Quick, Easy, and Cheap Emergency Preparedness

The multiple natural disasters happening near and far have me, as usual, thinking back to our time in Japan after the 3/11/11 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Meltdown.
I still remember a week or two after it happened, I logged in to Facebook one day to send out an update and there was the rest of the world: blithely going about their lives. It was a very odd when we felt like we were living in a nightmare.

I remember in the weeks and months after the quake, we would be talking about our experiences, mention preparedness or 72 hour kits, and our friends and family would nonchalantly (or sheepishly) mention "Yeah, I guess I should get something just in case..."

I kept thinking "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? THE BAD STUFF DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN OVER-SEAS! WHAT ABOUT KATRINA? BAD STUFF CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE!!!"

(Sometimes I get a little vehement. Usually I keep said vehemence to myself. The rest of the time, I blog about it or yell it at bad drivers.)

I feel incredibly heart sick for those affected by natural disasters, (AND man-made disasters like Vegas). Heart sick and anxious and fearful and helpless. But those feelings don't help anyone. Talking about those feelings on-line probably won't help anyone. But maybe writing about preparedness WILL help someone. I don't really wanna be a preparedness blogger. But here we all are.

We can't prepare for everything. We can't prevent all bad things from happening. But we can take some basic steps to bring a little peace into our lives.

I know "Emergency Preparedness" can be daunting. To some it just seems like an overwhelming chore.
Some don't want to spend a lot of money and try to DIY it. 
After all, you might think, "I just need to print a list from Pinterest, take it to two or three stores, buy every supply on the list {times number of family members,} take items home, assemble in appropriate carrying aparatus, and then find a place to store it all!"
I'm here to tell you it does not need to be that hard.

Here's the deal though: It does cost a little money. But you can get a good start for around $40-$50.

Maybe you are completely broke. Maybe buying one or two emergency supplies is your only option. If that's the case, you can make it work. Get a list, and get a few things when you can afford them. (Start with a case of bottled water, next add emergency food bars, and go from there.) THAT IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!

(Also, tell your parents that you would LOVE a 72-hour kit for Christmas. They might just be THRILLED to hook you up!)

For the rest of you, please listen closely to my words:
Think about your budget. Think about the things you spend money on every single month. Think about some of the things you buy that are WANTS and not absolute needs.
 Most of us have SOMETHING in our budget that isn't strictly  necessary to keep us alive. Most of us have SOMETHING we can sacrifice for a good cause. THIS IS THAT CAUSE.

In case you're wondering, I speak from experience. We purchased our 2-Backpack-72-hour-kit-for-Four-People when we were broke and living on student loans during UCSF Dental School. Our expenses (living in San Francisco) were high, and our budget was tiny. But we were counseled by church leaders to be prepared. 
We immediately bought what we needed and started saving a little cash to keep on hand. I had those same emergency 72-hour kits a few years later on 3/11/11, and a tiny "can" safe full of $800/cash we had slowly saved over time.

{With the power out, and ATM's, cash registers and credit card machines not working, guess what I used to buy extra diapers with after the quake? Cash from my tiny safe.}

So here's my advice, once you've determined that you're going to skip dinner out for a few weeks, and turn off your cable for a month, or disconnect your ungrateful teens cell coverage for three months, (just to keep them humble), you can start the lengthy, tedious, difficult process to becoming prepared.

First, get on-line
Second, buy a pre-made 72-hour kit. 

That's it.

I just looked on Amazon. They have a 72-hour-kit for FOUR people on-sale for $139.95. That is actually pretty darn cheap. If that is still too rich for your blood, get a one person kit for around $50. (I picked one up at Home Depot once for around $35!)
A ONE person 72-hour kit could also be a THREE person 24-hour kit. In other words, it's better than nothing.
Look at Amazon, Costco.com, BePrepared.com, or any other site of your choice. Give yourself 30-40 minutes to shop around and find the best bargain, and THEN JUST BUY ONE!!!

(You just might be so proud of yourself that next month you go back and buy another one!)

It doesn't actually have to be a long painful process. I ain't got time for that. YOU ain't got time for that.

