Most Pacific Northwesterners live with a vague unease about the likelihood of a massive earthquake in the next 50 years. Whether it happens on the Seattle Fault or in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, we know that the effects will be immense and long-lasting. But far fewer of us do even the minimum to prepare for quakes and other natural disasters, such as wildfires, coastal flooding, landslides, windstorms and extended power outages.
This is the first of a monthly column in this newspaper that will take a look at one simple aspect of preparation, with the goal that we can all be better prepared.
Because it’s December and the season of gift giving we’ll start out with the goal of helping our loved ones prepare. Let’s look at six emergency preparation gift ideas ranging in cost from just your time to several thousand dollars.
Training classes: The most important classes to take are CPR/AED and Stop the Bleed. Next in importance would be a First Aid class. Stop the Bleed and CPR classes are regularly offered at the fire station. The classes are free.
Helping someone prepare: Young adults just starting out in life, older seniors and people with disabilities are the ones most likely to need a helping hand when it comes to preparedness. Your help can consist of accompanying them to the store to get supplies, organizing supplies for easy access, and even just talking the person through what to expect and what to do when there is an emergency. For details go to bainbridgeprepares.org
Phone chargers: When power goes out you can never have too many phone chargers. They make great stocking stuffers and affordable gifts.
NOAA weather radio: When the power goes out or when you’re traveling by car, it’s useful to have an emergency radio that broadcasts information from the NOAA Weather Radio automated 24-hour network of national weather stations. This way you can keep track of weather emergencies as they develop even if the Internet goes down. The radios range from $35 up to $200. Most come with a flashlight and a USB charging port and run on batteries and/or can be recharged via solar power or a hand crank.
Water storage tanks: You want to store one gallon of water per person per day, and the recommended minimum number of days is 21. Don’t forget your pets. That’s a lot of water, and it can take up a lot of room. Stackable five-gallon jugs work best. They often come with water treatment packs that enable you to store water for five years.
Jackery portable power station: A portable power station is your best friend when the power goes out. It will charge your smartphones, computers, lights and appliances. You can recharge it with solar panels, by plugging it in when there’s power again or by plugging it into your car charger. Costs range from $129 for 128W of output to $3,499 for 14.4kW.
Other ideas to consider are a gift basket of emergency food supplies (with long shelf life) and a vehicle emergency kit. You might also get together with your neighbors to go in on emergency supplies for all to share.
Whether you spend a bundle or even nothing on preparedness gifts, the message is the same: You care about the recipient and want them to be safe.
Sarah Lane is a member of the Bainbridge Prepares Psychological First Aid, Interpretation, and Community Emergency Response teams as well as the Medical Reserve Corps.
