tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55764394549977319312024-03-13T05:27:45.830-06:00Prep for FreeNo matter what your level of commitment to emergency preparedness, I’ll show you how to prep for free. While others spend thousands of dollars on supplies, you’ll be able to stockpile without spending a dime. And, as a bonus, you’ll end up with less clutter in your home and gain more peace of mind than ever before.Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-20154569704737431172016-01-02T22:25:00.001-07:002016-01-13T17:28:59.134-07:00Step 7: The Gift That Keeps On Giving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AA6G1hxV47w/Vocty9CsuhI/AAAAAAAAAPc/NeE6sjUFA84/s1600/GRB1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AA6G1hxV47w/Vocty9CsuhI/AAAAAAAAAPc/NeE6sjUFA84/s400/GRB1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Ever since we discovered the terrifying threat of huge geomagnetic CME storms, like the Carrington event of 1859, we've been on the hunt for other space invaders with similar potential and, in the years that followed, our list of threatening acronyms continued to grow. Ironically, our understanding of “stuff we can’t control” partly came out
of efforts to blow up other countries with a nuclear bomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, if you thought my <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/11/step-6-theres-app-for-that.html" target="_blank">last post on CMEs</a> was scary (and they are), then let me introduce you to the Gamma Ray Burst (GRB). GRBs are considered the
single most powerful space event and can be detected all the way from the other
side of the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were first
discovered in 1967 by a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Vela satellite sent up to keep an eye on the Russians – specifically to watch for
nuclear testing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine this satellite’s
surprise when it captured some naughty business going on but nowhere near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Satellite overlord Ray Klebesadel and his team
from the famous Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in the United States were the first people to witness an
event that looked like a nuclear explosion but wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Analyzing the data, they ultimately decided
it was unlike any known nuclear weapons signature, considered it non-urgent and
filed it away. Seriously, that's what scientists sometimes have to do. If they can't explain it, they let some time pass, hoping something will help solve the mystery which is exactly what happened.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Eventually,
the team gained better instruments and data and the discovery of GRBs, the most
violent phenomenon in the universe, was declassified and published in 1973
in an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Astrophysical Journal</i>
article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The assumption then was that
they didn’t happen very often which was good news because a GRB was capable of
killing a lot of life forms. Unlike a CME, which could just take down our modern electrical grid, a GRB could do that as well as end life as we know it. If you thought having X-ray vision might be fun, well, it's not.</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">A super-sized dose of radiation from a GRB
is just one of the theories being considered as a cause of five major
extinction events where large numbers of life forms on Earth died out
mysteriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> S</span>ince GRBs disrupt photosynthesis, it’s considered a safe
bet that increased radiation levels of around 50 per cent prompted broader
extinction events due to plant die-off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Simply put, when plants die, the food chain suffers and eventually takes
down everything that eats from it including large meat-eaters who eat smaller
plant-eaters and so on. That's if you weren't on the earth-facing side to the GRB and already dead from a cell-exploding blast of radiation.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fast forward many more years in our research efforts and another group of
scientists found, much to everyone’s surprise, that the Earth had probably been
irradiated by a GRB back in 775 A.D. which, as far as everyone could tell,
was just a tad alarming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since humankind
was still around, they had to assume that this was not an extinction-level
event but it was still in our very recent past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Scientist Fusa Miyake’s work on ancient Japanese cedar tree rings provided a</span>stronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph Neuhäuser the evidence they needed to deduce
that the culprit GRB only delivered a very short burst of a second or two of gamma
rays and was far enough away that no harm came to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any closer or longer duration burst and you
likely wouldn’t be reading this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Short-lasting GRBs, like this one, are
believed to be caused when two neutron stars smash into each other. If you recall <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-2-give-and-take.html" target="_blank">my earlier post</a> where I mention Theia (or Wrong-Way Harold as I like to call it), the smaller planet that smashed into Earth and then created the Moon, you'll start to see that the universe is similar to driving in a foreign country. Not every space body understands the traffic laws and there are a LOT of collisions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">In the case of the recent GRB event, other than
some possible climate change, there’s a very good chance that our 8th
century ancestors never knew what hit them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, according to an article in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scientific
American</i>, they may have witnessed something since medieval texts record the
appearance of a “red crucifix” glowing in the night sky around that time. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Speaking about the 775 A.D. GRB, astronomer Dr. Neuhäuser
noted that “if the gamma ray burst had been much closer to the Earth, it would
have caused significant harm to the biosphere. But, even thousands of light
years away, a similar event today could cause havoc with the sensitive
electronic systems that advanced societies have come to depend on.” Great. Just great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Another scholarly article on the same event
in the esteemed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nature</i> journal, says
“such an event would cause great damage to modern technology...this issue merits
attention.” </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">No kidding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Especially since most of Earth’s population have never heard of a GRB.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">In a May 2013 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forbes</i> interview, Grant Hill, an astronomer at the WM Keck Observatory
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:state></st1:place>,
noted that, right now, the Earth may be lying within the sights of a
potentially lethal gamma-ray burst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to the article, a Wolf-Rayet star called WR 104, some 8000
light years away (this is practically across the street), is ripe to undergo a
core-collapse supernova that could generate a seconds-long burst of
dangerous gamma rays that could wipe out a quarter of our planet's protective
atmospheric ozone.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"We could see it go supernova anywhere
from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now," says Hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"For all intents and purposes, the gamma
ray burst and optical photons from the supernova would arrive
simultaneously," he adds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">This is a nice way of saying that we won’t
see that one coming.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today, we're still learning about GRBs but we now know that orbiting satellites detect, on average, approximately one GRB per day. The closest one was observed March, 2014, in a distant dwarf galaxy 130 million light years away which is good news for us but bad news for anybody in that galaxy.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">By now, you might be thinking what my
mother often does which is “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Although there are scientists and researchers
trying to educate, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I think </span>most scientists
don’t want to be seen as being alarmist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, telling a scientist that they're “alarmist” is equivalent to
swearing at them. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">As a disaster communicator, I ran into this issue many times in trying to raise awareness about the potential for a mega-quake on the west coast of North America. When I gave an interview in the 1990s and said "we're living on borrowed time," one geologist friend told me he was embarrassed for me. Needless to say, I'm delighted to see insightful science stories being shared in the media over the past year. (Read the New Yorker's story on the potential for a west coast mega-quake called <em><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one" target="_blank">The Really Big One</a></em> which scared the bejesus out of everyone.) </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Understandably, science is focused on making new discoveries, providing explanations to mysteries and finding solutions to problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gets uncomfortable and downright cranky
when a rogue scientist talks about alarming possibilities without a lot of data to back
it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Typically, s</span>cience does not sound the alarm
until the theories have been proven and the numbers confirmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Perfect. But does t</span>his mean we will have to experience a GRB
that kills humankind to then be able to say that “Yes, we have the data that
proves we no longer exist because of a gamma ray burst.” Maybe not.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> see positive changes within the scientific community through an increased willingness to interpret and extrapolate on the data that they do have. Sure, there's a lot of weasel words thrown in like "might, "possibly" and "unconfirmed" but that's okay. It's still better to inform than ignore when it comes to potential scenarios.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully, none of these horrific acronyms, like a civilization-killing CME or a life-ending GRB, assert their dominance over the planet before we find some survival solutions but I think most of us would still like to know what's gunning for us. And, as an advocate of emergency preparedness, I find people are more likely to take things seriously and get prepared when they're informed. When the populace is not informed, they tend to focus on the shallow end of the pool until they find themselves suddenly drowning in the deep end during a major disaster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">When it comes to Really Big Space Events (RBSEs), we're somewhat limited in what we can do but future technology may change that. Between the asteroids,
comets, solar storms, gamma ray bursts, dark energy, colliding stars and
matter-eating black holes, it all sounds scarily fascinating as long as it stays far, far away. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Which leads me to the question of how far do you go with your preparedness efforts? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Do you prep for a GRB? I imagine that some secret government agency has done that but, for the average person, there comes a point where you may just want to accept that you've done the best you can and leave it at that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">One humorous commenter on my post about <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/whats-your-prepper-personality.html" target="_blank">prepper personality types</a> said there should be a category called "Nice Try." </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Although she was talking about how she didn't think she had done enough, in another way, she's correct in that there are some scenarios that could turn all of our preparedness efforts into a "nice try, earthlings." But, those threats aside, the practical reality is that the remaining disaster scenarios are much better managed and survived by being prepared.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Even if you ignore all of the space invaders, the list of disasters that Earth has in store for us is staggering so get ready. Because every day, in some town somewhere, there's a wild ride happening and, one day, you might be one of the unlucky ticket holders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial";"><strong>Step 7: The Gift That Keeps On Giving</strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter what the occasion, there's nothing more loving than a gift that says "Hey, I really want you to survive so enjoy this gift that I hope you'll never use." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whether it's an actual gift or a gift card, let's look at how you can use your "present power" to turn gifts into gear and quickly move your preparedness efforts forward at no cost to you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><em>Gift Cards</em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, it's becoming more common to receive gift cards instead of presents for Christmas, birthdays and other special events. Some people will even ask what store you want the gift card to which gives you a perfect opportunity for suggesting retailers that sell the kind of items you want in your emergency kits. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are a few ideas of how to do this like a pro:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you want to keep your preparedness efforts quiet, then simply ask for gift cards to stores that offer building/hardware, hunting/camping or automotive supplies. In North America, some examples include Bass Pro, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Lowe's, Mountain Equipment Co-Op and shops like these.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">As a security measure, some suggest not letting others know about your preparedness efforts but if you don't mind advertising the fact then ask for gift cards to specialty preparedness stores. Just search for the ones in your local area. These stores carry a comprehensive selection of items that are often reviewed and rated by other preppers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you want to quickly and cheaply build a kit, ask for a gift card to a Dollar store. A $20 gift card will get you 10-15 items that you can use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you ask for and receive a Walmart gift card, rejoice because it's especially good for stockpiling food and canned goods. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Keep your mind open as any gift card can carry the hidden power to help build your kits. Got a gift card to a drugstore? Use it to stock over-the-counter medications, diapers or first aid supplies. How about one to a clothing store? Look for deals on cold weather gear, backpacks and good walking shoes. Received a gift card to a book store? Buy a book on survival, weather spotting or first aid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><em>Presents</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you don't typically receive gift cards but, instead, you're asked to provide gift ideas, then don't miss the opportunity to make suggestions that will support your emergency kit efforts. Many emergency preparedness items sound like regular camping supplies so go ahead and ask away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Having said that, don't be afraid to talk about your short-term emergency kit needs (everyone should be talking about what they're doing to be prepared for power outages, winter storms, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes and such). However, you may want to be quiet about extensive long-term supplies. The jury is out on this one as some argue that your chances of survival increase by being part of a community (and not a loner) while others say that long-term supplies attract attention because so few people have planned for those scenarios. If you're prepping long-term, my advice is to keep it in the family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally, think before you re-gift. We've all received a gift that we didn't want or need and then found someone else to give it to but, before doing that, consider whether it's a good candidate for your emergency supplies. For example, did you get a hand, body or hair product you don't use? Add it to your long-term supplies when you might not be so picky. How about an item of clothing that isn't your style? After a disaster, you may not care as much about how it looks. Got a tool or gadget that isn't as nice as the one you already have? See if it can be used in your car kit, work kit or evacuation kit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you do receive a disaster gadget as a gift or buy one with your gift card:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Make sure you test it out.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Get familiar with how it works (prior to a disaster).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Keep its manual and the correct batteries (if required) stored with the item. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">If it uses batteries, don't install them. Just tape/attach in a bag with the item as the batteries will last longer this way.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Emergency preparedness presents keep on giving long past the occasion and can bring peace of mind which is truly a gift that's worth receiving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for reading!</span></span><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Nancy</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Please subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank"><span style="color: #28a8e1;">@Plan_Prep_Live</span></a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #28a8e1;">like my Facebook company page</span></a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank"><span style="color: #28a8e1;">my LinkedIn profile</span></a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2016 Nancy Argyle</span></span></span></div>
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</span>Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-22768645177671509332015-11-21T14:59:00.003-07:002015-12-01T02:25:47.644-07:00Step 6: There's an App for That!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PB9-7W69fhg/VlAIXtY94rI/AAAAAAAAAPI/E-aLcrwWfMM/s1600/Sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PB9-7W69fhg/VlAIXtY94rI/AAAAAAAAAPI/E-aLcrwWfMM/s400/Sun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">When I was nine years old, my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. "An astronaut, archaeologist or a go-go
dancer,” I replied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I swear I'm not making this up.</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">If you don't know what a go-go dancer is, then let me to explain. During the 1960s, go-go dancers were the girls wearing tight mini-skirts and knee-high white boots while dancing in cages overlooking a pulsating dance floor. I really liked those boots. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Personally</span>, I think the go-go
dancer career choice should have been a red flag but my parents just smiled and nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Fortunately, the dance world remained safe and, instead,</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"> I grew up to become a reporter,
pilot and disaster communications professional.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, before all that happened, I first enrolled in university to become
an archaeologist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since my childhood
love of dinosaurs had been unshakable, I signed up for some classes where, to
my significant embarrassment, I learned that archeology and paleontology were actually two
very different disciplines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contrary to
popular belief, archaeologists don’t study dinosaurs, they study past cultures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew?</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Although my university classes
eventually taught me how to say “Australopithecus,” I realized that I wasn’t cut out for a
career that might, if I was really lucky, culminate in a ground-breaking
discovery based on an ancient pottery chip the size of a nickel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truthfully, I just wanted
to find Atlantis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That self-awareness,
combined with a bad back, sent me down an entirely different career path but I
never lost my love of all things ancient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Today, I have a lot of admiration for
archaeologists and paleontologists (those lucky people who really do study dinosaurs) because, like me, they, too, want to know
what the heck happened back then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
that’s where space science might one day be able to provide some of those
missing puzzle pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some large gaps in