Even IF you want to DIY it, I STILL recommend buying your first fully assembled kit. Here's why: you will instantly have a whole bunch of emergency stuff.
All at once.
All in one place.
All packed neatly.
All well thought out.
You will immediately feel a little better at the thought that you are not COMPLETELY unprepared for a disaster.

After that, you can TOTALLY bargain shop and add to it until it meets the needs of your entire family.

If you do want to outfit your family all at once, don't buy individual one-person packs or a lot of the items will be needlessly duplicated. If you can afford it, buy a pack built for 2 or 4.
That way, you aren't paying for 4 emergency hand crank radios but you're still getting 4 emergency whistles and rain coats and the right amount of food and water.

It's been a few years since Doug and I have made any significant updates to our stock of survival gear, and it's been at least a year since we rotated the food and clothes in our 72-hour-kits. (The food bricks last a long time, the snack-y stuff needs to be rotated.)

But we are now to the point we have everything we need and plenty of luxury items.
Some of those "luxury" items aren't all that fancy, like:
Snack food and candy in addition to emergency protein bars.
Mountain Home just-add-water meals
*Card games and small toys and comfort items for kids
A spare set of clothes for each person
Plus a few high tech gadgets like a solar phone charger

If we have to shelter in place, we can survive with enough food and water for a loooong time. If we have to evacuate, we have enough food and shelter and water and warmth for 72 hours for all seven of us. We didn't buy everything all at once. But we started with a basic kit for the four (at the time) members of our family, and built from there.

I KNOW this is not what most people want to spend money on--something you will stick in a closet and may never need. But I am here to tell you that preparedness FEELS GOOD! It alleviates stress and anxiety! It is calming! It is proactive! And it is something we can all accomplish if we want to!!

Please search the archives if you want posts written by me and by my friends on what we had and what we wished we had had in our preparedness supplies in the aftermath of the Tohoku quake. (Search for Preparedness or Misawa Monday Preparedness Perspective.)
And please ask if you have any questions. I'm happy to help!

Haven't got a single thing yet except a full HydroFlask by the kitchen sink?? 
Let me know when you've successfully hit the "Buy Now" button on your first 72-hour kit. I'll be here cheering for you. 
Somewhere in the middle? 
What are you still missing?
If you are already completely prepared, tell me where you got your stuff and what you are super happy to have!

Remember: "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

Sincerely,

Emily


*From my friend Kellie in Houston:
We didn't need to evacuate but were stuck at home for multiple days in a row with 7 kids... separate from the 72 hour kits, have a rubbermaid filled with glow sticks, Play-doh, a few new games or craft items.  I thought about it and purchased a few days before the storm hit and I am soooo glad I did, seriously saved our week.  I am now thinking about setting aside a permanent "emergency fun kit"

SHE WAS PREPARED!!! It was a rotten situation but I can guarantee her preparedness made it easier! Great job Kellie!!

Why I'm passionate about preparedness: Surviving the Earthquake in Japan

We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. But … you can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen.

— Gordon B. Hinckley

100 Days Post Quake

Hi Friends,

Thought I'd pass this along.  Anna is one of my former pottery students.  I asked her if I could publish this here.  She's just started a blog.  Check it out after you read the following!  Everything below is property of Anna!

Hello,

My name is Anna Kenkel.  I am a US Air Force Reserve Officer, a high school history teacher, an Air Force Wife and mother to a baby girl.  I have the priviledge of living in Misawa, Japan, which was impacted by the March 11th 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.  Our town has recovered, but many communities very close to us are still suffering.

               We woke up this morning to yet another big earthquake – a 6.7 about 50 miles from us.  I’m not sure how many we have had up to this point, I only know we surpassed 1,000 months ago.  I then find out that 6 people died from the shock of another earthquake.  6 people whose shelter I visited just hours prior.  Did I meet these people?  Did my presence help them in any way in the last hours of their lives?  I will never know.  Even with these frequent reminders of the tragedy that changed the lives of Japanese just over 100 days ago, I have become ignorant in the preceding months to the suffering that is still occurring just 100 miles south of us.  Yesterday, I had an incredible opportunity to wake up to reality by seeing the devastation and desperation that is occurring as you read this note.  I am still trying to process everything I witnessed.  I am physically and emotionally drained from this trip.  I would like to share my experiences in hopes that you may be called to act in some small or big way and don’t become blind to needs of those who still suffer.

