Today, Dan Good from Emergency Management in Everett, spoke to the club about ways to be prepared for a variety of disaster related scenarios.

Living in a coastal area of Washington State, we have natural disaster possibilities such an earthquake, a tsunami, and flooding to name a few. What would you do in the event of one of these disasters? How would you communicate with others if the power was out for a couple of weeks? What supplies should you have on hand if you are cut off from help? How can you talk with young people in your life such as children or grandchildren, students or neighbors…to allay their fears?

Educating yourself may help you in the future, should you ever have to make decisions based on a disaster:

Build a 2-week emergency kit (see attachment)
Make a plan to meet with family in a specific place, if the emergency happens while you are separated. Some times this may not be possible and you will have to assess your situation and have a back up plan.
Develop a communication plan. What would you do if telecommunication was down?
Engage in clear conversations with children what to do in a scary situation. Different ages deal with stress in different ways.

One way to give yourself effective tools to be prepared, is to sign up for free classes. FEMA Region 10 offers classes and they may be reached at: FEMA-R10-CommunityPrep@fema.dhs.gov. Tanya Toribio is the course coordinator and she will be able to talk with you about classes.

Being prepared for a potential disaster will give you a sense of control in an uncertain time.