human history may be related to natural disasters that came from above and have
yet to be identified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a firm
believer that a surprised “uh oh” has been uttered immediately prior to many historical turning points.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">While scientists hunt for
clues to our past, others are wondering if we will have enough time to
find them before something else happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is there any danger that past events could return to take down our
civilization? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some say yes, others say
no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to ensure that your
family is safe and prepared, how do you determine the risk level?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it real or just hype?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Let's take a look at one of my favorite threats, our sun – the giver of life, red, blistery skin and squinty-eyed photos. Now, just to clarify for those readers who are not science junkies, yes, our sun is a star and, no, it's not on fire. And, just to cover off all my bases, yes, we orbit around it – something we've been doing for a very long time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So, what's the problem then? Well, quite frequently, the sun vomits and, if we happen to be in the way, space weather scientists will then announce that a solar flare is on its way and "earth-directed." If we're not in the way, then the solar flare goes flying past and takes out somebody else. Apparently, that's usually Mars. (Read Cosmos Magazine's <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/how-sun-stole-mars-atmosphere" target="_blank">How the Sun stole Mars' atmosphere)</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">When we are in the way of a solar flare, which happens A LOT, typically, there's little damage thanks to Earth's protective magnetic field which is actually produced by the rotation of our planet's core (we think). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Solar storms are just a fact of life on Earth. Sometimes, they’re responsible for annoyingly dropped cellphone calls, HAM radio disruption, GPS coordinates off by a few yards and pretty aurora light shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve ever lived in a far north or far south part of the globe, you’ve likely seen the aurora lights as a dancing, wavy curtain of green in the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, the aurora can be red (rare) or a mixture of colors depending on levels of oxygen in the upper atmosphere. I know. Too much science. I'll stop. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">But, in addition to flares, there's another kind of solar storm called a coronal mass ejection (CME). They both come from the sun but, as NASA explains it, if solar flares are a muzzle flash, then a CME is a cannonball. It's a good analogy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">CMEs are massive, fast-moving bursts of solar matter, ejected outwards from the sun and travelling at around one million miles per hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As naturally-occurring electromagnetic pulses, they are so powerful that they temporarily deform our planet's magnetic field, change the direction of compass needles and create large electrical ground currents in the Earth itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">It’s been rumored that some countries are trying to turn the CME phenomena into a weapon using man-made electromagnetic pulses called EMPs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">An EMP weapon would likely originate from a satellite and, if unleashed on a target, like a city, could cause every electronic device and computer to instantly fail, achieving the ultimate blue screen of death for millions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This failure would be complete with no reboot possible as all data and operating systems would be erased when the EMP hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Unfortunately, a naturally-produced massive CME from the sun could do much worse. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">A CME could destroy civilization as we know it and here's how. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">A</span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">lthough Earth has been living with the
sun’s mood swings for a very long time, it’s only during the last 100 years
that our society has been living full-time with electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, transmission lines, transformers
and the grid could become supercharged by the extra current and
permanently fail during a massive CME like the one that occurred in 1859. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Named after British astronomer, Richard Carrington, the 1859 Carrington event is the most powerful geomagnetic storm ever recorded and one that gives many people the willies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">(Read National Geographic's <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110302-solar-flares-sun-storms-earth-danger-carrington-event-science/" target="_blank">What if the biggest solar storm on record happened today?)</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">In February, 2012, the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released a report asserting that even a
worst-case geomagnetic "super storm" like the 1859 Carrington event would likely not damage most power grid transformers but could cause voltage
instability and possibly result in a blackout lasting hours or days, but not
months or years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s good, right? Inconvenient but we could survive that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Unfortunately, NERC’s assertions were not
supported by any of the official studies performed by the U.S. Congress or the
U.S. Government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, reports by the
Congressional EMP Commission (2008), the National Academy of Sciences (2008),
the Department of Energy and NERC itself in 2010 (High-Impact, Low-Frequency
Event Risk to the North American Bulk Power System), the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (2010) and, more recently, the Defence Committee of the
British Parliament (2012) all independently arrived at the same conclusion –
that a great geomagnetic storm would cause widespread damage to power grid
transformers, result in a protracted blackout lasting months or years and have
catastrophic consequences for society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s bad.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">At the time, the man who presented these findings as
well as an analysis of the conflicting information was Dr. Peter Vincent Pry,
executive director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security – a
group established to advise the U.S. Congress on natural and man-made
EMPs and other threats, and what to do about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He noted, in his presentation, that the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report concluded that power could be
interrupted for several years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also let it be known that he was not
impressed with NERC’s “junk science” and that pilot projects, seeking
protective solutions, needed to be initiated immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Quite frankly, it was both scary and heart-warming to see
a report that was easy to understand and passionate about the risk
level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since most are reluctant to stick their necks out and ring the alarm bells, we would
do well to listen to a distinguished scientist such as Dr. Pry as he tries to warn people.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">So, has anything been done to address this
worst-case scenario?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikipedia has an
interesting entry that says, “Because of serious concerns that utilities have
failed to set protection standards and are unprepared for a severe solar storm
such as a Carrington event, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is
now in the process of a proposed ruling that may require utilities to create a
standard that would require power grids to be protected from severe solar
storms.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Unfortunately, actually implementing the necessary
changes to protect any country’s electrical infrastructure is going to be
exceptionally costly and difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While new transformers and transmissions lines may be somewhat protected, most
believe that it is nearly impossible to retrofit any protection into older
equipment which makes up the majority of the North American electrical
grid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And, w</span>ithout pilot projects to find
out, we’ll never know.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">A CME that takes down the grid
is a great example of how bad things can happen to good people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Some scientists believe that an extended blackout of up to three years could occur if a CME overloaded it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Remember back to the last power outage you
experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most people, the
computer was down but your cellphone worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fridge stayed cold for awhile and flashlights or candles gave off some
light until the power came back on a few hours later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, imagine the power not coming back on for
three years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Three years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No electricity. It's an apocalyptic scenario.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A Carrington-style event has never hit us
during a time of heavy dependence on electrical utilities but the implications
of that are simply terrifying. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Damage would be widespread and repairs
nearly impossible since the factories that manufacture the replacement parts for transformers and transmission lines would not be running because, well, there's no electricity. Nations would go dark in more ways than one.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Even though our society would crumble, the planet would look exactly as it had before the massive CME hit. Blue skies, sun shinning, cats being lazy. The only difference is that there would be no electricity and that one fact would end our civilization as we know it. No banking, no life-saving medications, no mass food production, no fuel, no communication, no transportation of goods or people, no critical infrastructure operating. You get the idea.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">So, what happened the last time this occurred?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Back in 1859, life, for many, was hard but early technology was in use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An American patent for an indoor toilet had been granted two years earlier, in 1857, while the first sewing machine and steamboat already existed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Machine guns (1862), a motion picture camera (1889) and the radio (1891) were just about to be invented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The telephone would take another 17 years before it first appeared in 1876.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Of course, when the Carrington event hit, computers had yet to be invented but the telegraph was in existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All over Europe and <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>, telegraph systems failed and, in some cases, actually shocked the people using them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more startling, some machines continued to work even after operators had disconnected their batteries. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">During this event, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boston Traveler</i> newspaper reported the following conversation between two operators of the American Telegraph Line between <st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Portland</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state></st1:place>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Boston</span></b></st1:city><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"> operator (to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Portland</st1:city></st1:place> operator):</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Please cut off your battery entirely for fifteen minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Portland</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Will do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is now disconnected.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Boston</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Mine is disconnected and we are working with the auroral current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you receive my writing?”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Portland</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Better than with our batteries on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Current comes and goes gradually.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Boston</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “My current is very strong at times and we can work better without the batteries as the aurora seems to neutralize and augment our batteries alternately, making current too strong at times for our relay magnets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suppose we work without batteries while we are affected by this trouble.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Portland</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shall I go ahead with business?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Boston</span></b></st1:city></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Yes. Go ahead.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">These operators didn’t know it at the time but they were writing history, literally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Carrington event was so strong that, according to other reports, the “northern lights” were seen around the world, even as far south as the <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gold miners in the <st1:place w:st="on">Rocky Mountains</st1:place> awoke in the middle of the night and began preparing breakfast because the aurora’s glow simulated morning sunlight while other people claimed they could read a newspaper by its light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Since then, smaller solar storms have occurred in 1921 and 1960, causing significant radio disruption, while another geomagnetic storm in 1989 knocked out power across large sections of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Quebec</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Quebec</st1:state></st1:place>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one knows for sure but it was likely just a case of being in the wrong latitude at the right time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Since most of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Quebec</st1:state></st1:place> sits on hard rock, known as the Canadian Shield, the auroral current may have been prevented from travelling through the ground and, instead, much to the dismay of many, it chose the path of least resistance which was Hydro Quebec’s long transmission lines, causing a significant blackout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During that same event, polar satellites also lost control for several hours and even the space shuttle Discovery had sensor problems which went away after the solar storm ended.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, if you're still with me, then, congratulations on making it this far (this blog is a long one but I felt it couldn't be chopped into two posts). Having said that, I'd understand if you might be incredulously wondering what's the chance of this happening again? </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Seriously, what are the chances?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">No one is sure but, brace yourself, NASA recently revealed that we narrowly missed a Carrington event on July 23, 2012. The event happened but our orbital position allowed for a glancing blow instead of a full-on hit. Researchers believe that, had it hit, the event would have been <u>stronger</u> than a Carrington event and that it actually involved two CMEs. If you're not totally panicked or depressed by now, you can read NASA's release about it entitled <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/02may_superstorm/" target="_blank">Carrington-class CME narrowly misses Earth.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Needless to say, if you haven't decided on what level you want to prep to, then a Carrington event might persuade you to go all the way. With any disaster, you'll want to stash some cash and, with more severe disaster types, you'll want to stock some gold and silver. But, if a Carrington event happens again, packets of seeds will be the new currency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial";"><strong>Step 6: There's an App for That!</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">When you put together an emergency kit or stock long-term supplies, one item that's often overlooked is information. Although there's an impressive group of people out there that have taught themselves how to re-start civilization, most of us haven't had the inclination to even get a kit together, let alone learn how to grow potatoes or build a shelter from tree branches. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">But, if you're interested,</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> there's a wealth of knowledge available, including free books, training and cellphone apps, to help you learn everything you've ever wanted to know about prepping but were afraid to ask. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">All it takes is a little of your time to browse through the links below to see what you'd like to know ahead of an incident. Or, store the info as a hard-copy in your emergency kits for use during or after an incident. If you don't have time to learn it now, there's a good chance you'd have time to learn it later...as long as you can access the information.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">At the very least, make sure to include (and protect in a waterproof container) a hard copy version of a survival first aid manual.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Remember, a CME might take down the grid so don't rely 100% on e-books. Read them now but make sure you have printed hard-copies of your favorite publications and checklists (many government publications are available in printed form for free or you can use your own printer, although there's the cost of ink to think about).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong><em>Free Books and Publications</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">How-to knowledge, especially for surviving specific risks like an earthquake or a tornado, is a vital aspect of pre-incident preparedness while other books, like ones on survival and first aid, are perfect for including in long-term supplies. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Don't forget to include a few start-civilization-over books. For example, a book on identifying herbs and poisonous plants, understanding weather systems, how to cultivate a garden and another one on identifying animal tracks are great items to include in your the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it (TEOTWAWKI) kit. Yes, there really is an acronym for that. Anyway, here's a few to get you started. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.preppers.info/Free_Downloads.html" target="_blank">Free Preparedness Info</a> (this link has a staggering list of free downloads in all categories)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://prepforshtf.com/free-kindle-books-limited-time-offers/#.Vk7O_DaFOM8" target="_blank">Free Kindle Books on preparedness, homesteading and survival</a> (check often, typically free for only 24 hours so watch the price on download)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://publications.usa.gov/USAPubs.php?NavCode=XB&Sub2ID=36&CatID=4" target="_blank">Free Family Planning for Disasters Publications</a> (a mixture of hard-copies and PDFs available from the US Government, similar webpages may exist in other countries)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/publications" target="_blank">Free FEMA Publications</a> (covering seniors, families, businesses, special needs and pets, available as hard copies and PDFs)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">You can also search for your own country's free publications using search terms like "free emergency preparedness books" or "free disaster planning." Just add the word "free" in front of your search term.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong><em>Free Training</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">To find a resource in your country, try doing a search using terms like "free emergency training" or "free emergency planning course." Here's a small sample below, just to illustrate what's available.