               It took us a long time to get to Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecure mostly because it is ruggedly remote.  You have to take windy, often one-laned mountain passes to reach this area of Japan.  I can only imagine how this has hampered recovery efforts.  Finally, after nearly 4 months, debris blocking the roads has made this area accessible.  I was first struck by the beauty of this area.  You are admiring the green covered mountains and then, like a slap in the face it appears:  absolute devastation.  My first thought was this must be what a war zone looks like.  Yet, as I got closer and deeper into the destruction, I thought this must look more similar to Hiroshima, August 6, 1945.

               As we drive through the streets of Otsuchi, there are very few structures still standing.  Those that remain are either burned out shells of their former selves or mangled pieces of concrete and steel.  Beyond that is just dust and debris.  Every inch of this city is covered in silt, dirt, twisted metal, missing shoes, warped parts of cars, torn sweaters, broken pieces of homes and perfectly preserved photo albums of lost loved ones.  We pull into the parking lot of the former city hall.  A hollow building with a giant clock forever preserved with the time the tsunami struck.  I later meet the only survivor of this building who hung on to the roof for over 12 hours as the oil in the water and buildings near him burned with fury.   He may never fully recover from his external wounds, let alone those he carries within him every minute of his life.

               Our guide introduces us to a local man who happens to be a famous jazz musician in Japan.  He wants to show us the remains of his home and take many pictures.  He pleads to us to share Otsuchi’s story with the world.  His desperation for any help, especially our small group of mostly American women and students, lingers with me.  That’s when I realize how bad the situation really is.  He continues to apologize that he is unable to serve us tea as we are staring at what appears to be a car in the middle of his house.  We also discover from our guide that as he is showing us the pieces of his former life a DNA test is being conducted on the remains of a man who resembles his father.  He tells us he drove to pick his father up at the Dentist’s office when the earthquake happened.  He didn’t make it.  He saw the wave fast approaching and had to turn around if he had any hope of surviving.  He was able to save an elderly neighbor, but not his father.  Imagine, the guilt, the torture.  However, this man is smiling.  He is thrilled outsiders are here.  He has felt as if he and Otsuchi have been forgotten by Japan and the rest of the world.    

                 Otsuchi had 15 minutes from the time the earthquake struck to the time the ocean unleashed its wrath.  I was amazed there were any survivors since the higher ground is quite a bit away.  Survivors told us the wave appeared to be a giant cloud as high as the local mountain summits drifting to shore due to the dust kicked up by the water.  They had no idea the sea was about to crash down on them.  I walk through the streets trying to absorb every image and to attempt to grasp the terror experienced here on March 11th.  I see a single child’s boot and a backpack lying on the ground.  I cannot fathom the idea of a small child being swallowed by the freezing ocean water and debris.   What would Lily think if she found herself in the same situation?  I see a man on a stationary bicycle. Odd.  I quickly realize that is how they pump gas.   2011 and a stationary bike is needed to make a vehicle run.  I then see a man polishing his semi-truck in typical Japanese fashion.  It looks perfect and shiny as if it just rolled off the factory line.  The irony of this glossy, beautiful thing amidst the destruction almost made me laugh.  We continue to press passing mile after mile of debris hills nearly 50 ft high.  I was told they recover human remains on a daily basis.

              Finally, a reprieve!  We head to the only surviving elementary school in the area.  Four schools have combined in this very crowded building.  We play games, pass out new backpacks filled with school supplies and share American treats.  On the surface, they seem like average children and we have a blast with them.  They are happy, smiling, giggling.  That outer façade hides the fact that every single student has lost at least one loved one.  A parent, a sibling, an aunt, a grandfather, a cousin.  Twelve students in the school are still waiting for someone to recover both Mother and Father so they can finally say goodbye.  Imagine being in school and every one of your friends is grieving, coping and trying to figure out how to move on.  Imagine seeing your town lying in ruins everyday and living by the water that caused so much pain.  How do you recover?  At 5, 6 or 7 years old, would you be able to understand it or would it simply be too much to bear?  During our time at the school, I was struck by the power of simply showing up.  You could tell by their smiles how much it meant to them that people cared and remembered them.  I truly believe Lily, my 6-month old daughter, made a difference through her smiles and giggles with the students.  I learned it does not take much to make a difference in the lives of people who have so little.

