of them to collapse to take out every other dam downstream, and that would flood the downtown area and suburbs that have grown up in the river’s lower flood plain. As a matter of fact,  much of the city is in the Salt River floodplain, but the likelihood of that much water coming downstream is almost nil.

The most likely short-term emergency here is high wind and damage to the electrical grid. (This excludes drought, which just now has afflicted the state for over 10 years and which eventually could render the area unlivable.) As the climate has warmed, we’ve seen more and more apocalyptic-looking dust storms, some of them reminiscent of the Dust Bowl.

While these do cause monumental freeway pile-ups and create unhealthy living conditions, they’re not going to bring the entire region to a stop. However, we have been seeing more and more violent windstorms, including tornadoes, which once were so rare in these parts as to be nonexistent. The wind doesn’t have to swirl around in a funnel to be extremely destructive and to lead to lengthy power outages.

So it makes sense to think through the most likely disruptions you’re likely to experience in your part of the country. Power outages represent a major potential problem, and as the nation’s electrical grid ages, loss of power becomes more probable. Many modern gas stoves will not work — at least not safely — without electricity, because they have no pilot lights.

Clean water is another necessity you should be prepared to provide for yourself. As long as a stove works, you can boil water, but…what if the power is out?

And, as we’ve seen in New York, if the power is out any length of time, you could find it difficult or impossible to get gasoline. If you live in a city like Phoenix, built for automobile transport down to the smallest detail, that could be a problem: even getting to a grocery store would be a challenge, to say nothing of getting yourself and your family to a hospital or to work.

Here in Arizona, you need to carry water with you even for routine trips across the desert. So most people have some sort of water carrier. Propane grills are commonplace, and so most of us have at least some propane on hand.

Here’s what I think of as the basic emergency kit:

• Two or three five-gallon containers of water
  • I keep that much so as to have enough on hand for the dog and for myself, should things become so dramatic that we have to evacuate the city. Fifteen gallons would get me, another person, and the dog to Flagstaff or Yuma, even if we were stuck in traffic for a day or two.
• At least one and preferably two extra barbecue-size propane tanks
• A small propane camp stove
  • Small containers of propane for camp stove
• Large container of dried beans
• Large container of dried rice
• Canned or dry dog food
• Canned and dry  human foods
• Manual can opener
• Battery-run radio
  • Batteries for said radio
• Candles (tapers provide the best light)
• First aid kit
  • Large and small bandages
  • Antiseptic liquid or ointment
  • OTC painkiller; prescription painkiller if you can get your hands on it
  • Scissors
  • Tweezers
  • Eyedrops
  • Gloves
  • Roll of athletic bandage
  • Prescription meds for humans and pets
• Fire extinguisher
• Water filter, iodine tablets, or both
• Soap
• Detergent (dish detergent can be used for hair and clothing as well as dishes)
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Camp dishes & eating utensils
• Dog dishes
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Pocket knife
• Matches or butane fire starter
• Extra gasoline stored safely in an approved container
• Camp lantern and batteries or propane to operate it
• Gun and ammunition
• Blankets or sleeping bags and jackets
• Cash

Some of this stuff would only be needed if you had to evacuate, and even then, some of it would be usable only if you could get out of town in a vehicle. You probably should have a day pack loaded with personal emergency items (meds, toiletries, water purification tabs or gadget, toilet paper, underwear, & the like) and a box of camping-type stuff that you could load into the car quickly if need be.

Few of us are likely to have to evacuate, however. More likely, we’ll have to deal with an extended power outage. In that case, extra gasoline, propane for cooking, and candles or a camp lantern would be your most important tools. And if the electricity is out, lo! So is the ATM! And so is every credit-card machine in every store that has still managed to stay open. A stash of emergency cash, as much as $500, should be hidden someplace in your house where the burglar is not likely to find it.

People should be prepared for disruption of water services, too. In that case, a source of heat (propane) to boil water is critical, as is a portable store of water. The trick is, water can’t just sit in a carboy forever. It gets stale. About every three months, I use my five-gallon water containers to water the plants; rinse out the containers, and refill them.

It’s important to remember that the water heater contains 50 or 60 gallons of water, which can be rationed out for drinking in an emergency. And in Sunbelt areas, swimming pools are reservoirs of water that can be made drinkable by filtering, boiling, or iodine.

It’s amazing how few people, even in disaster-prone regions, have emergency supplies on hand.

My friend Elmer used to live on top of the San Andreas fault — he grew up in Hollister and lived in Salinas. His wife was here in Arizona visiting their daughter but he’d stayed home when a big earthquake hit Salinas. Power, gas, and just about everything else were out for days. The road out of town buckled, so people were pretty much stuck where they were for a week or two.

Elmer liked to camp, and he also had lived through several big California earthquakes during the many decades of his life. He and his wife gardened, and they liked to put up tomatoes, fruit, and other foods. They’d designed the shelves where they stored these goods with barriers to keep cans and jars from falling on the floor. So in addition to the garden, he had plenty of edibles on hand.

He had a camper with a stove and propane-driven refrigerator, plus plenty of propane for a grill.

Elmer kept the entire neighborhood going, because was the only guy around who had power to cook food and sanitize water. The neighbors would gather at his house, bringing things to eat and seeking moral support.

We don’t have to be prepared for Armageddon to be ready to cope for a days-long power outage. But if Armageddon is what you anticipate, a good set of camping gear, extra propane, extra gasoline, cash, a decent medical kit, and a store of food and water should suffice.

It’s really not that difficult to be ready.