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(USA) FEMA offers <a href="https://training.fema.gov/is/" target="_blank">free distance learning</a> for members of the general public as well as emergency responders and volunteers. Currently, there are 197 courses to choose from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(USA) American Red Cross offers <a href="http://www.redcross.org/local/tx/houston/take-a-class/free-courses" target="_blank">free courses in disaster preparedness</a> and other related topics. Make sure to search online for your local area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Canada) The City of Vancouver offers <a href="http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/free-emergency-workshops.aspx" target="_blank">free disaster planning workshops</a> covering everything from tsunamis to heat waves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(New Zealand) Massey University offers <a href="https://www.open2study.com/courses/emergency-management" target="_blank">free emergency management courses</a> covering resilience, readiness, response and recovery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Another way to gain free training is to consider joining a club or volunteer organization. In the US, <a href="http://www.ready.gov/community-emergency-response-teams-cert" target="_blank">CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)</a> members receive training, opportunities to participate in disaster exercises and mentorship from those who have real-life experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong><em>Free Videos</em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Don't forget to check out YouTube to see what videos are available. Just enter search terms like "growing vegetables" or "survival tips." Here's a few but the sky's the limit when it comes to search topics. Pick a subject and press play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Family Disaster Planning) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_9IAY1gQKc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_9IAY1gQKc</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Jamie Lee Curtis for the Red Cross) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wWyVTPitXI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wWyVTPitXI</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Car Emergency Kit) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tm_Jdj8dEI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tm_Jdj8dEI</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Active Shooter Survival Tips) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong><em>Free Cellphone Apps</em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Since we have electricity, let's embrace all that it offers including these free cellphone apps. By searching, you'll find others that do everything from monitoring river levels (for flooding) to coaching victims of PTSD (see link below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://heavy.com/tech/2015/09/top-5-best-free-disaster-emergency-red-cross-apps-for-iphone-android/" target="_blank">Top 5 Free Disaster Apps for iPhone and Android</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Disaster-Radar/3000-31711_4-75433164.html" target="_blank">Disaster Radar</a> (Real-time global monitoring, needs iTunes account, free, most countries)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps" target="_blank">Red Cross</a> (Suite of free Red Cross apps from first aid to disaster alerts, worth checking)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/PTSDCoach.asp" target="_blank">PTSD Coach</a> (Free from Veterans Affairs, downloaded 100,000 times in 74 countries)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Weather-Disaster-Alert/3000-18555_4-76206507.html" target="_blank">Weather Disaster Alert</a> (for Android phones, free)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Weather-Underground-Forecasts-Interactive-Radar-and-Weather-Alerts/3000-18555_4-75647073.html" target="_blank">Weather Underground</a> (for iOS phones, free)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Weather-Underground/3000-31713_4-75719010.html" target="_blank">Weather Underground</a> (for Android phones, free)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Earth-Alerts/3000-18555_4-10782633.html" target="_blank">Earth Alerts</a> (Windows, global coverage, option to send alerts to your cellphone, free)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong><em>Free Pet First Aid Apps</em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Let's not forget to prepare a kit for our furry loved ones and then download a pet first ad app to help in emergencies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Pet-First-Aid-Red-Cross/3000-2129_4-76060464.html" target="_blank">Red Cross Pet First Aid</a> (for Android phones, free)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Pet-First-Aid-by-American-Red-Cross/3000-2129_4-76071280.html" target="_blank">Red Cross Pet First Aid</a> (for iOS phone, free although the CNET link mentions .99 cent cost, I believe it's a mistake as the Apple site says its free and that matches with the Android version).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Good luck with the inclusion of knowledge into your emergency planning and preparedness efforts. Knowledge is power but it's also survival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for reading and happy learning!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Nancy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Please subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span></span></div>
Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-68087877132548584492015-09-24T02:11:00.001-06:002015-10-06T19:33:50.379-06:00Step 5: Free for the Asking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JyhmRq0STDQ/VgIuM-cUg-I/AAAAAAAAAOk/fMhR_BB-VwU/s1600/iStock_000008888560XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JyhmRq0STDQ/VgIuM-cUg-I/AAAAAAAAAOk/fMhR_BB-VwU/s400/iStock_000008888560XSmall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know it's bad when you're diverting a massive ocean-going ferry up a river channel to evacuate an entire Canadian town and, yet, that's exactly what we were doing. With a 200-year cyclic flood happening, roads were washed out from torrential rains and the only airport was socked in by bad weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Bella Coola, a scenic remote town nestled 62 miles (100 km) inland, at the gate of the Great Bear Rainforest on the west coast of British Columbia, water was about to destroy it <em>and</em> provide the only means of escape. A quick phone call had filled me in on this detail but not much more other than my disaster communications team had been activated and, apparently, there was a flight waiting for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to a fly-out kit stashed in my car's trunk, I arrived at the airport quickly, expecting to be on the next available plane, but, instead, found myself with an empty aircraft at my disposable along with two uniformed pilots who had no idea where they were flying to. Unfortunately, neither did I.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My communications team came from many different government ministries and was scattered across a province the same size as a few European countries lumped together. I needed to make some calls to see who could depart immediately and be picked up by my aircraft or follow behind in a few hours or rotate in later, depending on the duration of the incident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pilots looked at me expectantly for instructions. Flight planning in the air isn't ideal but, until I talked to the team, "head east" was all I could tell them. I had no time to explain that I held a commercial pilot's licence and that I felt bad about the situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, a few phone calls and 20 minutes later, we had a route picked out after some frantic flight planning on the fly (pun intended). The three of us took a collective deep breath which is when the co-pilot asked, incredulously, "Who <em>are</em> you?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caught off-guard by the question, I'm sure I looked like a deer in the headlights. Over the sound of the engines, I shook my head and yelled "nobody important." Of course, looking back, this reply inadvertently added to the mystery of how and why I was given an aircraft. In fairness, my answer might have been influenced by the fact that, earlier that week, I had accidentally</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sat through an entire high-level meeting with a big red dot on the end of my nose. I swear I am not making this up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the credit of my all-male colleagues, no one at the meeting snickered and it wasn't until I went to the ladies room later that I discovered the nose art. Staring at my Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer face in the washroom mirror, I was mortified but not overly surprised. Since I have a long-standing feud with Mother Nature, a lot of "stuff" just happens to me and I've come to accept it. I suspected she might have had a hand in this escapade as well but I couldn't figure out how. Then, I looked at my coffee cup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rushing to the meeting, I had stopped to pick up a decaf fat-free latte (otherwise known as a "why bother"). The barista had marked the lid with a bright red marker to denote that it was decaf and to stop annoying people like me from double-checking. Each time I took a sip, the red dot on the lid was lined up with the tip of my nose so that it transferred its distinctive color perfectly. Sigh. Although I couldn't blame Mother Nature for this one, I was pretty sure she had been giving lessons to the Universe on how to get me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward to the aircraft enroute to a 200-year flood and why feeling "important" was the last thing on my radar. If "importance" was a sauce, I would no doubt be wearing it, splattered down the front of my shirt. Fortunately for me, there's no place for self-importance in disasters anyway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Instead, savvy experienced emergency managers know the value of teamwork and that means getting along with other agencies and staying focused on the incident. Sure, there are always some overbearing Type A personalities and ego-maniacs but we tend to dislike them and avoid, where possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It takes a tremendous amount of resources and a lot of skill from many different disciplines to respond effectively to an incident and, in some cases, you never get to meet everyone working the same event. Sometimes, they are nothing more than a voice on a static-filled radio or the hand that makes a piece of equipment miraculously appear. Their role may be visible or invisible, pivotal or supportive. It doesn't matter because it all counts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you've ever done a real disaster (and I've done 11), you soon learn how many unsung heroes there are, working behind the scenes and completing tasks that don't get a lot of thanks or media attention. Many times, I've been deeply grateful for the volunteers, civilians, organizations and even impacted residents that step up to the plate in the most admirable way when we need them the most.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their contribution may appear small but it often comes with a positive result that can be significant and lasting. To give you a few real-life examples from disasters I've done, here's a small selection of the many people that deserved the salute of gratitude:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The phone company technician who came in on a Sunday and turned a hotel meeting room into a communications center extraordinaire with a dozen Internet-connected work stations and six dedicated phone lines.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The people who called in sightings of smoke after a lightning storm had passed through.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The nameless person who figured out how to program a temperamental (insert your choice of profanity here) fax machine for group distribution.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The computer store owner who opened up in the wee hours, ransacked his equipment and drove it all out to our location then set it up.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The local residents who baked us home-made pies to help us through three devastating class A wildfires happening at the same time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The company who donated a box of new cellphones because, yeah, sometimes you scale up so big that you don't have everything you need.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The IT guy who never blinked at our requests and just made it happen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The volunteers who manned checkpoints in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The thousands of people who listened to instructions and followed them.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Respecting your hidden army of support, regardless of whether they have a badge, wear a name tag or display a shoulder flash, is one of the signs of a professional emergency response. And, a<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">s it turned out, Bella Coola's 200-year flood was about to demonstrate this in spades. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One of my personal mandates for the communications team was to have a fully-functioning communications center within 45 minutes of wheels down. This was not mandated by our government agency but something that I had set as a goal for the team and something that we were able to achieve in most incidents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once the center was up and running and we had received a full briefing, I typically split off two team members to deploy to the actual scene which, in the case of Bella Coola, was 280 miles (451 km) away. Our center was usually placed far enough away so that we were out of harm's way and would not be taken down by the very disaster we were responding to. In this case, we were even further out due to mountainous terrain and the remoteness of Bella Coola.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although information flows into a communications center from many sources, I always prefer to have my own "eyes and ears" at the scene. In most cases, this allowed our information-gathering to outstrip what the command group was receiving and, typically, within 24 hours, we were ahead of what everyone else had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">From doing so many real-life incidents, I had noticed that, understandably, operational personnel were so involved in "actioning" the incident that there was a delay in sharing information up the chain of command. However, my "eyes and ears" team members had no other focus so we were able to leap ahead in the delivery of confirmed information. These team members were also able to chase down rumors immediately and assist with media at the site. Ultimately, this helped the command group who now had strong, timely information for decision-making purposes (in Canada, most agencies use the Incident Command System (ICS) to manage events as do some larger corporations).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With a slight break in the weather, my "eyes and ears" Bella Coola team jumped on the next available helicopter to the scene while a media helicopter departed 15 minutes ahead of them. As the center geared up to its normal state of organized chaos, I learned that the weather had suddenly collapsed and that my team's helicopter was forced to turn back but the media helicopter had made it in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had a TV reporter on the ground but no one else so I called him up. I explained the situation to him and asked if he would provide all information into our center first and then file his stories. He agreed in a heartbeat. Yes, folks, reporters are decent human beings. I know, first hand, because I used to be a reporter and I've worked with many, on both sides of the fence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most people recognize the special circumstances of a disaster and just want to help. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">And so we operated like that for a few days until we were finally able to get in. With a reporter on-scene, we rivalled the best intelligence gathering agency out there and it was common to see members of the command group hanging around our center's entrance watching the information come in and be posted. If anyone deserved the salute of gratitude, it was this reporter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, what's the lesson in this story? It's that anyone can be a first responder. You don't need to wear a uniform to help out and any contribution, however small, should be appreciated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In fact, in many cases, it's civilians who are the first "first responders." If your neighbor's house is on fire, it will likely be you that calls 911, bangs on the door to alert the residents and helps them escape...long before the sirens start to wail in the distance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By increasing your own personal preparedness, you can become a better first responder and contribute to an enhanced national level of readiness. Prepared citizens reduce the burden on uniformed responders, increase community resiliency and save lives and t</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">hat deserves the respect and gratitude of every emergency manager.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It certainly has mine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Step 5: Free for the Asking</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you're new to this blog and missed the earlier steps in the Prep for Free program, then you can find them here:</span></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-1-pillage-your-village.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Step 1: Pillage Your Village</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-2-give-and-take.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Step 2: Give and Take</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-3-reward-yourself.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Step 3: Reward Yourself</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/08/step-4-buy-low-sell-high.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Step 4: Buy Low, Sell High</span></a></span></li>
</span></ul>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Step 5: Free for the Asking</strong> is fairly easy (you can do it in your pajamas, if you like) but assumes you have access to the Internet. If you don't, you may want to take advantage of some free computer time at a library or use a free café Wi-Fi spot. Do not do that in your pajamas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Basically, in Step 5, you're going to sign up for a ton of free samples that will arrive in the mail. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few key tips for success: </span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Get a free email address</strong> that you will use just for free samples. Gmail (Google Mail), Yahoo and many others offer free email addresses so sign up. Never use your personal or company email address when submitting for samples unless you want an inbox cluttered with spam. Remember, you get free items in return for companies adding your email address to a database so you'll need an email address that won't mind receiving constant advertisements. <a href="https://www.gmail.com/intl/en/mail/help/about.html" target="_blank">Get a free Gmail account here.</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Get a free phone number.</strong> Don't use your home, work or cell number as you'll likely get unsolicited calls. There are a few ways to get a free phone number and one of them is Google Voice which uses your Gmail email account. You can <a href="https://support.google.com/voice/answer/150640?hl=en&ref_topic=1707989&vid=1-635786695692591701-2049007204" target="_blank">find out more here</a> or search on YouTube for additional sources of free phone numbers. I haven't been able to test this out because Google Voice is only available in the US. As I understand it, here's how it works. When you set up your free Google Voice number, it will want you to forward it to a real number that you own (and it will call you to verify that number). Once that is done, block the Google Voice number on your real phone so that you don't receive any advertising calls. You can do this with call screening or you can block from the actual telephone handset, depending on what type of phone you have. Now, you'll still have your free Google phone number for use in registering for free samples but without the forwarded advertising calls. Since this takes a little work, some of you may be tempted to use a fake phone number when you sign up but please consider that you might be giving advertisers someone else's real phone number.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Use the links below</strong> to request a free sample which can go directly into one of your emergency kits. If the sample size is small, then use in your work, car or go kits. If you get a full size sample, then it can go into shelter-in-place and long term supplies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Use your favorite search engine</strong> to find more free samples. There are dozens of free sample websites. Try search terms like "free samples Canada" or "free samples UK" to see results for your specific country. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Be aware</strong> that some sites want you to rate the sample in return for the free item. Some sample offerings are also time sensitive so you'll need to watch for sample releases. </span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few free sample sites that are popular (but there are many more):</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>SampleSource</em> </span><a href="https://www.samplesource.