Living in Southern California is the dream of many people for the climate, ocean, mountains and the chance to become a movie star. Many people however, say they wouldn’t want to live here because of earthquakes. We Californians seem to take them in stride.
Americans seem to take another part of reality in stride, political unrest in the world. However, with both of these issues in the headlines, we seem to be getting more and more information about being prepared for emergencies. Maybe we should take the Boy Scout motto to heart. It couldn’t hurt!
Living in a condominium setting, it would be wise for the association to have a preparedness plan in place. This should include the name of all residents (including renters), their other family members in residence and phone numbers. You should also know which residents are in need of special assistance, elderly, pregnant women, homebound individuals, non-English speaking individuals, etc. Each unit tenant should also be prepared to take care of themselves and their family members so that anyone with special needs can be cared for first.
It might be a good idea to have your local police and/or fire department come and talk to the residents about procedures to have in place and what to do in an emergency. Most fire departments and/or cities now offer a program called CERT (Community Early Response Teams) which is free to the public and encouraged to attend. This program is geared for knowledge of what to do before the fire and police can get there.
If you have not already done so, now would be a very good time to prepare yourself and your family for any major emergency. Be aware that you should be able to be self-sustaining for at least 72-hours. It is a known fact that in any type of disaster, the police and fire departments will be extremely busy keeping law and order and dealing with fires and medical emergencies.
Some things that you need to consider keeping in your emergency kit are:
- Emergency contact information for you and your family
- Establish a connection with a family member or friend who lives outside the State of California. Keep that number and all important numbers in your supply kit. Be sure to share the contact’s phone number with everyone in the family
- Medical prescriptions and items such as a spare pair of glasses. Keep important papers in a water tight plastic bag (social security card, passport, insurance information)
- Emergency food and water
- Cash readily available (in small denominations)
- A plan for your family
Be sure to visit the following websites for more comprehensive information.
www.ready.gov , www.espfocus.org , and www.72hours.org (this one is from San Francisco but very easy and informative).