                    We ended our journey at one of the numerous shelters to drop off supplies.  This one was a small, un-air conditioned building sitting in 90 degree weather.  Every inch of floor is claimed by the surviving members of families.  There is no plan for their next step in their dim future.  The government is ignoring this part of the affected area.  This city is poor and has many elderly.  All the city officials were killed, so they have no politicians petitioning for their needs.  They desperately need help.  They need someone to remember and care.  The musician surprises us with an impromptu concert.  He lost all of his belongings, including every instrument.  A 90-year old lady from the south of Japan sent him a 150-year old wooden flute.  I listened as he played Amazing Grace for us while tears flowed down his face.  I could not help but to leave my own tears on this beautiful and broken land.

                NOTE:  Next month, I am climbing Mt Fuji with my family and I will be doing so in honor of Otsuchi.  I will be climbing to 5 stations.  If you feel inclined to help, I am asking people to sponsor each station I reach.  I would like people to pledge at least $5.00 for each station for a total of $25.00.  All money will go to an Otsuchi Relief fund for survivors.  Its skips the bureaucracy and goes directly to those in need.  If you are interested, please contact me at anna.kenkel@gmail.com.  Pass to your friends!

3/11/11 - Earthquake Journal

Five days ago, Monday, we had the one-month "anniversary" of the quake.  The base had a one-minute long "Moment of Silence" at 2:46 p.m.   Since then the base has started playing the Japanese and American National Anthems again at 1630 as usual.   I haven't looked to see if the flags are still at half-mast.

Thursday marked our 1,000 aftershock since 3/11.  (Or "pre-shock" before the next big quake according to some.)   In an e-mail this morning, I read that they've lifted the "voluntary departure" and they're going to start arranging for people to come home.  And life goes on.  This morning I read a copy of Doug's "earthquake journal".  It reminded me that I never finished or published mine.  It's a little long, but I wanted it recorded.

Here it is:

Friday:  Quake hit at 2:46.  It was even bigger than the one two days previous.  I was already upstairs so I immediately grabbed Gray out of his crib.  Gabe, downstairs, was scared and started crying and looking for me.  We met on the stairs and stayed huddled in the stairwell.   Probably not the best idea, but I figured if the ceiling started coming down, we'd just run right out the front door.  And there was nothing near that could fall or shatter on us.  The big boys walked in from school in the middle of it and I yelled at them to go back outside.  (We had just received an Earthquake Protocol email following the previous quake.  It said "If you're outside, stay outside.")  The boys were all smiles thinking it was "cool".
I did NOT think it was cool.  It lasted SIX MINUTES and the whole time I was praying "Please protect my family.  Please protect my family..."

Evidently a neighbor saw some teenagers act like they were surfing when the sidewalk was rolling.

I tried to update "Facebook" with a message about the quake, (something like "Okay, that earthquake was NOT COOL!  I'm ready to get off this island!") but the power was already out and didn't come back on for over two days.  At this point, (obviously) we had NO idea how bad things were in other areas or that a tsunami was coming.  We got shaken pretty badly, but didn't sustain any significant damage on base--besides the power going out.  (I heard later that water was pouring out of the doors of the Himberg Pool building.)

Doug came home at 4.  I was so happy to have him home so that all of my family was with me:  "safely gathered in".  I had already found one 72-hour kit and put it by the door.  When Doug came home, I was frantically searching for our "can safe" containing $1,000 in dollars and yen.  I finally found it in the pantry and we put it somewhere handy.