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://</span>www.samplesource.com/</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Free Site</em> </span><a href="http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Samples/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Samples/</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Freeflys </em> </span><a href="http://www.freeflys.com/MoreFreeSamples"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.freeflys.com/MoreFreeSamples</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>FreebieRadar</em> <a href="http://freebieradar.com/free-samples/">http://freebieradar.com/free-samples/</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>International Freebies </em><a href="http://www.coolfreebielinks.com/International_Freebies/">http://www.coolfreebielinks.com/International_Freebies/</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Be Free for Me</em> (gluten/allergy free samples) </span><a href="http://www.befreeforme.com/SignUp.aspx"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.befreeforme.com/SignUp.aspx</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Free Stuff Finder </em> </span><a href="http://www.freestufffinder.ca/category/free-samples/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.freestufffinder.ca/category/free-samples/</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Influenster</em> <a href="https://www.influenster.com/">https://www.influenster.com/</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>VonBeau</em> <a href="http://vonbeau.com/">http://vonbeau.com/</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Pinchme</em> <a href="https://www.pinchme.com/">https://www.pinchme.com/</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also, <a href="https://youtu.be/SqEXino_Ufw" target="_blank">here's a great video</a> with examples of what the host received for free along with some additional tips. You'll instantly see how many items are perfect for emergency kits as free samples tend to be packaged for long-term storage. From protein bars to dog food, there's no limit on the kinds of items you can get for free!</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SqEXino_Ufw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SqEXino_Ufw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you live outside of the USA, don't despair as many sites are designed for international use or you can search and use websites for your specific country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Good luck!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.S. My apologies, once again, for the long gap between blogs. I'm currently working on launching a new disaster communications training website. I'll let you know when it's ready! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-46075828425418122322015-08-07T01:01:00.002-06:002015-10-06T19:33:30.107-06:00Step 4: Buy low, sell high<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r5faxdMfqcI/VcRNciARahI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/bn8sq-lhYOQ/s1600/iStock_000003362459Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r5faxdMfqcI/VcRNciARahI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/bn8sq-lhYOQ/s400/iStock_000003362459Small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The letter that would dramatically kick-start my emergency management career landed on my government desk inside a mangled brown inter-office envelope with a number of signatures on the back and a classic red string looped around a button clasp that was supposed to keep it secure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The acceptance signatures were like passport stamps, chronicling this envelope's many mailroom journeys, and, like the nosy person I am, I checked them all out before adding my signature to the long list. Then I opened the envelope and pulled out a one-page sheet with a big crest embossed on the top left corner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was a seriously-official letter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It informed me (guised as a "request") that I should fulfil the role of communications 2IC for a massive three-day joint disaster exercise between the feds and the western provinces. I had no idea what a 2IC was and read it as "twenty-one C." Despite my complete ignorance, I decided right then that I was going to be the best damn twenty-one C that they had ever had!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Later, I learned that 2IC stood for "second-in-command." (This is what "leaning in" looks like in real life. It's enthusiastically putting up your hand when you have no clue what's going on.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I was second-in-command because that meant there was somebody who was first-in-command. Little did I know that the 2IC does all the work and that I would barely see my higher-up-the-chain-of-command person who had no more experience or training than I did. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The year was 1992 and the exercise scenario was a mega-thrust earthquake along the Pacific coast. I'll let that one sink in, for a moment. Yes, in 1992, we were already training for a mega-thrust quake. We've known for a very long time what you might have just <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">read about recently</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Day 1 arrived and I showed up in my Forest Service uniform to lead a team I had never met before, to participate in a disaster exercise for which I had no training. The only thing I had going for me was my training as a pilot which had taught me how to think through rapidly-evolving situations that have a tendency to go sour. (Today, I would never do this to a team and expect to see good results. Training is critical to success.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wish I could say that the government's confidence in my abilities were based on some sort of selection criteria but they weren't. I just happened to be an appropriate body to fill a seat on short notice which illustrates the real inside level of planning and coordination and should provide ample insight as to why personal preparedness is so important. Don't rely on any agency to take care of you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Still, all things considered, my team did pretty good, given the horrific scenario. Some people see disaster exercises as "compressed time torture" but I prefer to see them as "team bonding opportunities." Some memorable highlights include:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dispatching hand-written critical information via messengers on foot and on bicycles to the only radio station still operating on a generator because there was no power and the streets were covered with debris and impassable to vehicles </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Learning that some designated shelter locations for the public were no longer standing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Taking over a telephone company and its staff to set up a public hotline using our state of emergency legislation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The grounds of a cemetery that liquefied and clogged a river with floating coffins (simulation)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Finding out what kind of personalities will step up to the task or crumble in chaotic environments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Discovering that nothing is so severe that you cannot stop and thank your staff.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If I could share just one take-away with all emergency response agencies, it would be "stop assuming that you will have electricity." Trust me, you won't. Your planning must begin with no infrastructure and evolve from there. You'll likely find pockets of electricity or you'll get it back in time but you cannot assume it will be functioning at the start of the event. I see many agencies making this mistake in their emergency planning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And, when it comes to earthquake preparedness, let's stop sugar-coating what we tell the public. The recent and much-talked-about <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">New Yorker article</span></a> was accurate and alarmist and that's exactly what's needed. My experience with the general public is that they will only prepare if they are sufficiently alarmed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In my past disaster management role, I was once accused of being alarmist by a mother who called into a radio show that I was on. She was incensed that, as a government agency, we dared to send earthquake preparedness pamphlets home with her child.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There were many ways to respond to that accusation so I chose to ask how many bridges she crossed during her daily commute to work. She answered "two." Next, I asked what was her plan to get back home to her child with both bridges out after a big quake? There was dead silence. "Do you have a boat?" "How many miles can you walk in a day?" Can you swim across a large river?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And that, in a nutshell, is why we send home pamphlets. To help your family survive when you're not able to be there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Throughout our day-to-day lives, most of us incorporate preparedness without ever thinking about it. For example, we wouldn’t go to a job interview, defend ourselves in a court trial or write a university exam without doing some preparation first.<br /><br />Similarly, emergency preparedness increases your odds of a successful outcome but it does not necessarily reflect the odds of ever needing those emergency kits or stockpiled supplies. However, life is just random enough that many are not willing to gamble their lives on it. They’d rather be prepared and never use those items than experience the stomach-churning realization that it’s too late to prepare. If you’ve ever tried to buy water, food or batteries ahead of a storm, you’ll know exactly what this means.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The easiest way to envision disaster preparedness is an “extended camping trip.” Many of us are familiar with camping and some even go so far as to rock the camp-out with a hand-crank blender. There's nothing that says survival more than sipping hand-cranked blender Margaritas around the campfire. Long gone is the tent that self-destructs with the slightest breeze or the air mattress that lies in wait for its first victim, deflating slowly in the middle of the night. Today, it's just you, the coyotes and a ton of awesome gadgets.<br /><br />Now, if you're a follower of this blog, it should come as no surprise that my idea of camping is a Class A motorhome with satellite uplink and an espresso maker. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of camping I’m referring to in emergency preparedness although, depending on the type of disaster, motorhomes and recreational trailers are definitely a plus, if you have one.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In simpler terms, let's take a look at some easy-to-understand comparisons between emergency kits and real life:</span></span><br />
<ol><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Car emergency kit*</strong> = a hiking day trip where no one remembers to bring any trail mix except you (you'll need 12-18 hours worth of supplies)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Work emergency kit*</strong> = overtime shift with no food truck stopping by (you'll need 12-18 hours worth of supplies)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Evacuation kit</strong> = a weekend group getaway with your kids and pets (you should have three days worth of supplies in backpacks)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Shelter-in-place</strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <strong>supplies* </strong>= just had plastic surgery and can't be seen in public (1-3 weeks worth of supplies so that you don't need to leave the house, depending on the scenario)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Disaster supplies*</strong> = an extended camping trip with no access to amenities including toilet paper (three months worth of supplies)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>The end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) kit</strong> = loved "Little House on the Prairie," always wanted to be a farmer or maybe a hermit (one year of supplies including seeds, tools, building materials, medical supplies, clothing, how-to books and solar-powered or hand-crank gadgets, guns and ammo optional but recommended)</span></li>
</span></ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>*Bonus:</em> If you drove to work and your office building has not collapsed, then you can combine your car and work kits together for a full 24 hours of coverage. Likewise, shelter-in-place and disaster supplies can be combined in the home as well.</span><br />
<br />
Hopefully, the list above helps you set some targets for prepping. You can decide how much and how far you want to go but I would recommend the first four as a minimum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">And, if you're new to this blog and missed the earlier steps in the Prep for Free program, then you can find them here:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-1-pillage-your-village.html" target="_blank">Step 1: Pillage Your Village</a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-2-give-and-take.html" target="_blank">Step 2: Give and Take</a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-3-reward-yourself.html" target="_blank">Step 3: Reward Yourself</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now, for step 4!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>STEP 4: Buy low, sell high</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In an era of disposable everything, many of us upgrade our home furnishings, small appliances and electronics as new versions come out. As proof of this, quite a few of us have at least one cellphone stashed in a drawer that still works just fine but hasn’t been touched in six months. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These items may be perfect to sell for hard cash that you can use for prepping. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you pillaged your village in step 1, you may have already identified items in the home that you don’t need or use any longer but aren’t suitable for your emergency kit. If not, then go through each room and consider what you can sell to raise funds. Then it’s time for a garage sale or some classified ads. Today, you can place free ads online at sites such as VarageSale, Craigslist and Kijiji and it takes nothing more than your time to start selling some clutter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are some great ways to gain both closet space and money for emergency kits:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell your <strong>broken or unwanted gold or silver jewelry</strong> (often, you'll get the best prices from local jewelers compared to national buyers)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell your used <strong>clothing, shoes and purses</strong> (you can also consign these items to stores that will sell them for you, higher-end or designer clothes do very well)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell your <strong>older model electronics</strong> (don't wait too long to sell things like cellphones, GPS units and cameras since the technology is changing fast and your item will get less money as it gets older)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell your unwanted <strong>small appliances, decorative items and outgrown sports gear</strong> (every dollar counts towards your prepping efforts).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell <strong>donated items</strong>. Ask relatives and friends if they have items that need selling and then offer to sell the item for a portion of the proceeds. Many people don't have the time or can't be bothered to sell their items, choosing to donate them instead. Explain that you'll do the work of selling their item and you'll split the profit 50/50.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Repair items and re-sell.</strong> In many cases, family and friends will be happy to clear out items that need repair, giving them to you for free. All you have to do is pick the items up and thank them for their generosity. Next time you see them, let them know what you’re doing and nicely ask for their support. Make sure to email a free thank-you card or send over some homemade cookies if someone donates to your preparedness efforts. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Monitor online ads for free items. </strong> Scroll through the “free” ads which offer items that people just want taken away. You may find exactly what you need there! Many people just want to get rid of items, especially towards the end of the month when families are moving. Make a habit of checking the ads or doing a search for "free" and then select items that you either need for your kits or could re-sell or repair/re-sell for the cash. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you’re gutsy, place a nicely-worded <strong>“wanted for free” </strong>ad on the many free online sites. Indicate clearly what items you need and why and you’ll be surprised by the kindness of strangers. These items may need to be repaired but they’re still free for the asking. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Don’t forget to <strong>talk to your employer.</strong> Companies sometimes happily pass on items to employees at no cost. Keep your eyes and ears open at work and offer to work an extra hour in appreciation of a donated item. At many workplaces, you may be able to get free boxes or containers for your long-term supplies. Cardboard isn’t ideal since it breaks down when wet but some companies will dispose of plastic containers. Be first in line if those become available. You can also recruit family and friends to check out their workplaces for free items as well which they can pass on to you. You may get items that you can sell for cash or items that can go directly into your kits. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you happen to have a higher-priced item you can sell (like furniture), you can still use these same sites to post a free ad to sell the item (make sure to include photos) and then pocket the cash for your emergency kits. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Important note:</strong> Use caution when allowing others into your home. Try to always have another person present when selling an item that requires a home visit. Exercise common sense when contacting strangers. Use the buddy system so you are never alone during the transaction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your strategy for step 4 is to buy low and sell high. Get as much money as you can for the items your selling and then re-use the funds by buying used gear or by spending prudently at stores like Walmart and Costco. However, hands down, the best place for new disaster supplies are Dollar stores. </span><br />
