February 2006 - Foundation for NC Future

Recently, the Foundation for NC Future sent out – with major help and assistance from our friends listed at the end of this article – nearly 800,000 copies (including 30,000 in Spanish) of an emergency preparedness booklet:

“Preparing Your Home and Family for Pandemics, Natural Disasters, and Terrorist Attacks; Some common Sense Suggestions for Getting Ready”

Why did we do this? Because we saw what happened in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated an urban, modern city that was either unable or unprepared for the disaster that occurred. And then, more ominously, we watched as a sophisticated, world-renowned city descended into lawlessness and chaos within a matter of hours of the storm passing through. We saw what people in Thailand went through when a tsunami hit them unprepared and, of course, we saw what happened to New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. In our area, we are all acutely aware that any time a snowflake hits the ground, milk and bread leave grocery stores by the cart load. We can also remember two years ago when a December ice storm knocked out power in some neighborhoods for more than a week. But is “preparing” our family simply a matter of getting milk and bread? The answer is clearly, “no.” We all know that milk and bread aren’t going to be enough to get us through a real disaster, but few of us have really thought through some of the simple and practical steps we can take to raise the odds of getting through a major devastating event.

Many of us have simply put off developing a plan for our families to follow in the event of a natural disaster because we are too busy taking care of our everyday chores. Some of us haven’t thought about it because we don’t want to think about such bad things happening at all. I have to admit that I fell into both categories. And even if I tried to prepare, two big questions kept coming up: Where would I begin and what could I do that would actually help? And that is the genesis of the pamphlet – i.e., How do I get started and what do I do?

All of the experts agree on the first step: Have a plan.

Chances are that if something happens in our area, our kids will be in school, we may be at work, church, Little League, or the mall. In other words, we’ll be scattered. Our cell phones may not work. How does everybody know what they should do? Because, as a family, you have worked out where to meet and how to get there ahead of time. A simple plan that everyone remembers is preferable to a complicated plan or to no plan at all. Keep in mind though, that you are not planning a landing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. How to get home or to a shelter in case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, particularly if communications are down, is a must. Everyone needs to understand their responsibilities and what they need to concentrate on doing. Panic and fear cause problems because many times people don’t know what to do. So, without being overly dramatic or pessimistic, call your family together and sketch out several options depending on different situations and then practice them several times so everyone feels comfortable with their part of the plan. Communication is the key to making your family safer. Remember two things: First, keep the plan simple, and two, remember that preparation prevents panic.

The second step: Make some common sense preparations.

No, this doesn’t mean that you need to go out and start a bakery (bread) or buy a dairy farm (milk)! It also does not mean to run out and buy up all the plastic and duct tape in town – although there are very few things a big roll of duct tape can’t fix. It does mean to have water (or an ability to purify existing water) on hand for several days; it means having flashlights and fresh batteries and candles; it means having a radio that works if the electricity is out; it means having a supply of both prescription and everyday medicines; it means having extra food for the pets; it means having a can opener and extra cash (because the ATM’s might not be working); it means having copies of your id’s and important papers stored in a safe place; it means having some disinfectants, gloves, waterless soap, and toilet paper; and it means having an appropriate supply of food that has a long shelf life and is easy to both open and prepare. All of the items that are recommended by the Department of Homeland Security and the Centers for Disease Control are covered in much more detail in the Emergency Preparedness booklet.

The point I am trying to make here is to get all of you to stop for a few minutes and give this issue some thought…and then sit down with your family and give it some more thought. Don’t misunderstand, reading this booklet is not going to make a national or local disaster any easier. But in our daily lives we think and try to make our proposals, plans, arguments, term papers, and projections incrementally better so we can succeed at what we do, so wouldn’t it stand to reason that we should take some of that same energy and brain power we put into all of those other activities and focus a little bit of time and attention on something that may – emphasis on may – help our families survive a national disaster, pandemic, or terrorist attack? Of course it does. And if you need help, write us at Foundation for NC Future at 100 North Tryon St., Suite B220-106, Charlotte, NC, 28202-4029; or e-mail us at info@ncfuture.org and we will be happy to send a booklet to you in the mail. The booklet is also available to be downloaded from the website at www.ncfuture.org.

Also, please take a minute to note the corporate sponsors who felt this information was important for people in our area to get because without their desire to help, this effort would not have been possible.

Harris Teeter
Piedmont Natural Gas
Superior Tile and Marble
Carolinas Medical Center
Harrington Associates
Crowder Construction Co.
Christenbury Eye Center
Dole
Interstate Electric Co. Inc.
Consolidated Theatres
Presbyterian Hospital
Regions Bank
The Dowd Company
Edifice
Choate Construction
Microsoft
CPI Security Systems
Time Warner Cable
Citizen Corps
Allen Tate Realtors
North Carolina Research Center

A very big THANK YOU! to each and every one of you for making this effort possible!