Around 5:30 we went off-base to see if there was power or an open restaurant.  We didn't know how bad anything was and I was really wanting a hot, comforting meal.  Once we realized lights were out all over town, we drove to Tami's house to see how they were doing.  She was already making plans to come over to us, so we headed back home.  I got the only "meat" we had out of the freezer--five small salmon fillets--and grilled them on the BBQ with some carrots which I steamed in foil.  (Realizing, when we saw the whole town was dark that power might not be back on any time soon--better cook the perishables.)  Turns out couscous just needs to be added to boiling water so that was super easy and much quicker than rice.  (I was looking for something filling.)  Used the single burner camp stove on the kitchen counter to boil water for it.  And even made hot chocolate for the kids.  By the time we ate, Tami and kids were here and the kids were just running around like crazy.   (Of course, Wes was still at work and we barely saw him for days to come.) No movie or music to turn on to get them all settled or entertained, so while the moms were stressing, they were running laps around the house gleefully.

Since Doug is the Elder's Quorum President, Branch President B. (the leader of our local church branch--same as a Bishop, just for a smaller congregation) came over to coordinate how they would track down all the church members.   I fed the adults the salmon and the kids had sandwiches.  Wes had gone into work and wasn't back yet.  Even though he's on his way out of Misawa soon, he still manages to shoulder a lot of responsibility and is always working (or flying) loooooong hours.  I was so glad to have Tami to keep me company because I immediately got stressed when Doug left.  One thing you don't anticipate.  In a major emergency situation like this, even if you're not separated from your husband, your husband might get called to help with relief efforts.

Doug and some other men from church went out to make sure every branch member was safe and accounted for.  People from work were doing the same thing--trying to get 100% accountability for everyone on base.  This is something they practice for when they have "exercises".

Eventually we got the kids all settled by candle light.  Madeleine got to have a "slumber party" in Gabey's room.  Cameron got Gray's room (Gray moved to our room for the first night) and Camille slept down in the family room with Tami and Wes.  (One on the couch, one on the spare twin bed, Camille on the Lazy Boy.)

The house was getting colder by the minute, the temperature went below zero that night, but we had plenty of blankets and body heat to keep warm.  All were safely gathered in.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

When I was an emotional little (and not-so-little) girl, sobbing to my mother about the unfairness of life and the cruelty of the human race, (probably because she wouldn't buy me GUESS jeans) she used to say "Emily, you need to go to bed.  Everything looks brighter in the morning!"

I must have heard that a million times as a kid.

And truer words were never spoken.  Last night I was a mess.  But this morning I woke up to sunshine.  

It has now been one week since the earthquake.  Easily the longest week of my life.  And while things didn't seem quite so grim today, there is definitely a huge question mark floating over every head in Misawa.  "Should I stay here or go back to the states?"   And for those who've already decided, the question becomes "Am I doing the right thing?"

The hopeful news of the day today was that school will start up again on Monday.  That definitely tipped the scales for Doug and I into the "Okay, the boys and I will stay and stick it out" camp.

See, if I went home with the boys, I don't know if we'd make it back.  We are at the end of our time here in Japan.  Our PCS (Permanent Change of Station) date is mid July.  I'd probably just want to enroll Max and Sam in school somewhere in California and stay put until Doug could join us.

(Our trip home would have to be 30 days minimum, possibly longer.)

That would mean my little change-averse boys would have to leave Japan, their home, abruptly and under extremely stressful circumstances, and go to a new place/home/school, temporarily, without Daddy.  Yes, we would go stay with family, but it would still be a major shock to their little psyches.  (And in case you haven't read the posts immediately prior to the earthquake posts, I'll just tell you that we're already a little shaky in the psyche department.)

BUT, that still leaves us wondering:  How bad will it be here?  Will school open for a few days and then close again?  How limited will resources become?  Will we be a burden to the base and community by staying?

My phone has been ringing off the hook all day.  It's not an easy decision for anyone to make.  Especially when we have fairly limited information.  But we're going with what we know and having faith it'll work out.  

---

In other news, a friend reminded us yesterday that it was St. Patricks Day!  Hope you had a good one!

My attempt at normalcy in the midst of chaos

---

Dear Family and Friends of the Sendai Teachers,

This guy worked really hard to help your kids!

Also, when Melanie and Kelsey are safely home, will someone let me know?  Thanks!  I'm pretty bummed I didn't get to say goodbye.  :(

Earthquake Aftermath

*The power is on, but we're told the grid is very fragile right now and we should conserve power to prevent black outs.