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<img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yiy2b_QTUk/VcQbhwBdiBI/AAAAAAAAAOA/d_htkz_lOA8/s400/Dollar-Store.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here's a<a href="http://tacticalintelligence.net/blog/dollar-store-survival.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> great Dollar store article with photos and uses</span></a> for all of the amazing disaster supplies you can get there and at the lowest price possible. This is a fun way to buy low. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Let's say you can only get $20 for that ancient flip-phone in your junk drawer. That will buy 20 items for your kits at the Dollar store!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, gather up your unwanted and unneeded items and post them online. Sell them and then take the cash and head to your nearest Dollar store. You'll be shocked at what you can get for a few bucks and your emergency kits will thank you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cheers for now,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.S. My sincere apologies for the longer-than-expected gap between blogs. I had company visiting and also unexpectedly ended up hosting two air cadets from Britain on an exchange program. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-45034474137024196672015-06-30T22:51:00.000-06:002015-10-06T19:33:18.818-06:00Step 3: Reward Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qYeFKHj5imE/VZNrbN41-SI/AAAAAAAAANg/vuYdL3aEiVw/s1600/Reporting%2Bin%2Ba%2Bdisaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qYeFKHj5imE/VZNrbN41-SI/AAAAAAAAANg/vuYdL3aEiVw/s400/Reporting%2Bin%2Ba%2Bdisaster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day I met Tom Glass dawned like any other typical prairie summer day. Not a hint of a cotton-ball cloud above but the temperature was rising quickly and, by our scheduled afternoon interview time, the sky had changed into an angry black mess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End-of-the-world clouds boiled across the horizon as I arrived at the rural fairgrounds where I would interview Glass, a famous chuckwagon-racing cowboy and, now, movie stuntman and stunt car driver. I congratulated myself on dressing appropriately for an interview that would take place in a dusty farm field. Since I was on assignment for the Calgary Herald, a major daily newspaper, I did not want to be remembered as the "stupid reporter in high heels." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it turned out, feeling smug was my first mistake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pulling into a large area filled with motorhomes, horse trailers and Brontosaurus-sized trucks, I parked my car at about the same time that the radio reported four funnel clouds off in the distance. With an eye on the sky, I checked my make-up and hair one last time and stepped out of my vehicle which was my second mistake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At that instant, a dust devil hit me, engulfing me in a violent vortex of dirt, fairground garbage and undetermined organic matter (I'm pretty sure there were molecules of horse poop in there somewhere). Like a giant flytrap, grass, debris and other unmentionables clung to my hair, make-up and lipstick while I hung on to my car's antenna because it was the only thing I could see. Finally, the dust devil, feeling satisfied with its assault tactics, relented and moved off in search of a new victim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking like I'd been roughed up by some school bullies, I made my way over to meet Glass. My clothes were dishevelled and covered in a fine layer of dust. Twigs and other icky stuff was stuck in my long hair. I tried to pick the dirt off of my lipstick and brush the grit from my face but it's safe to say that I was sporting the freshly-sandblasted look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glass said nothing but offered to conduct the interview in his shiny black SUV which seemed like a good idea since I was fairly certain that other dust devils were still out there, hunting me. Joanne, his wife of 18 years, was already inside, with every hair in place and looking gorgeous because, well, Mother Nature <em>liked</em> her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Glass opened the back door for me, I made a dive for the safety of the SUV, arriving head-first and with about as much grace as a hippo doing a belly flop into water. The silence that followed was a tad awkward and, feeling the need to explain, I gathered up the tatters of my dignity, smiled brightly and simply stated "I guess I'm not a country girl." They considered this for a moment, laughed and nodded understandingly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The truth is that Mother Nature and I go way back and this was not the first skirmish. Many years earlier, I had been flying a plane back alone to my local airport when I was hit, mid air, with a suspected microburst. I went from flying straight and level, in a perfect sky without a wisp of cloud in sight, to standing on one wingtip in a heartbeat. Now, as scary as that sounds, it was fairly easy to recover from (my commercial pilot's test ride was a lot worse) and I was left with nothing stuck to my lipstick so, all things considered, it was a win-win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, unfortunately, Mother Nature was not done with me. A few years after the Glass interview incident, I was sitting outside on a mall bench, minding my own business and waiting for my ride to pick me up, when I noticed a dust devil forming in the parking lot. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm, I had my favorite pair of sunglasses on and my toes were delighted to be in sandals after a long winter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feeling quite safe, I watched the dust devil grow in size and become more visible as it skipped across the mall lot, picking up winter gravel, dead leaves and dirt as it went. Suddenly, it veered straight for me and quickly overcame me in a maelstrom of filth. I swear I am not making this up. I put my head down, closed my eyes and did the only thing any self-respecting woman would do – I protected my lipstick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somewhat shockingly, as it whirled around me, I actually felt myself lift off a little from the bench. Then, it was over and the dust devil danced its way across the lot and dissipated. I sat there, stunned, and wondered if I had imagined the sense of weightlessness. I checked my condition and, in addition to the usual crap stuck to me, I discovered that my sandals now had a layer of dirt between the bottom of my feet and the footbed of each sandal. Wow, I had actually lifted up enough for the entire inside of the sandal to be covered in debris which, later, made walking interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My ride showed up shortly thereafter, took one look at me and asked "what happened to you?!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Tornado magnet," I answered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest, my relationship with Mother Nature has been pretty shaky for most of my life and it all began when a bat flew into my hair when I was 12 years old. Needless to say, there was a lot of flapping and thrashing about – mostly on my part. There may have been some screaming as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That incident set the tone for what was to come. Birds dive bomb me, little furry woodland creatures think I'm a Disney princess and coming running straight for me and I'm not too thrilled about my role as the insect whisperer either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In what may have been one of her better moments, Mother Nature chose an airshow as the setting for my next humiliation. I had taken no more than a dozen steps onto the field when a giant grasshopper leaped upwards and landed on my forehead, dangling from my bangs while hanging on for dear life. This put him squarely at eye level so that all I could see were grasshopper legs and underbelly. Again, I am not making this up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my hands were full with a lawn chair and backpack, my options for swatting were limited and I was also frozen in mid-stride. The grasshopper, perhaps sensing a meltdown coming, jumped off but not before first using my forehead as a launching pad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later on, when I went to work in government and began my career in disaster communications, Mother Nature upped the ante significantly as we battled over wildfires, windstorms, flooding, earthquakes and more. But, she taught me some valuable lessons – mainly to be prepared for anything including, but not limited to, predatory dust devils, invisible microbursts and mutant Ninja grasshoppers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>STEP 3: Reward Yourself</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you've been following the Prep for Free steps, then you're going to particularly like this one. It's simple and fun! Here's how to do it using the many shopping reward cards out there. If you don't already have a wallet full of them, then it's time to sign up for all that you can get.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Option 1:</strong> Redeem your reward points for a cash discount on your purchase and then use those savings for items that you'll need to buy for your emergency kits. As an example, if you redeem your points for $10 off your everyday purchase, take the $10 you've saved and add it to your growing preparedness piggy bank. Or you can spend it right away on a preparedness item if it costs $10 or less. If you're shopping used items on <span style="color: black;">Kijiji</span>, Craigslist, Varage Sale or one of the many online free ad sites, then $10 can buy a lot. If you live in a city with a Dollar store, these outlets are a great place to shop for emergency kit gear especially during camping season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Option 2:</strong> Redeem your reward points for other gift cards. Some programs, like<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Miles" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Air Miles</span></a>, allow you to redeem your points for other gift cards. If you redeem for a fuel card, food card or entertainment card, you can then deduct that amount from your regular budget and re-direct the funds to your preparedness efforts. For example, using this option, a $50 gas card would allow you to divert $50 out of your day-to-day budget for preparedness items. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Option 3:</strong> Redeem your reward points for tangible items like camping equipment and so much more. It's amazing what items are offered on certain programs. In a previous blog, I talked about <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/05/determine-your-hazards-and-risks.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">this LED lantern</span></a> which I got for free through my reward points. I've also used my points for binoculars, a telescope and a solar power panel like the one shown below.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jn8ZFGSF5n4/VZNprn980lI/AAAAAAAAANU/v9ErnBksYJE/s1600/Solar_panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jn8ZFGSF5n4/VZNprn980lI/AAAAAAAAANU/v9ErnBksYJE/s400/Solar_panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">No matter how you use them, your points can amount to significant free stuff for your emergency kits so go ahead and reward yourself. You deserve to be prepared!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Next week, I'll be taking a break due to more travel to deliver corporate crisis communications training but please use that time to keep working though the Prep for Free program and I'll be back with step 4 soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Take care and thanks for reading,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<br />Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-18448048728614020942015-06-19T17:59:00.000-06:002015-10-06T19:33:06.234-06:00Step 2: Give and Take<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2u5W6bYhuJc/VYOA84-yQ7I/AAAAAAAAAM0/-4uEA_foPeE/s1600/Sneak%2Bmeteor%2Battack2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2u5W6bYhuJc/VYOA84-yQ7I/AAAAAAAAAM0/-4uEA_foPeE/s400/Sneak%2Bmeteor%2Battack2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February 15, 2013 was a somewhat embarrassing day for astronomers when a sneak meteor attack, in the skies above the Chelyabinsk area of Russia, injured 1,500 people and blew up YouTube with dramatic dash-cam video. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, to add insult to injury, Earth’s space telescopes were all looking the other way.<br /><br />Ironically, that day was already going to be a big one because that's when asteroid 2012 DA14 (later re-named 367943 Duende because that name is so much better) was going to make an exceptionally close fly-by and all eyes were watching. Meanwhile, out in space, another asteroid was breaking apart, sending a big fragment towards Russia and no one saw it coming. Well, at least, no one who was willing to warn Russia.<br /><br />Heavier than the Eiffel tower, this surprise space invader arrived with a brilliant streak of light, followed by a tremendous bang. Some 7,200 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged by the meteor’s explosive shock wave, leaving many people out in sub-zero temperatures and cut by shattered glass. You can watch a collection of video footage below and, at around the 3:10 mark, you'll start to get a sense of how terrifying this must have been.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dpmXyJrs7iU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dpmXyJrs7iU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />Once stunned astronomers recovered, it was eventually deduced that the parent of the Chelyabinsk meteor was an asteroid named 2011E040. Why this asteroid broke apart is unknown but it may have been hit by something else or fractured due to the wear and tear of all that travelling around space for thousands of years. In any case, it’s a great example of randomness born out of a cyclic event. An asteroid on a predictable orbit that suddenly delivers a completely random and devastating punch to an innocent bystander which happened to be Earth.<br /><br /> The reality is that chaos is just a fact of life for most planets. Robert Irion, in a July 2013 <em>National Geographic</em> article, wrote “according to one theory, the moon coalesced from the spray of molten rock that was blasted into orbit when a body the size of Mars collided with Earth.”<br /><br /> What? We were T-boned by another planet?<br /><br /> According to this theory, Earth was originally born as a twin to a much-smaller planet. The two planets shared an orbit for several million years until they collided. Some scientists call this smaller planet, Theia, after the Greek goddess, but I prefer to call it Wrong-Way Harold. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After throwing off a chunk in the collision, which became our moon, the remains of Wrong-Way Harold were absorbed by Earth giving us enough mass and gravity to sustain a substantial atmosphere which is the only way that we have donut shops and a lot of other things today. Without an atmosphere, life and everything associated with it would have been impossible.<br /><br /> Irion goes on to note that “many hundreds of millions of years later, the moon suffered a series of major impacts that left it permanently scarred with huge craters. This so-called Late Heavy Bombardment period would have pounded Earth even more viciously.”<br /><br /> It’s hard to imagine what our world went through – slammed repeatedly by huge meteorites. Since this bombardment has no suspects and scientists have no idea where the intruders came from, I think this interplanetary mugging may qualify as a Somewhat Big Space Event but not a Really Big Space Event like a star exploding. Yes, there are worse things out there than getting the stuffing beat out of you by a gang of meteorites.<br /><br />In fact, in a few billion years, things are going to get really bad. That’s when our galaxy is going to collide with our neighbour next door – the beautiful, swirling Andromeda galaxy. I think it’s safe to say that it’s all over for us and probably millions of other life forms and planets.<br /><br /> So, what does this tell us? The bottom line is that we live in a violent universe and on a volatile planet that has some of the worst weather this side of Pluto. Some things are predictable but others, like the Chelyabinsk sneak meteor attack, are going to catch us by surprise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />As humans, it’s in our nature to try to make sense of things we can’t control and, if we can attach a cycle to the event, it becomes more manageable, more controllable. Cycles bring comfort because we can plan for and anticipate what’s coming to kill us.<br /><br />In my past role as a government disaster communicator, I often talked about cycles in media interviews – the 200-year cyclic flood or the 100-year cyclic wildfire. These facts were true but only to the extend of how long we’ve been recording events and the number of tree rings we’ve examined which play an important role in determining old disasters. Still, it’s pretty limited knowledge and, once you delve into it, you start to realize the broader picture – that cycles and random events often go hand-in-hand.<br /><br />In disaster communications, one of the biggest hurdles I faced was convincing people that “yes, it could happen to you.” There were many conversations with residents of an affected area who exclaimed that they had no idea that cyclic fires or floods or fill-in-the-blank disasters occurred in their location and many were outraged that the government had done nothing to mitigate Mother Nature. To this day, I run into people who live on the Pacific coast who have no idea they reside in a zone 6 earthquake area (the worst there is).<br /><br /> The problem is that people assume that what they see today has always been there and, yet, nothing could be further from the truth. If they do understand the risk, they often dismiss it – not by being prepared – but by deciding it will not happen to them or in their lifetime.<br /><br /> I live in Calgary – a high-tech Canadian city that has a number of major head offices and more than one million residents – all of which exists on land that used to be <em>underwater</em>. Actually, I can say, with some pride, that I live on what was once the floor of a prehistoric sea that was home to the elasmosaurus, otherwise known as dinosaur sea dragon. Not everyone can say that. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bnbbAPQO988/VYOLYn5QZjI/AAAAAAAAANE/8oi5LThMFrQ/s1600/Calgary%2Bthen%2Band%2Bnow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bnbbAPQO988/VYOLYn5QZjI/AAAAAAAAANE/8oi5LThMFrQ/s400/Calgary%2Bthen%2Band%2Bnow.png" width="370" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Okay, I admit this is an extreme "before and after" picture but it's a true one. Things don't stay the way they are forever. Although Calgary took millions of years to transform, there are many other changes that can happen in a heartbeat. Like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Alberta_floods" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">catastrophic floods that overtook Calgary</span></a> in 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">No matter where you live, you can investigate what cyclic disasters are known in your area (for example, before you build that cabin in the woods, forestry offices can refer to satellite maps and advise you of regular burn areas over the decades) but you should also be prepared for the disasters that no one expects.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>STEP 2: Give and Take</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last week, I offered <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/06/step-1-pillage-your-village.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Step 1: Pillage Your Village</span></a> in the Prep for Free program. Hopefully, you've had a chance to don your favourite horned Viking hat as you rampage through closets and drawers looking for items to steal for your emergency kits. If not, then I hope step 1 is, at least, on your to-do list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now, let's take a look at step 2. Here's how it works. People give you stuff and you take it. It's that easy. The only tricky part is recognizing what items would be good for emergency kits. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">They say freedom isn't free but this stuff sure is and it's perfect for your needs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from fast food restaurants, pubs, bars, food establishments</strong></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Matches</strong> (Great for fire starting, lighting candles and igniting emergency heat/stoves, place in plastic wrapping to protect from water, good for all kits and shelter-in-place supplies.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Napkins</strong> (A good replacement for toilet paper, paper towel and tissues because they can be stored flat, taking less space since they're not puffed up with a lot of air, good for all kits.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Plastic cutlery</strong> (Some restaurant delivery even provides cutlery pre-wrapped in plastic with a napkin included, good for go kits, car kits and work kits.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Hard candies</strong> (After-dinner candy is usually individually wrapped and perfect to supply high-calorie energy and can be life-saving for diabetics in a low blood sugar situation, holds up well in temperature extremes, great for car, work and go kits.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Nuts, seeds and dried fruit</strong> (If you order a fast-food salad, you'll often get a few packets of ingredients such as nuts, seeds or dried fruit like cranberries and raisins. Save them all or the ones you don't like for your kits. Even Starbucks hot oatmeal comes with a packet of nuts, a packet of fruit and a packet of brown sugar. These are perfect for kits as most tolerate extremes in temperature. Watch with nuts and seeds, though, as their oil can go rancid in high heat if left in car kits during summer.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Condiments</strong> (Most fast-food restaurants offer ketchup, salt, pepper, sugar and other condiments such as mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, soy sauce, etc., in individual packets which are useful in making disaster soup. (Just be sure to mark a storage date on ketchup and any other perishable condiments and rotate out of kits every six months. Salt/pepper and sugar can last almost indefinitely so don't worry about them.) If you're stranded in your car for 15 hours on a frozen highway, you'll think disaster soup is the best thing you've ever tasted. Disaster soup can be made with any temperature of water. Just stir in packets of ketchup and any combination of sugar, soy sauce, mustard, pepper or hot sauce. Basically, it's a spicy tomato soup or V-8 type drink that provides some energy. If you like, try it at home first to determine your favorite combination. A packet of salt can also be used in water to help replenish electrolytes during hot weather and packets of sugar can assist a diabetic in a low blood sugar situation which can be life-threatening. No matter how you use it, the body still sees these little packets of food as fuel to keep going. Packets of vinegar are also great for disinfecting as vinegar has anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties. However, don't collect butter packets or cream containers as they are too perishable. Otherwise, condiment packets are perfect for go kits, car kits and even work kits.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Tea bags</strong> (Many times, I've received a second tea bag with my meal which I didn't use or got one with a hotel stay. Take it with you and pair with free packets of sugar and powered whitener to add calories and energy. Place in go kits, car kits and work kits.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Kid's toys, coloring books and crayons</strong> (As part of a meal, many restaurants provide a kid's toy and some even provide coloring books and small boxes of crayons which are great for keeping little ones occupied during a stressful situation. Take these items home and add to go kits and car kits. Let's face it, your kids already have enough toys and this is a great way to get them involved in emergency planning.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Toothpicks</strong> (Individually wrapped toothpicks are a great alternative to dental floss and can save your sanity if you have food stuck in your teeth and you're already stressed out about being evacuated. Toothpicks are also good for first aid kits and could also be used as fire-starting material, if you had enough of them. Using the "watch method," you can even <a href="http://www.compassdude.com/no-compass.shtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">use a toothpick to navigate without a compass</span></a>. Great for go kits and car kits.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Chopsticks</strong> (Disposable chopsticks are good as fire kindling, as stakes for growing plants or as a first aid splint or broken bone support. Apparently, you can even build a <a href="http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/make-a-chopstick-crossbow.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">chopstick crossbow</span></a> and <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubber_Band_Gun_Pistol_Style_Chopsticks_and_Rub/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">rubber-band gun</span></a>. Good for go and car kits as well as long-term supplies.)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from a visit to the dentist</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Perfect for all kits and long-term supplies (items will depend on your dentist and country).</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Toothbrush</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Toothpaste</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dental floss</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from a visit to the eye doctor</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Perfect for all kits and long-term supplies (items will depend on your doctor and country).</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Contact lens solution</span></li>
