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My interest is emergency preparedness for my family as well as by agencies. 

When we lived in S.CA we had a 'what if' plan for the family.  I am thinking about doing such planning again.  What do experts recommend now?

EMax

emax — Tue April 6th 10:27a.m.

Good subject.  Make sure you contact Portland's NET program of neighborhood emergency teams.  They have a great program to train neighbors to respond to emergencies.   They basically train to be prepared for a major earthquake because all the bad things happen then. Downed buildings, ruptured water, sewer lines, downed electricity etc., and a varied of first aid situations.  I you are ready for the big one, anything else will be covered. 

  I taught middle school health and safety.  One of my primary goals was to give this age group of sense of confidence in themselves.  I asked them to discuss with their families several scenarios for such emergencies.  And at this age they may not be in school our under someone's authority.  They might be home alone or out with friends and their parents may not be able to return home in a timely fashion. 

  As we have seen with the recent events help may be delayed much longer then the traditional 3 day plan.  Planning and being aware of what we already have that might make up and emergency kit.  Thinking ahead always is a wise thing to do.

Cheryl from Bend — Wed April 7th 10:11a.m.

I would like to hear a discussion about what the average citizen can do to be prepared for a natural disaster.  When I moved into my house I asked my landlord how to turn off the gas, but it has been so long I have forgotten and would love a refresher about what to do about gas, water, etc.  My partner and I have a simple emergency kit at the ready: flashlights, batteries, rain slickers, dried food, (& cat food for my pets) water, t.p. to last about one week all into a large bucket that could be used as a toilet if the plumbing is damaged.  We keep this in our garden shed in case our house becomes dangerous.  What else should be part of a basic kit?  Is there community training and organization(s) in Portland that we could take part of?

Look forward to the program.

lalapdx — Wed April 7th 10:17p.m.

Remember once your turn off your gas you CANNOT turn it back on.. it MUST be turned on by the gas company.. 

Water, a great way to get water stored up is to head over to Fred Meyers and grab those 5 gal water cooler containers they are about $11.00 and fill them up with the machine $1.75 the water is UV serialized and will last a little longer then tap water.. You should have 1.5 Gallons per person per day for drinking and cooking. 

Add some bleach to your emergency kit it is a VERY versatile tool for making water you can drink, keeping things clean etc..

I like the idea of keeping yours in your garden shed. I keep mine in my car.. I think my odds of my car NOT being effected by an earthquake are rather good.. Other things I keep in my shed..  If you don’t have a car or want to keep other things safe you could get a car topper and put it in your backyard. They lock, you can cover it with a tarp and again it will be accessible in an emergency.

You could add to that a second first aid kit. Extra toiletries, vacuum packed dry foods,  a small tent, tools etc..

Yes there is community training of sorts. Check out the Portland Neighborhood Emergency teams. http://pdxprepared.com/

Also here is a great guide to a creating your own kit. http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/assemble_disaster_supplies_kit.shtm

pdxyardsharing — Thu April 8th 1:07a.m.

Water! Your hot water heater is drinkable water! Be sure it's bolted/ strapped down and clean of (inside the tank) settlement.

Don't use old milk jugs, not sanitary. And if you use bought jugs, rotate your stock 2 times a year~ you can water your plants w the old. I suggest you refresh your 10+ day stash of supplies when you change your clocks every spring and fall.

And think about storage OUTSIDE the house~ What if the house falls over, it's pretty heavy to move. Try your back yard shed or a galvanized can on the side of the house that is protected from the landslide.

Don't forget the pets! They are your pets, they don't do so well on their own, like a wild animal. Besides who wants a pack of dogs in the neighborhood when you are living in a tent for 3 weeks in the cold winter rain.

Put a pair of shoes & socks under your bed, protected from glass, in case it happens at night.

I have no suggestions for if it happens when you are in the shower. Sorry ;)

Thanks for the show

m97219 — Tue April 20th 10:34a.m.

"I would like to hear a discussion about what the average citizen can do to be prepared for a natural disaster. "

Please contact the Portland Office Of Emergency Management about the Neighborhood Emergency Teams..  http://pdxprepared.com/

Personally I took the traning in Winter of 2009 

I live in Montavilla and  I have to say that if 25% of Portland took this preparedness training our city could really be prepared as a whole for a natural disaster.

Also PLEASE let people know that a 72 hr kit is a great start but really plan for 14 DAYS or more of NO WATER and NO POWER..  If Portland was hit by a MAJOR quake remember our city COULD be split in two what would people do if our bridges were impassable or gone? I think we need to talk about not only the short term impact but also the preparing for the LONG term impact of a major quake or like in Chili a series of quakes.

Okay I COULD go on for hours but I think Earthquakes scare the world out of me.. 

I THINK THIS SHOW SHOULD BE ABOUT HOW TO PREPAIR :-)

pdxyardsharing — Thu April 8th 12:55a.m.

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