Today I have been checking the news off and on concerning the tragic wildfires that are raging near Malibu, California. In reading a news article on CNN, a Susan Nuttall age 51, told the Associated Press that she was forced to evacuate her cul-de-sac condominium near Peperdine campus. The chilling words that went down my spine were "We're all scared to death and we have nowhere to go,". She said this to a reporter as she sat in her black colored Mercedes holding her Chihuahua dog. It doesn’t’ matter if you are rich, young, poor, wealthy, male, female etc. etc. If you are alive you need all aspects fo emergency preparedness. I can not stress this enough.
My heart goes out to her and to all those who are facing a disaster tonight. It also shows that NO ONE IS EXEMPT from the need to have disaster preparedness as a part of their ordinary life responsibilities.
EVERYONE NEEDS AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN AS WELL AS A DISASTER KIT FOR THEMSELVES AS WELL AS EVERY MEMBER OF THE HOME (including the Chihuahua dog!
It is not something to put off. If she had had her emergency preparedness kit ready and a solid emergency preparedness plan fortified by disaster preparedness information and emergency preparedness necessities ready to go, she would not be sitting in her car telling a reporter she had no where to go. Instead, she would have been driving to the already designated location that she had researched and planned for months and perhaps years ago to go to in the midst of a disaster. She would have been on the phone talking to the hotel / motel that allows pets and she would have had her reservation made and she would be comforted to know that she would have a place to stay for the night.
She would have a plan as to what she needed to take with her as she quickly evacuated her home. Most likely she would have had a Get & Go Kit for her dog and one for herself that included everything she would need to make it through the difficult first week after a disaster.
The Santa Anna winds are nothing new. Just a few years ago they did a great deal of damage to homes and businesses in the area. The winds are called the ‘Devil’s winds’ for a reason. They cause a great deal of destruction. Just because the winds are not blowing every minute does to mean that the threat should be ignored until the wind and fires are knocking at your door!
Several homes miles away from the firestorm are also destroyed tonight because of the flying embers from those fires that set their unbeknownst homes on fire. A church and some other buildings have also been destroyed. It is not just hurricanes that cause problems. It is all kinds of disasters that we need to be aware of and most of all, be prepared for!
I feel so sorry for this woman. Thank God, she has her dog with her. We are around the same age. I would hate to think that I had no where to go in the midst of the most terrifying day of my life. That is why I wrote the book Train For a Hurricane. I don’t want anyone to have to go through the fright and potential trauma a disaster can cause that this dear soul is facing this evening.
I don’t want YOU to have to face a hurricane or any sort of disaster or potential disaster without a disaster preparedness plan, even a low cost emergency survival kits and a disaster reference guide to help you when disasters strike. I don’t know this woman, my prayer is that she will find support from the American Red Cross, as well as friends and family. She is certainly in my thoughts and prayers this evening.
Please folks, get your emergency preparedness checklist updated and then prepare your evacuation routes and be as disaster prepared as possible. We all feel empathy and sorrow for Ms. Nuttall. There is nothing we can do directly for this woman. What we can do is not let this unfortunate situation that she is facing go for naught. Instead let us learn form it and start our own emergency preparedness activities that we need to do, no matter if we re in New Zealand, China, Alaska or Kansas.
COMMENTS WELCOMED!
Please share your thoughts, emergency preparedness tips and stories here on this blog.
All I ask is that everyone be respectful and sensitive of each other and that identifying information about a person who is not the author be limited to protect their privacy.
Be Safe
Terrie
www.trainforahurricane.com
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