<li>Contact lens storage case</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Eyeglass cleaning kit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Eye drops</span></li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from a visit to the veterinarian</strong></span><br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect for go kits and car kits (items will depend on your vet and country).</span></div>
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Samples of cat food (dry and wet) </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Samples of dog food (dry and wet) </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Samples of pet treats</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from a visit to a hotel</strong></span>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Perfect for go kits (items will depend on hotel and country)</span></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shampoo </span></li>
<li>Conditioner</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bar of soap</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Body lotion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Makeup remover cloth</span></li>
<li>Shoeshine cloth</li>
<li>Mini-sewing kit</li>
<li>Shower cap</li>
<li>Powered coffee whitener</li>
<li>Sugar packets</li>
<li>Stir sticks</li>
<li>Tea and coffee sachets</li>
<li>Pen and paper (use to leave messages for search and rescue, messages on your car dashboard, messages for family members or record events)</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Free from a visit to the drycleaner</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Perfect for all kits and shelter-in-place supplies (items will depend on your cleaner and country).</span></span></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Sheets of plastic</strong> (Used to cover your dry-cleaned clothes, these same sheets of plastic can be worn to keep body heat in (just poke holes for arms and head) or used to seal windows in a shelter-in-place contaminated air emergency. Plastic sheets are also good for sealing broken house or car windows, providing you collect enough of them to layer for strength. First aid kits can also benefit from plastic sheets to protect wounds and keep injured areas safe from water and other elements.)</span></li>
<li><strong>Safety pin</strong> (Add to your first aid kit to secure bandages or use to secure shoes instead of laces. Also, good as a fish hook, to replace a button or repair a bra.)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Metal hangers</strong> (These have a multitude of uses including as a makeshift hook, hinge or handle. Bend to hang a small can over a fire or create a loop and cover with cloth to create a fish net. You can also bend the hanger around a T-shirt to create a filter for dirty water or straighten to use as a replacement antenna. The list goes on and on.)</span></li>
</span></span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Other free items I've received:</span></strong><br />
</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<li>A visit to my local car dealership for repairs provided me with a <strong>free first aid kit. </strong>Great for car kits or add to your go kit.</li>
<li>A visit to a hair salon provided a gift of <strong>free</strong> <strong>full-size shampoo and conditioner</strong> bottles which are great for shelter-in-place supplies.</li>
<li>Many companies give out <strong>free pens and pocket planners</strong> (use the pocket planner to record important family phone numbers since your cellphone may not be charged or usable and many of us rely on cellphones to act as our phonebook). Fill out and keep in car kits and go kits.</li>
<li>Delivered to your door,<strong> free</strong> <strong>newspapers</strong> and shopping flyers can be used, in a pinch, as insulation to prevent pipes from freezing, pet litter or bedding, to fill in gaps around windows and doors and, of course, fire-starting material. Good for shelter-in-place and long-term supplies.</li>
<li>If you're prepping for end of the world scenarios, then those bits and pieces that are left over from putting furniture together are perfect to collect. From <strong>free screws to nails and nuts and bolts</strong>, building materials are a good long-term item. Do I need to mention free Allen keys from IKEA?</li>
<li>Visits to a naturopath and chiropractor have provided <strong>free pain relief cream</strong> samples.</li>
<li>An airplane flight has often served up individually-wrapped <strong>free packets of peanuts, pretzels and cookies</strong>. Ask for a second packet or keep the one you get and add to any kit.</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
Depending on where you live, there's an abundance of free things that you may not have noticed before. In fact, you may have thrown out many items that you could have used in your kits.<br />
<br />
With step 2, you now have the opportunity to prevent these items from entering landfills by re-purposing them for emergency supplies and using them in new ways. By the way, I owe a special thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/SurvivalPlanner?lang=en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">@SurvivalPlanner</span></a> who suggested ideas for possible uses of hangers, safety pins and newspapers. His interesting survival blog can be <a href="http://asurvivalplan.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">read here</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span><br />
<br />
I'd love to hear what you get for free so that we can add to this list. (This blog is read in a dozen countries so please let me know what country you're in and what you get for free that's different.)<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading and good luck! If you still need to complete your hazard lists, they can be found here:<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzvO81wjeuFxTE4tdzZLZUl2X00/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Prep for Free Hazard and Risk Assessment Checklists</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">See you next week,</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-60996934135734454542015-06-11T21:54:00.002-06:002015-10-06T19:32:55.520-06:00Step 1: Pillage Your Village<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RVYNrRNS30o/VXngWzrS3JI/AAAAAAAAAMM/XfG6dRng4U8/s1600/iStock_000002937568Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RVYNrRNS30o/VXngWzrS3JI/AAAAAAAAAMM/XfG6dRng4U8/s400/iStock_000002937568Small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're not fighting one, fleeing from one or flying over one, then wildfires can be pretty "interesting" events. Big wildfires can create their own weather systems (which adds a new level of difficulty for air crews doing drops) and they can bypass the ground by jumping from tree top to tree top (called crowning). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crowning can significantly up the level of "interesting" when tree tops explode and send flaming tree bits upwards and into the underside of aircraft making a pass. Firefighting pilots have literally felt the "thump, thump" of flaming branches hitting the belly of their airplane. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wildfires can also be a little sneaky. The fire can drop underground and, like a ghost flame, tunnel through root systems to then pop up in a different place, much to the surprise of anyone standing nearby. And, like a nightmarish video game, a wildfire can shoot out fireballs in front of itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If all of this wasn't interesting enough, wildfires can also travel faster than you might expect (up to <span class="_Tgc">10.8 kilometres per hour (6.7 mph) in forests and 22 kilometres per hour (14 mph) in grasslands).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="_Tgc"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="_Tgc">Wildfires are not just hard on the crews that fight them, either. During one incident, we found it necessary to keep an entire community on <em>evacuation</em> <em>warning</em> for a week while crews battled hard against a Class A fire that was 10 km. from their doorsteps. Although there was no other choice but to do this, some of the residents lost their minds over the stress it caused and voluntarily evacuated themselves. Others chose to personally convey their annoyance which, in turn, was a golden opportunity for me to talk about the seriousness of wildfire behavior. In the end, the community was saved and the same people who complained ended up offering to cook meals and bake pies for us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="_Tgc"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Wildfires are usually visible from far away, putting up enough smoke to rival a decent A-bomb which means that most people will never say "what fire?" Unfortunately, some people will refuse to evacuate despite orders from emergency managers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">No matter if it's a fire, flood or volcanic eruption (deadly Mount St. Helens comes to mind), many people, who have no disaster training or background, will suddenly decide that their house or property is more important than their life. This decision baffles me but I can only assume that the person who refuses to evacuate believes they are not in danger or that they can manage the risk or they're just plain suicidal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you've ever second-guessed an evacuation order, it may help to understand what goes on, behind the scenes, in an emergency situation. First of all, there's usually an emergency operations centre (EOC) set-up and filled with emergency managers who are gathering and tracking information, evaluating options and designating resources to the response. They have up-to-the-minute intelligence on the situation and they never take lightly the call for an evacuation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you still decide to commit "suicide by disaster," be aware that you might take down a few first responders with you. Many agencies will try to assist those who didn't evacuate but now find themselves in a life-threatening situation which, in turn, puts responder lives at risk and uses resources in the most selfish of ways possible. Today, because of this risk to responders, some agencies will send out warnings ahead of time, alerting the public, that citizens will NOT be rescued if they ignore an evacuation order. Since death by ignorance is preventable, these tragedies do not need to occur.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although some countries may use different terms, if you find yourself in the middle of an emergency situation, the basic instructions from authorities will look something like this:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #4e678f; font-size: 16px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evacuation Warning</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An alert to community members in a defined area of a potential threat to life and property from an emergency incident. (There may be a time period attached to this warning such as to expect 15 minutes notice to evacuate, if the order is given.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #4e678f; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evacuation Order</span></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An order to move community members out of a defined area due to an immediate threat to life and property from an emergency incident. (This order means you leave immediately. Grab and go.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #4e678f; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shelter-In-Place</span></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A direction to community members to stay inside their current location if a situation does not allow for evacuation or when an evacuation could cause a higher potential for loss of life. (Personally, this one scares me the most. Shelter-in-place orders are often used for active shooter scenarios or incidents like a train derailment where toxic chemicals may have been released. It means the danger is occurring right now and it's close to you.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now, if you've got your emergency kits and shelter-in-place supplies ready, you won't suffer the stress of being caught off guard. You'll never be panicking about batteries or bottled water. If you're put on a warning, you can load your car ahead of time, stay informed of the situation and communicate your plans with family members.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you're evacuated, you'll either drive out in your already-packed vehicle or, if there was no warning ahead of time, just grab the kits, kids, pets and go! If you're told to shelter-in-place, then you'll have your supplies ready. You'll bring pets inside, lock the doors, <a href="http://www.nsemo.org/sites/default/files/files/sip_checklist_for_residences_pmossop_feb_2012_0.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">follow these instructions</span></a> and hunker down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By now, if you've been reading my blog posts, you should have:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">An understanding of why emergency preparedness is important.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Determined your local hazards and risks (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzvO81wjeuFxTE4tdzZLZUl2X00/view" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">using these lists</span></a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Decided where you'll store your emergency supplies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Given some thought as to what level you'll prep to (although there's no need to make a final decision yet)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If not, don't worry. You can go back, read the previous posts and catch up. But, for those who are ready, let's get started with the first step of the 8-step Prep for Free program.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial;"><strong>STEP 1: Pillage Your Village</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Let's begin at the most obvious place – with stuff that you already own. These items cost you nothing and using them can free up needed closet space, help de-clutter your home and prevent items from entering landfills. Collecting these items first also means you can save your other “prep for free” techniques for items you will actually need to buy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since many of us fall into the “copious consumer” category, our closets and storage areas are often stuffed with unused items that are perfect for an emergency kit. Here's how to pillage your village and take advantage of what you already own: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">As you work through your home, make sure you have a <strong>designated box</strong> or two for the items you'll find. A free used cardboard box is fine for this purpose.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Create <strong>two piles</strong>: one for evacuation, work and car kits and one for long-term and shelter-in-place supplies. Don't worry if you're not sure what goes where. I'll help with that in coming blogs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pillage <strong>one room at a time</strong>, working carefully through every drawer, cupboard, cabinet, nook and cranny. Be ruthless. Don't assume that, just because you put it away, that you actually need it anymore. Put on your preparedness hat (not the tinfoil one) and view each item with the mindset of “do I really need this” and “could I use it in an emergency?” If you haven't used the item in a year or more, then it's up for grabs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Think outside the box</strong> and consider how you might use an item in a different way. For example, a hand-held make-up mirror can be a great signalling device to alert rescuers. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Size does matter.</strong> Evacuation kits, work kits and car kits are not the place for full-size versions of things. Save the big stuff for long-term supplies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember, <strong>used items are fine</strong> for emergency kits. There's no need to start off with brand-new items (with a few exceptions).</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Generally, as you move through the rooms, you'll be looking for items that fall into these categories:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>A carrying case such as a backpack.</strong> If it has Spiderman or Barbie on it, that's even better. Kid's backpacks are less likely to be seen as carrying anything important. Just make sure they're large enough or, if smaller in size, designate them as packs that your kids can carry. A small suitcase on wheels or a duffle/sports bag is also fine. Try to pick something that you can walk easily with and that, preferably, keeps your hands free. Your car kit doesn't have to be a backpack (although it's not a bad idea) but your go-kit evacuation bag should be. If the student in your family needs a new backpack, buy it and then re-purpose the old one as your kit bag. If desired, you can get everyone in the family to carry a backpack (as long as they're physically able to). My 90-year-old mother has her own backpack and loves the security it brings her. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Durable containers.</strong> <a href="http://www.solarsurvivors.com/free-5-gallon-buckets-with-lids/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Free used food buckets with lids</span></a> (don't forget to ask for these at local bakeries and restaurants) and plastic totes work great for shelter-in-place supplies or as containers for long-term bug-out supplies (be sure to thoroughly wash and dry first). They may not be completely watertight but they're still much better than storing items in cardboard boxes. For smaller items, margarine, yogurt and cottage cheese containers just need to be cleaned well before becoming free kit organizers inside your backpack or totes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Food items.</strong> In coming blogs, I'll explain how you can collect food supplies for free but, basically, you'll want to include food items that are high-calorie and nutrient-dense, if possible. Nuts and dried fruit are two good examples and the reason why trail mix is so popular with hikers. These foods provide a lot of energy and nutrition but only take up a little space.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Baby supplies</strong>. A few disposable diapers won't be missed but they'll go a long way to make your life less challenging during an evacuation. Look through your baby supplies for items you can pilfer. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Clothing</strong>. Don’t forget to include a few articles of clothing, especially underwear. Remember that, during a disaster, wearing second-hand clothes may be necessary but finding your right size in underwear could be difficult. Wearing a comfortable bra or underwear can make quite a difference in your mental outlook so include one change of clothing plus unmentionables. If you live in a cold climate, don't forget winter gear like gloves and a warm jacket.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Shoes.</strong> It's important to include a good pair of walking shoes in your car kits. If you wear heels to work, you may also want to keep a spare pair of walking shoes there as well.</span>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>First aid supplies.</strong> You're not going to miss a few Band-Aids from the box so raid whatever you can from your supplies and then use my future steps to fill in any missing items.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Medicine and eyeglasses.</strong> There's nothing worse than being evacuated with a miserable head cold. Make sure to include over-the-counter medication. You don't need to take a whole box but include a small amount of cold medication, allergy medication, anti-diarrhea medication and pain killers. If you take life-sustaining medication like thyroid pills, for example, try to store a small amount in your kits or talk to your doctor about an extra prescription. Remember to watch for expiry dates on medication and rotate out of your kit. For controlled temperature medication like some types of insulin, consider using a future prep-for-free technique to purchase a <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="http://66.39.60.116/frio-insulin-cooling-cases.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">cooling wallet</span></a> <span id="goog_1382743500"></span></span><span style="color: black;">that will maintain the right temperature for two days.</span><span id="goog_1382743501"></span> Another option is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Climapak-Insulin-Diabetes-Portable-Operated/dp/B008Y5AIHS" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">wall or car-charged insulin cooler</span></a>. (Note: Many insulin types do not require refrigeration for up to a month or more.) You can also use a free baggie, filled with water and frozen as an ice pack. Just don't accidentally freeze your medication by placing it directly on the ice pack. Make sure to include critical pet medications in your kit as well.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Miscellaneous.</strong> Blankets, dust/paint masks, scissors, batteries, matches, umbrellas and whistles will rate high on your emergency supply list. If you have extras of any of these, put them aside for your kits. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Pet supplies.</strong> Got a collar that looks a little worse for wear but still works? Or a leash that's dirty and ready to be replaced? Include old collars and leashes, used margarine containers or plastic bowls (which can double as a food and water dishes) and one or two extra toys or used balls. Fill a plastic grocery bag or free produce baggie with dry pet food and then store inside a margarine container. Note: As soon as possible, ensure that you have a pet carrier for evacuations. Do not leave pets behind. If you have to use a cardboard box, then do so but standard pet carriers are best and far more secure. Cats can shred a cardboard box very quickly so use only as a last resort. Remember, pets will be stressed in an evacuation and more likely to bolt from vehicles so keep them secure at all times. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Personal hygiene products and feminine supplies.</strong> Remember all those items you stole, I mean, got from a hotel? Travel size items of soap, shampoo and lotion, etc., are perfect for kits. In later steps, I'll show you how to get these things for free but, if you already have them, put them aside for your kits.</span></li>