*Turns out there is more than one reason to have a clean, uncluttered house.  When the power goes out and an extra five people move in, you wish you had cleaned up a little better.  Since my house was only half clean and half organized it was only half as chaotic as it could have been.  (Or only half as efficient and orderly.)

*The Japanese people are amazing!  They have been dignified, sensible, and cool-headed throughout this.  Take note, Americans!  (Myself included.)

*Also, when you're focused on surviving, you don't care about all your "STUFF".  When things are back to normal, I'll be doing a VERY deep clean to get rid of lots of superfluous CRAP.
More blankets?  Yes.  Extra scrap-booking supplies?  NO!!!

*Took my first shower today since Friday morning.  The hot water felt heavenly.  Yesterday I washed my hair in the sink before church.  Doug had to help so I could keep the towel wrapped tightly around my shoulders (it was still freezing cold in the house at that point.).  First I got my hair wet with the frigid tap water and quickly shampooed.  There may have been very loud shrieking.  Then Doug rinsed it for me with warm water we heated on the camp stove.  Ahhhhh....sweet warmth!  Although the clean hair was nice, cleanliness really isn't THAT important when it's that cold.  Turns out I might rather be stinky and warm.  I'm kind of a wuss that way.

*Doug went to work this morning and came home around lunch time.  (Although he is, of course, not seeing patients.)  It sounds like the Med Group will just basically be on call to help the Relief Teams coming through Misawa.

*We're allowed to get 10 gallons of gas, per day, per family.  Another thing that would be good to have stored.  (Although in our case, we have nowhere to go.)

*The boys wont be back in school until Wednesday.  Not sure if the school is shut down because of damage or if it's just that people want to keep their kids close...?

*On Saturday, in the midst of all this happening, when we started to hear the news of how bad the devastation was, I started feeling really depressed.  It felt like things would never be okay and never get back to normal.  It's really weird that things are slowly getting back to normal and that there are people out there totally unaffected by this.  (Just a random thought.)

*Doug is currently with some of the local branch leaders delivering supplies to Hachinohe.  Evidently a lot of their resources are being diverted to Sendai so they're running short.

*F.Y.PrepardnessI.: When I went to the commissary on Saturday, this is what was gone or going fast:  Peanut Butter was going fast.  (And I cleaned out the last of the Nutella.)  Paper Products--the shelves were empty.  Batteries--all gone.  Bottled Water and Charcoal--they brought some more out from the back while I was there and it immediately disappeared.  Candles --I don't know what kind of candle selection they usually have, but I couldn't find any.  (Doug said the "Book Mart"--which just re-opened today--was selling them, but only allowed two per family.)  The diaper selection was getting pretty picked over and I imagine the formula was all gone.  Not many people were buying cold stuff (since it was sitting there warming up) but the bread shelves were bare.

*Oh yeah:  Don't forget to put some card games and kid entertainment in those 72 hour kits.  The kids around here were going through electronics withdrawal and many were starting to twitch.

More tomorrow if we still have power.

These are the picture Doug took of our "sea side" and dock area yesterday after church.  (Even though I threatened dire consequences if he went anywhere near the beach--you can tell he's really scared of me.)  The sad thing is, this is NOTHING compared to what they suffered in Sendai and Hachinohe.

Earthquake Relief and Update

*Just for your information, blankets and warm coats ARE needed.  But our post office isn't up and running so mailing them to me probably wont be efficient.  If you're in the states and would like to help, your best bet is probably to contact your local Mormon bishop or the Red Cross to find out how and where to take donations!  Thanks!

*Church members here are collecting donations of food and blankets and a group will be taking them to our neighboring city Hachinohe tomorrow.  It was slammed by a huge Tsunami and is in pretty bad shape.  (Kind of amazing we weren't hit worse considering how close we are.)

*Lights, heat, and Internet are back up for the first time in over 48 hours.  It's nice to be connected again, but horrible to see news footage of the devastation.

*We're still having plenty of aftershocks, though they're mostly small ones.  The constant motion gives you a sense of vertigo or sea sickness and lots of people have headaches.  It's getting hard to tell if we're having a quake or not.  We have to check the chandelier for reference.   I'm worried another big one will hit and knock everything out again.   Hope not!

I'll write more tomorrow if I still have Internet access.

Thanks for your prayers and concern everyone!