DISASTER HELP!

A friend of ours that we see through our work at a non-profit agency had a disaster at her home this week. The house next door to her blew up in a natural gas explosion and knocked her house 10 feet off its foundation, destroyed her belongings, and made her house unlivable. She owned the home and it was paid for but she had no house insurance and no insurance on her belongings. So, she is left with a pile of rubble and an empty lot. Right now she is getting some emergency help from the Red Cross. I can't stress enough how important it is to have insurance on your home and your belongings! If you are a renter, get renter's insurance. When my son lived in a 3rd floor apartment, an arsonist burned down 7 buildings in the complex and my son's apartment and everything in it were a total loss. He was lucky to get out alive and his 2 cats died in the fire. But he had followed our advice and bought rental insurance, which paid $40,000 to replace his belongings. Without that insurance, he would have been left with nothing. Always, always insure your home and belongings!!!!

I'm sorry about your friends loss. This is why I am trying to tell people how to fix their homes so these things won't happen. It is usually something small and overlooked that needs attention. I also, want people to discuss hurricane preparation improvements.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could see the condition of all the homes around you. I would like to see people working together for disaster preparation, such that no person is living next to someone that is about to blow up. A neighbor hood club can get everyone together and do a general inspection of each house and property for the good of all. You could also help fix the house that may endanger the rest of you. This is some of what my "Peoples' Village Plan" tries to accomplish. A local group set up to help all when a disaster stricks.

Here I am again trying to do what I want most to do. My need is to help all you good people to prepare for survival of all disasters. Let's look at one of the larger ones and learn from each other. I have studied a lot, but I am sure many of you can add to my knowledge for the benefif of all. We will talk about Hurricanes, and how we can redo our home and area to put them in their place. Our target is to see a hurricane coming and see it leaving without worry. How close can we get to this target?

Look at you home and see if everything is ready for that next storm. First, you understand how a hurricane works, don't you? Good, I will just leave that out unless some of you want to spend time on this subject. I find it very interesting.

I believe you should go outside on a nice day and spend it just critizing you house. How is it made? Wood, Cement Block, Brick, Metal,Mud, etc. How is it held together? Nails, Screws, Clips, Cement, etc.

When you get done looking at this part and are sure you know what you have, see where it can be made more succure. Thief, Fire, Wind, etc.

While I break to let you determine where you stand, don't forget to start writing all this down in some kind of form you can refer to it and update the information. If you all provide input, I'm sure there will be much more to add from our friends. Let me know when you are ready to go further. I can hardly wait.

Hi Lee. This is such a good idea. We aren't in any danger of hurricanes in my town, but we are always in danger of a major earthquake. One thing that I do is keep a change of comfortable clothes and old running shoes for each family member in the car because you just never know when you might have to walk a great distance if roads are destroyed.

We have a lot of wind in our area and have learned the hard way how to secure the house better. This is a neighborhood safety issue because blowing debris can kill someone trying to walk out to their car. Keeping trees properly trimmed can save thousands of dollars in potential damage and lives as well.

Jennifer, Thanks for commenting on my post. You seem to be the only one interested, so lets discuss your problems. Number one -Do you live in a house or apartment? Rent or Own? Just for now, let's put you in a house that you own so we can get into more details.

First you say that hurricanes don't come your way. I'll buy that for now, but don't really count on being safe, as before long they may decide to come inland more.
Assume you have earthquakes which I consider scarey enough. Comfortable clothes and old running shoes are a start but you can do much better without spending a lot. Where are you running to during or after this quake? I believe you should find an open area where things may not fall on you and stay put. This means you should put a small tent in your car and survial blankets, some food, and water to last until things get back to normal. This is just a start, but should give you something to put on your list and find a good place to keep it.

How about all your important papers? Do you have a light weight carrier with copies of what you need most that you can grab and run with while keeping both your hands free? You may need those hands to keep from falling over and climbing over obstibles. Suggest you give up on those old shoes, and use hiking type boots that can keep you warm if it is cold outside, and protect you from nails, etc. that want to penatrate your feet. More support will also be useful to climb over debris, etc.

Look at your house or apartment. Do you see any straight pipes going from wall to wall or from outside that may hold gas or oil. These need to be replaced with a flexible piping system using 90 degree ells so the shaking cannot break your pipes. The pass through at the wall needs to be looked at closely because if the pipe is held too rigid it can break at the wall. Flexible is the name of the earthquake game.
This is only a brief on some things to think about, and if it is interesting we can go into many more things that most people forget about, but are very important to your survival. Want to start that log so you can fill it in for reference. By the way, Thank you for giving me a chance to help you, and maybe others reading this post.

It seems like tornados are the thing to worry about now. What are all those people doing now looking at what is left of their homes and belongings? I feel so much for their sorrow, and thatt is why I am trying so hard to alert people that they could be next and should prepare. At least if they have a storm prove area as part of their home, it could save their lives and important papers that are badly needed at this time.

It seems that people have lost their desire to protect themselves. I notice when I see a disaster like the last couple of days, everyone stands around in a daze. It is when a volunteer comes to help that things start moving again. This is the sorrow I feel every time someone is suffering. I want to reach out and take their hands and tell them, together we will make a place for them again. The only thing I can do is continue to use my knowledge to help everyone I can before they are hurt in the same way. I have seen so much suffering, I don't want to see more.

Just a few comments on earthquakes. A good size one will knock you down so you have to move as on rough water in a boat. If inside a building, you should make your way to the outside using every door way that you can to provide you protection from collapsing cellings, etc. When you reach the outside, stop, and look all around so that you don't run under falling building siding and windows. Proceed with caution to the nearest open area you can find, and look around for any signs of earth cracking or movement, then find rest on a surface that looks like it could span most openings to allow enough time to get away. When the earthquake is over, always expect more. The next one may be larger or smaller before they start to get smaller so expect what is coming and move with caution. Alway, always look around, up, down, and all over before moving to a new area so you don't move into a site ready to fall, etc. Don't be in a hurry to find shelter unless things are really stopping. Some small ideas for people living in earthquake area is to use furniture that can take shaking with little damage. Cabinets should have a non-skit material on the surface, and ridge at the opening so that the vibration movement will be controlled within the cabinet and falling prevented. One other small suggestion is to buy hurricane lamps. They start swinging and can alert you to movement sometimes before you feel it your self. They are also fun to watch during an earthquake if you are as dumb as I was during a 6.0 quake in Taiwain.

I wrote an article on commercial disaster preparedness plans for a real estate publication that coincidentally fell at the time of Hurricane Katrina that you may find interesting Lee: Emergency Preparedness Plans Evolving As Owners Get More Seasoned

Earthquakes are the most common "disaster" here in Portland, Oregon, so I have some gummy wax stuff that I'm putting on the bottom of my breakables to adhere them to their respective shelves. Thankfully most of the homes in this area are built on layer upon layer of river rock (rolled down during a huge flood that eminated from Canada, of all places). The river rock is a nice buffer when the earth quakes, evening out the tremers so damage isn't as bad as it would be in, say, Southern California. I also have water stores (glass juice bottles washed and refilled with clean water) and loads of emergency candles and matches.