<li><strong>Water.</strong> I carry three bottles of water in the side pocket of each of my vehicle's four doors. This means, in one vehicle, there is 7.5 liters (2 gallons) of water at all times. Of course, I always carry the Life Straw in my evacuation kit which I talked about in <a href="http://prepforfree.blogspot.ca/2015/05/the-odds-of-dying-in-disaster.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">this blog post</span></a>. </li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you're feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, here's a <a href="http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">checklist that you'll find helpful</span></a> from the American Red Cross. However, I'd like to help you become <em>fully prepared</em> as opposed to just putting together one kit (which is what most agencies promote since they feel this is more likely to happen.) To this end, I've prepared the chart below to better explain how you can divide up your supplies as you collect them over the coming weeks (just <strong>click on photo to see a larger version</strong>).</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-maKwvbGMUhE/VXpSfo9CIkI/AAAAAAAAAMc/zfvvTWRVJ0M/s1600/Emergency%2BSupplies%2BRoadmap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-maKwvbGMUhE/VXpSfo9CIkI/AAAAAAAAAMc/zfvvTWRVJ0M/s400/Emergency%2BSupplies%2BRoadmap.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck on taking your first step! In the coming weeks, I'll be posting the next steps as well as more insight into disasters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for stopping by,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy </span></span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> </span>Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-37209639885542250392015-06-05T00:39:00.000-06:002016-02-13T23:21:36.079-07:00What's Your Prepper Personality?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6BLsMenbmFs/VW_Mt3AhSDI/AAAAAAAAALs/6WmemnDeYjo/s1600/Be%2BPrepared%2BSign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6BLsMenbmFs/VW_Mt3AhSDI/AAAAAAAAALs/6WmemnDeYjo/s400/Be%2BPrepared%2BSign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we explore space, reaching out to embrace new worlds, it’s sobering to realize that we’ve long left behind the knowledge of how to survive in our old one. In North America, only a small percentage of people – mostly farmers, Native Americans and a vague group called “hardy folk” – know how to truly live off the land. <br /><br />Hands up if you happen to be one of them. That's what I thought. Me neither. In fact, I killed a cactus once. One of the toughest plants out there. That lives in the desert.<br /><br />It’s also a little dismaying to realize that, nowadays, many people have no idea where their food comes from and most have never seen a cow, up close and personal. This is especially true for today's kids who can program a computer and hack your Facebook account in an instant, but, if the food supply stopped tomorrow, they would have no idea how to plant a carrot. <br /><br />There’s a painful irony in that vulnerability – a weakness created in a world filled with mind-boggling technology used by millions who have no idea how to build a shelter or start a fire. Don't feel bad. I struggle to get a fire going with matches <em>and</em> lighter fluid. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This situation has not escaped the watchful eye of some experts who recognize that we are an advanced civilization tethered precariously to our technology and the electrical grid. The real disaster threat lies not in the next earthquake or the next hurricane but in an entire population relying on others to meet their basic needs of life.<br /><br />Today, sustaining life has become a massive effort far removed from the individual who, in the past, used to be responsible for meeting those needs on their own. When it all works, it’s quite spectacular. Just one shopping trip through any big box store is proof of this system’s ability to deliver our essential needs in spades. So, what’s the problem then?<br /><br />Well, according to some scientific estimates (okay, best guesses), in a major disaster, those stores can be wiped clean in three days and, since most use a system called real-time inventory, shelves can only be re-stocked again once trucks and aircraft arrive from manufacturers and importers – a difficult feat during a disaster if roads and airports are damaged or if there is no electricity or a fuel shortage.<br /><br />Once the shelves are empty, most believe their government, through its military forces, will move mountains to look after its citizens and they will – without question – for a period of time. The majority of countries will do this because it is morally the right thing to do but also because governments have learned that they better be the heroes in a crisis. Otherwise, the public will express their immense displeasure in the next election.<br /><br /> Politically, there’s a lot at stake during a disaster. Disasters often become a lightning rod for frustration because the expectations of the public are incredibly high during a crisis. This is that “life or death” moment when the public is unwilling to forgive bungling or incompetence on the part of its emergency response agencies. Of all times, this is when agencies must step up to the plate or be judged in the harsh court of public opinion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a result, during an incident, there’s a constant stream of information demonstrating what government and relief agencies are doing which, in turn, leads many people to believe that, “hey, they’ve got this.” There’s no need to have an emergency kit, stockpile supplies or stash some cash because, in a disaster, the government will take care of you. I call this the “flaming ostrich” syndrome. Sticking your head in the sand while your feathers are on fire. The fire might eventually go out on its own but you’re still going to get burnt.<br /><br />Having said that, many government agencies have a pretty good track record of responding appropriately to disasters. Hurricane Katrina was not one of them but, in most cases, a lot of time, money and genuine care by emergency managers goes into their response efforts. But professional competency should never be confused with professional capacity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are some disasters that can quickly outstrip and overwhelm the resources of any country on the planet. No one likes to think about those scenarios because they expose our vulnerabilities but you should. Because, in the end, it might just be you left to rescue you. Or it might be your neighbor that rescues you. You know, neighbors, those people that you never talk to.<br /><br /> Despite the best efforts of many, disaster response is little more than managed chaos. There are going to be delays, mistakes, under-utilized resources, agency turf wars and breakdowns in communication. I know that, first hand, from working behind the scenes, leading a large team of crisis communicators. We worked exceptionally long shifts, sometimes running our centre 24 hours a day for weeks on end. My shift was usually 14-16 hours long and, as team lead, I often provided nearly a hundred media interviews a day. Exhausting doesn’t even begin to describe working in a command centre.<br /><br />The work was also exhilarating and rewarding as we helped people evacuate to safe locations, worked to save livestock, pets and property and rescued some in dire situations. I remember one flood in which a bulldozer held two parents and their child in its rough metal shovel, in the pitch black of night, as the driver negotiated a rising river to save them.<br /><br /> There were also moments, unforgettable snapshots in time, when there was no bulldozer coming but, instead, knowledge and preparedness saved lives. There’s a saying in the industry – plan for the worst, hope for the best. It’s a motto that should be taken seriously as, never once, did emergency planning hinder someone – it only enhanced their ability to survive the unexpected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the years, I've met many people with varying degrees of preparedness so, on a lighter note, let’s take a look at some of those prepper personalities: </span><br />
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<li><strong>Clueless Commuter</strong> (no supplies but I keep some cough candies in the glove compartment, just in case)</li>
<li><strong>Secret Stasher</strong> (I have supplies but I can’t leave the house quickly because they're hidden in 39 secret locations)</li>
<li><strong>Lazy Boy</strong> (prepping is the wife’s thing, she knows where the stuff is)</li>
<li><strong>Material Girl</strong> (I wish my husband would stop prepping so we could go shopping for some stuff we’d actually use one day)</li>
<li><strong>Employee of the Month</strong> (my work gave me an emergency kit but I have no idea where it is)</li>
<li><strong>Wal-Mart People</strong> (stocked up with 108 cans of tomato soup that was on sale)</li>
<li><strong>Family Fanatic</strong> (bought 79 acres of remote wilderness and installed a million dollar bunker)</li>
<li><strong>Savvy Stocker</strong> (have car kits, go-kits, bug-out totes, camping gear, shelter-in-place supplies, pet kits plus extra food and water stored)</li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, what's your prepper personality? </span>Savvy stocker is the level I’ve prepped to although, secretly, I’m a little jealous of the guy with the bunker. <br />
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I have bug-out totes which are a little heavy but can easily be loaded into two<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> vehicles along with the camping gear. Each tote contains a mixture of items so that no one kit is essential if lost or damaged.</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The car kits are much smaller and used for sudden emergencies when travelling such as a winter storm. They stay in the vehicles at all times. The go-kits are mid-sized backpacks that do double-duty. They can be worn if we were forced to walk (leaving us hands free) and they sit up front in vehicles providing the first few days of supplies if we were bugging out. <br /><br />During a disaster, if you’re being evacuated and you're able to drive out, the last thing you want to do is stop the vehicle on the side of the road and start rummaging around your bug-out totes, looking for something to eat. You want to keep moving until you're at a safer location which is good reason for keeping the go-kits up front. I also store all critical medication in the go-kits. In an apocalypse (feel free to insert the word zombie here), these kits are the ones that would be protected first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even pets can help out by carrying items during an evacuation, especially if walking out (remember, some disasters, like earthquakes, can destroy roads and make vehicle travel impossible). I have <a href="http://mountainsmith.com/index.php/dog-pack-medium.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">dog packs</span></a> that easily clip on (similar to the photo below). Obviously, don't expect your pet to carry heavy items but this is one way to leave with some additional supplies. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-icBvUtgUSHk/VXE7YtAnhFI/AAAAAAAAAL8/26WbP5N7EA8/s1600/Dog%2Bbackpack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-icBvUtgUSHk/VXE7YtAnhFI/AAAAAAAAAL8/26WbP5N7EA8/s320/Dog%2Bbackpack.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Next week, we'll get started with step 1 of the Prep for Free program. Yeah! Soon, you'll be a savvy stocker too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for reading,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Nancy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br /> </span>Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-23479042848824274072015-05-27T18:21:00.001-06:002016-01-20T00:13:11.507-07:00The Odds of Dying in a Disaster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As far as NASA will tell us, Earth is the only planet in our solar system that hosts intelligent life and, yet, that’s a bit of a surprise considering that Earth is also home to the most volatile weather of all the planets in the group. Worse than boiling Mercury, gaseous Jupiter and Saturn with its oh-so-icy rings but not as bad as exoplanet HD 189773b where it's 1,000 degrees on the surface and it rains glass sideways (seriously). While those planets have extremes, they are stable extremes whereas Earth is a bit of a gong show. (And, yes, I know that exoplanet HD 189773b is not in our solar system but it would be pretty cool if it was.)<br /><br />Despite its wild, oscillating weather, Earth is a survivor. It’s been pelted many times by space rocks, endured volcanic upheavals that have ripped its surface apart and been shook so hard by mega-thrust earthquakes that the planet is still ringing like a bell today. Not the place you would expect to find life flourishing and with such staggering diversity. On the other hand, Earth has also recorded five mass extinction events where some very unlucky creatures never got to celebrate their next birthday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There’s no place on Earth where you won’t experience some sort of natural disaster and that type of event often depends on the season. There are blizzards and ice storms in winter, flash floods and hailstorms in spring, tornadoes and wildfires in summer and hurricanes and windstorms in fall. <br /><br />And, just to keep all of us on our toes, at any time during the year, there are a few volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis thrown in for good measure. In a really, really bad year, there might be a global pandemic thanks to some, cough, sick birds.<br /><br />Naturally, you might wonder "what are my chances of dying in a disaster?" The odds are actually low but it depends on where you live (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_natural_disaster_risk" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">check your country and where it stands on the disaster risk list</span></a>). According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there’s a far higher likelihood that you’ll die from heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases and accidental injury – a category that is based, somewhat, on bad decisions and too much alcohol.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In his article, <em>The Odds of Dying</em>, Robert Roy Britt shares some insightful numbers into what might kill you. For US residents, your chances of dying from “natural forces” are 1-in-3,357 as compared to “falling down” which is 1-in-246. Again, this last number may reflect the consumption of alcohol and the occasional push from behind. Your lowest risk is 1-in-615,488 from a fireworks discharge. I suspect this number is so low because most fireworks go straight up instead of straight at you, making them somewhat easier to dodge.<br /><br />Of course, the low odds of dying by “natural forces” are small comfort to the actual victims of a major disaster – especially to the nearly quarter of a million men, women and children who died in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004. For 230,000 people going about their daily lives, the odds suddenly shifted tragically against them.<br /><br /> As it turns out, Asia is a leader in world disasters. According to a New York Times article written by Joe Cochrane, between 2001 and 2010, the Asia-Pacific area had the most natural disasters, along with the highest number of deaths and the biggest economic losses resulting from them, of anywhere in the world.<br /><br /> On average, more than 200 million people in the region were affected per year by natural disasters during that span, including more than 70,000 killed annually, as noted in a 2011 report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. <br /><br />For most people, disasters are a lot like airliner accidents – they don’t happen very often but, when they do, they usually kill a lot of people. If you happen to be one of the victims, well, as actress Brooke Shields eloquently explained in a media interview “if you’re killed, you’ve lost the best part of your life.” To be fair, she was actually talking about the dangers of smoking but her logic still went down in history as outstanding.<br /><br /> The truth is that disasters happen all the time and, unless you’re following those stories or the disaster is big enough to warrant a lot of media attention, you may not realize how often some town, somewhere, is getting the daylights kicked out of it. And, one day, that town might be your town.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Last week, I posted a link to my <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzvO81wjeuFxTE4tdzZLZUl2X00/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Prep for Free Hazard and Risk Assessment Checklists</span></a> so that you can determine your major risk factors (bearing in mind, that nearly every disaster can happen anywhere, even if it hasn't happened before in your area). I hope you've had a chance to fill them out but, if not, there's still time. If you have completed them, you will want to pay particular attention to anything that you rated as a 3 and above.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In addition to understanding your local risks, the other benefit of filling out the checklists is that you will actually take a moment to become aware of your surroundings and, possibly, see them in a new light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I happen to live in a very safe neighborhood in a safe city that's out of harm's way for many disaster types. My neighborhood is lined with pretty trees and manicured lawns – a place where the worst disaster is when Starbucks runs out of cups (this has happened and it was devastating). But looks can be deceiving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Since I live in a suburb that is on the edge of the city, I'm only a few blocks away from wavy, golden wheat fields and that puts my neighborhood at a higher risk of impact from a tornado compared to areas that are built further into the city. I also have some major highway intersections nearby which puts me at risk for a hazardous spill or toxic leak due to a transport accident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Hail is also not my friend and, as a result, I have literally watched swirling emerald-green clouds and wondered if I should be heading for the basement...right...about...now. In that storm</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">, I ended up flying down the basement stairs with the dog racing behind as the sound of a freight train roared through the house. It wasn't a tornado but a horrific hail storm that left $432 million in damage to my city. I emerged to a surreal picture of yards and roads covered in a foot of hail. My beautiful May tree was battered and broken beyond saving and I now needed a new roof.