- Central PA Flood 2011
Living in PA we have had our share of near misses and straight on hits with natural disasters. We prepared for hurricane Irene and only endured strong winds and rain; tropical storm Lee was a different story. Because the ground in PA was already saturated from Irene we had severe flooding. The ground couldn’t absorb the 9+ inches of rain we received in two days. The creeks and rivers rose, flooded homes, wiped out bridges and roads, and left many people stranded.
Our family was very, very lucky. Our home stayed dry. We were only inconvenienced by Lee. The floods left us without electricity, phone, and <GASP> internet, for 4 days. Having a husband who worries about everything, and I do mean everything, we were prepared. We were able to run our generator during the day to keep our refrigerator and freezer running so our food wouldn’t spoil. We had plenty of back up water, and canned food. We also had generous friends who didn’t lose their electricity open their homes to us. We could have gone another 4 days, but we were so very, very grateful that we didn’t have to.
This experience caused me to give a lot of thought to our preparation. It is the nature of most of us, myself included, to not worry about things like this until we are confronted with them, but as I watch my colleague, Lori Twichell, residing in the state of Texas go through a serious drought and wild fires, we need to think about our preparedness now. As a mom I spend every day protecting my bunchkin. It only makes sense that I take proper precautions to prepare my family for the unknown.
Have you considered how prepared your family is? In addition to food, water, blankets, etc think about your important documents such as insurance policies, deeds, property records, and other important papers. Place them in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box away from your home. What about money? Have a truly dedicated “emergency fund” and use it for only that, an EMERGENCY! It’s hard to not consider the right outfit for an important event an emergency, but trust me; it’s not that urgent and if a natural disaster strikes you’ll be so glad it (the emergency fund-not the outfit) is there. What about your photos? With social media today it may be easier to recover your favorite family images, but you might want to consider placing those precious images on a memory stick and leaving in your safe deposit box or with another relative in another area. Be sure to remember to update regularly. Don’t forget about the family pet either. Whether it’s a dog, cat, guinea pig, or another furry member; what would you do with these important members of your family in case of evacuation or relocation? For more ideas and information on preparedness visit: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/emergency_planning.shtm.
Here’s hoping that you and your family never have to use your preparations, but as Mayor Bloomberg stated during hurricane Irene “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”
Grateful and drying out in PA,
Kristi
Environné Fruit and Vegetable Wash 