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Once you've determined your top disaster risks, you'll want to customize your emergency supplies for a few reasons. Now, if you hike or backpack, you likely already know why. It's space. Space is a critical consideration when packing an emergency kit and, although many items will be generic to all kits, there are some customizations that can save you space, time and effort if you don't need to collect and carry them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I don't see a lot of discussion about customized kits, mainly because most emergency managers weep for joy that you even put together a kit at all, let alone a custom one. But here's where some insider tips can help you. For example, if you live in a desert climate like Arizona, you're going to want to include water or juice in your kit. Although liquids are bulky and heavy to carry, in that kind of climate, not enough water can quickly become a life or death emergency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">On the other hand, if you live in a place that has ample streams, rivers and lakes or even areas with high rainfall, then you can get away with far less water and, instead, opt for one of my favorite items, the Life Straw.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbwxxKXyFiw/VWZTMA0fhkI/AAAAAAAAALc/EOHp9nYeODI/s1600/Life%2Bstraw%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbwxxKXyFiw/VWZTMA0fhkI/AAAAAAAAALc/EOHp9nYeODI/s320/Life%2Bstraw%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The<a href="http://www.vestergaard.com/lifestraw-personal" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Life Straw</span></a> is an amazing piece of technology that allows you to drink from a variety of dirty water sources. It's lightweight and about the size of a thin flashlight. It retails for around $20 although you'll be able to use your prep-for-free strategies to get it for free. This is one custom item that can save you space and weight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next week, I will be travelling to deliver some crisis media training so my blog will be a short one but, when I return, we'll begin with step 1 of the prep-for free program. This is good news for all procrastinators because you have a little more time to do your checklists and designate where you're going to store your emergency supplies.<br /><br />In a coming blog, I'll also prepare some customization lists for specific disaster types so that you can tailor your kit based on your individual risk checklists. But, in the meantime, we can still get started prepping for the generic items right away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'm so excited that we'll soon be prepping for free and I hope you are too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for stopping by,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Nancy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2016 Nancy Argyle</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"></span></span><br />Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-62395173559833887192015-05-20T22:54:00.001-06:002016-02-13T23:08:53.053-07:00Determine Your Hazards and Risks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lmZ7sPntdak/VV04Mi0UMlI/AAAAAAAAAKA/yE3BPjeFF0w/s1600/iStock_000006420677Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lmZ7sPntdak/VV04Mi0UMlI/AAAAAAAAAKA/yE3BPjeFF0w/s400/iStock_000006420677Small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">If you ask the average person to identify
the most common disaster risks they face, they'll often answer "power
outages, flooded basements and mother-in-law visits." Fair enough, although, in defense of power outages, it's not always the utility company's fault. Car accidents seem to have a special attraction to power poles as do tornadoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Some people might also include severe weather or
earthquake risks if they live in an area prone to those but almost no one will consider the train tracks
running through the center of town (hint: toxic spill from derailment)
nor will they consider the industrial area near their residential subdivision (hint:
exploding fireball).</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Understanding what local risks you face is the first step in emergency preparedness and I can tell you, from personal experience, that there's no surprise like an exploding fireball surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">My definition of prepping involves living a
balanced life somewhere between casual risk management and wearing a tin
foil hat on my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without giving up
a normal lifestyle or dropping off the grid completely, balanced prepping will
leave you feeling a lot less anxious and far more confident in your ability to
face adversity.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";">The preparedness mindset is based in a belief
system that promotes self-reliance, risk management and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the importance of
anticipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not anti-government
or anti-society but, instead, adopts a more positive approach that says “I know I can count on
myself but I’m not sure about everybody else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Preparedness enhances your resiliency because, in the moment of truth, you won't be competing with hundreds or thousands of others in need of help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite the opposite, the prepper may be able to help others as well as themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When things go sideways, at the very least, they won’t be standing in front of you in a three-hour panic-buying check out line at the grocery store and that’s something.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, last week, I promised to share a photo of an item that I got for free. And here it is (mine is not this brand but very similar).</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-urTJiNEXViI/VV1YEnp9kaI/AAAAAAAAAKc/-3pMbQwBlNY/s1600/Lantern2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-urTJiNEXViI/VV1YEnp9kaI/AAAAAAAAAKc/-3pMbQwBlNY/s320/Lantern2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is a piece of gear that, no matter where you live or what hazards you face, you'll want to own. It's a bright LED lantern that can be energized through rechargeable batteries, solar power or hand cranking. It also includes an AM/FM radio with weather stations and a cell phone/USB charger. Did I mention that I got it for free? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">There are a variety of brands that offer this type of emergency lantern. In my case, all I had to do was redeem some of my reward miles on a loyalty card. The costs of shipping were included and I didn't have to spend any time or gas to go out shopping. It doesn't get any better than having free emergency gear delivered to your door! </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">But, before we can get into the 8-step Prep for Free program, first we need to establish your hazards and risk levels. To help you get started and to, ultimately, customize your emergency supplies, I've put together three<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzvO81wjeuFxTE4tdzZLZUl2X00/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Prep for Free Hazard and Risk Assessment Checklists</span></a> that cover off natural hazards, technological hazards and human-caused hazards. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I urge you to use them to get a good sense of your local risks including those nearby your home, work and children's schools. Don't forget to review your regular transportation routes as well. In coming posts, you'll see why this is important when we take a look at a few events that surprised commuters and turned their daily drive into a deadly disaster.</span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">By the way, I've made these PDF checklists fillable so that all you have to do is select your hazards and your level of risk for each. Just be sure to download the PDF first, then save and use the fill out function.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Good luck on your risk assessments and see you next week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for stopping by,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Nancy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"></span> </span></div>
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Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-62291837413096583502015-05-12T19:49:00.000-06:002015-10-06T19:29:39.075-06:00Better Late Than Never (part 2)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DC5Hx1o3ewM/VVKaDoTUT7I/AAAAAAAAAJs/EZ79MW7iy8g/s1600/iStock_000001088438Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DC5Hx1o3ewM/VVKaDoTUT7I/AAAAAAAAAJs/EZ79MW7iy8g/s400/iStock_000001088438Small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Imagine you’re at a barbeque, enjoying a
great burger bash, when someone, who coincidently looks a lot like me,
announces that “never before, in the history of humankind, have we been so
vulnerable!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Frankly, no one would blame
you if you rolled your eyes and thought, “jeez, there’s always one
drama queen.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, with the possible
exception of the mayonnaise that’s been sitting out in the hot sun, there
should be nothing that makes us more vulnerable now than in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, we’re the dominant species, living in
a world loaded with technological advantages that we control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wrong. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite satellites flying
overhead, weather radar and an endless array
of early warning systems, never before have we
faced so much risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Puzzled</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">? Let me explain.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are different types of disasters; ones
that are extinction-level events, ones that are deadly but the impacted area recovers
within a few years and ones that initially kill no one but, instead, destroy our way of life and turn back the
clock on our advanced civilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
first kind – extinction-level events – don’t require much preparedness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nice bottle of wine, perhaps, but that’s
about it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">A<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> good risk management strategy is to just accept that you live on a big chunk of rock hurtling through space and that’s that. (FYI, Earth has already experienced a number of extinction-level events in the past.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The second “deadly but
recoverable” type of disaster can certainly benefit from emergency preparedness but it’s the
third type that many people miss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
are the events that, without much warning, rob us of everything we’ve come to
rely on, </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">throwing
us back into the dark ages in a heartbeat. We dodged this very scenario in 1859 for one reason only -- we had yet to develop a dependency on the electrical grid (more on this in a later blog).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In an extended "grid down" scenario, the planet and humankind would continue to exist but, for millions of people, our civilization, technology and lifestyle would evaporate overnight. And, it's a real scenario that scientists and governments are studying. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some have even gone public to ring the alarm bells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It’s a shocking possibility, especially if you’re just hearing this for the first time, but
one that illustrates just how drastically things have changed in the last 100
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Incidents that would not have
threatened us in the past could now completely eliminate our modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the reason why understanding and managing
disaster risk is more important today than it was during your great-grandparents'
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">You probably didn't stop by to read doom and gloom but, if you're interested, in the coming weeks, I'll be writing more about some of these type 3 scenarios like EMPs (electromagnetic pulses) and CMEs (coronal mass ejections from the sun). In the meantime, it helps to be aware of the magnitude of some disasters to decide what level you want to prep to. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you decide to go full out, you'll be including seeds, gardening items, hand tools and building materials to completely start over. If you're doing a basic level, you'll be more focused on short-term resiliency that doesn't need those items. The good news is that you don't have to decide right now. As we work through the prep for free program, you can decide how far you want to take it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">However, there is something very important that you can do right this minute and that is to emotionally and psychologically accept that a disaster <em>could</em> happen. <a href="http://www.ceep.ca/resources/Guterman2005_Psychological_Preparedness_for_Disaster.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Research</span></a> has shown that this mental toughness and emotional preparedness is critical to surviving and thriving through an incident. If you need to, take a moment to reflect on how you view disasters. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">With that said,</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> let's take the first "pre-prep" step together by dedicating some space for your soon-to-be emergency supplies. Here are some obvious places with a few tips:</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Garage</strong> (A good place for larger supplies that you intend to load into your vehicle before bugging out or for shelter-in-place items. Remember to consider temperature swings inside when selecting what goes out there along with intrusions by rats and mice. Also, consider security and break-in potential.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Basement</strong> (Be careful because basements can flood so put supplies up off the floor and secure for safety's sake so that no one is injured if something topples over. Basements are good for long-term, shelter-in-place supplies as temperature swings are minimal but not great for bug out since moving items from the basement can eat up precious time or be physically taxing.)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Closets</strong> (Cupboards, cabinets and closets are perfectly fine and work well for those with limited storage options. Try to avoid scattering a bunch of items throughout the house. Later on, we'll get into why duplication is a good idea but staying organized is equally important.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Under the bed</strong> (Many preppers like this option because it's discreet. There are even <a href="https://youtu.be/1A7xC_EC68w" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">beds that lift up to reveal hidden storage</span></a> including gun racks. It's an option better suited to shelter-in-place supplies but could hold bug out gear as well.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Vehicles</strong> (Always carry an emergency kit in your vehicle (if you don't have one already, you'll create one of these for free) but more extensive supplies should not be stored in vehicles due to extremes in temperature when left outside in summer and winter.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Storage lockers</strong> (Designated storage lockers are great use of space but beware of possible security issues. Also, make sure you're able to access your emergency supplies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Front door closet</strong> (This is my favorite place to store an evacuation backpack (go kit). It's out of sight but you can still grab it quickly and go!)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>A combination of the above</strong> (If you decide to increase your supplies as you develop your kits, you may find that a combination of storage spaces works best.) </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Last resort</strong> (If all else fails, then a corner in a room is just fine.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next week, we'll take a look at how to identify hazards and assess risks for your area so that you'll know what to put into your customized emergency kits. I'll also share a photo of one of my favourite pieces of emergency gear that I got for free. You'll definitely want this piece of tech in your kits, no matter where you live.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for reading,</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span><br />
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<br />Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576439454997731931.post-234210030664946562015-05-06T01:32:00.002-06:002015-10-06T19:29:52.673-06:00Better Late Than Never (part 1)<h3>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-usULFKBvmnM/VUm3U3nF1SI/AAAAAAAAAH8/h1oSS5ecRGA/s1600/iStock_000009985648Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-usULFKBvmnM/VUm3U3nF1SI/AAAAAAAAAH8/h1oSS5ecRGA/s1600/iStock_000009985648Small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For anyone who has looked upward at a darkening sky, warily watched its swirling emerald-green storm clouds and wondered if they should be heading to the basement...right...about...now...this blog is for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After years in the emergency management field and just as many years preaching to family, friends and startled strangers, I realized that most people resist being prepared simply because they don't know where to begin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’re like millions of others and an emergency happened right now, you might be able to grab two tins of tuna, a flashlight with questionable batteries and a candle that you got for Christmas. It’s okay. Between juggling the kids, the job and the mortgage, disaster preparedness is not high on your “to do” list. I understand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, yet, here you are. Reading and thinking about preparedness, perhaps for the first time ever. Maybe, it was a disaster close to home or an extreme weather event that inspired you to start preparing. Whatever it was, I’m glad you’re willing to learn what to do to protect you and your family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m also happy to see that you have an open mind. As one Twitter follower noted “a few bad preppers have made the rest of us look like loonies.” I assure you that being prepared is far more common than most realize (three million Americans and counting) and, by far, the majority of preppers are average people who just want to take care of their loved ones in an emergency. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it makes you feel any better, your government actually <em>wants</em> you to be prepared and has devoted many resources and websites into teaching people how to do that. But, in my opinion, the missing piece is money. I spent nearly $10,000 on my emergency supplies and, along the way, I realized that, with a little effort, I could have done almost all of it for free. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you choose to subscribe to this blog (and I hope you will), you'll soon understand why and how every family should be prepared for unexpected incidents and emergencies. You'll also learn how to assess the risks in your area and decide on how far you want to go with your preparedness plans. You can do as little or as much as you feel comfortable with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll walk you through the types of things you'll need and how to get them without touching your hard-earned cash. You'll gain insight into the best gear out there and why savvy preppers covet it. Before you know it, you'll be creating a household emergency kit, a car kit and kits for Fido and Kitty as well. If you want to go further, we'll be using the same tips and tricks to create bug-out bags and long-term supplies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted, prepping for free takes a little longer but the end result is exactly the same. By the time you’re done, you should be ready to cope with anything that comes your way and your budget will never notice anything amiss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately, you'll sleep better knowing your family is prepared, you'll be more self-reliant and your neighbors will be impressed. Let's face it, their emergency supplies probably consist of breath mints and dog biscuits. <br /><br /><br />Thanks for reading, <br />Nancy</span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Don't forget to subscribe to this blog or you can follow it by providing your email address. Also, please feel free to follow my Twitter feed </em><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://twitter.com/plan_prep_live" target="_blank">@Plan_Prep_Live</a></span></em><em> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-and-Associates-Ltd-508843992494920/" target="_blank">like my Facebook company page</a>, both of which cover disaster incidents around the world. And, if we haven't already connected, then here's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyargyle" target="_blank">my LinkedIn profile</a>.</em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><strong>©</strong> Copyright 2015 Nancy Argyle</span></div>
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Nancy Argylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10299953482864872365noreply@blogger.com2