We should each be familiar with building our own individual "Go-Kits" of personal items in case of a disaster but our individual and collective preparedness efforts shouldn't stop there. I'd like to share some additional steps you can take to assist in preparing for and recovering from a disaster.
Evacuation: When you are advised or ordered to evacuate a specific location, evacuate. We've all seen the television images of those who are boarding up their homes and businesses and are preparing to "ride out the storm." Although these stories and images provide excellent examples of the enduring American spirit, the decision to remain in harm's way is oftentimes the wrong decision. Lives can needlessly be lost during the event, as well as after the event, when search and rescue efforts are hampered by the damage to the infrastructure in the community. It's prudent to remember that tangible items can be rebuilt or replaced but human lives cannot.
Know Your Way To Safety: How many of you know where the emergency shelters are located in your communities? If you had to evacuate due to a pending disaster, how many know what the main and alternative routes to a shelter or evacuate the area are? In a situation where you could not rely on a dependable Wi-Fi signal for the GPS on your cellular telephone, do you have access to a traditional paper map and if so can you read it accurately? At the time you need to get to a shelter or get out of harm's way by evacuating, you will need to know the primary, secondary, and tertiary routes to travel and how best to navigate your way by using a traditional paper map.
Documentation: When addressing important documentation such as deeds to property, mortgage information for homes, titles to motor vehicles, health records, wills, banking account information, firearm permits, and driver's licenses, it is recommended that you make copies of these important documents and retain those copies in a number of secured locations in case the originals become either lost or damaged or are not obtainable from the disaster zone. FEMA recommends that the original copies be secured in a safe deposit box at your local bank branch, a second set of copies remain in a secure location at your residence for everyday use, and a third set be added to your Go-Kit in the event you require emergency services or need to apply for temporary housing.
Comfort Items for Children: Those who are following directives to either seek a shelter facility or evacuate the community ahead of a pending disaster event, if you have children with you, do your best to bring a comfort item for the child. Whether this item is a favorite small toy, special blanket, a favorite book, or favorite item of clothing, this cherished item, in the possession of a child during adverse conditions, will help reduce fear and stress and allow them to better cope during the difficult times ahead. I handed out approximately 50 small teddy bears to displaced children during a part of my stay in the Florida Panhandle and can speak from personal experience of the comfort an item such as a teddy bear can provide a child who is facing unspeakable loss and is incapable of understanding what has happened to them and why.
Patience: The Florida Panhandle and portions of Alabama will take years to return to normalcy. The damage to infrastructure and the local/regional economies mean that families will be returning to areas in which they and previous generations have resided, that will be vastly different. Neighborhoods and those who reside in them will be forever changed by the disaster and its aftermath. A significant component of anyone's personal preparedness plan is to understand and accept the realities of these social and economic changes and adapt to them as best as they can. We in Emergency Management all strive to return a community to a similar social, economic, and functional viability that existed before the disaster. Additionally, we as a community also need to be realistic and accept that a full restoration to pre-disaster living and working conditions may not be possible.
For additional information on how best to prepare for emergencies and disasters or to schedule individual and/or group training sessions on emergency and disaster preparedness contact Emergency Manager Chuck DiSalvo at x2926 or via e-mail at <a href="mailto:cdisalvo@monroecc.edu">cdisalvo@monroecc.edu </a>

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MCC Daily Tribune

Considerations for Disaster Preparedness

I've had the honor of serving both the South Texas region in June of this year during a major flood incident and the Florida Panhandle region just this past week for Hurricane Michael. After participating in Disaster Recovery efforts on behalf of the residents of those affected communities, I returned home with one significant lesson: the value of preparedness.

We should each be familiar with building our own individual "Go-Kits" of personal items in case of a disaster but our individual and collective preparedness efforts shouldn't stop there. I'd like to share some additional steps you can take to assist in preparing for and recovering from a disaster.

Evacuation: When you are advised or ordered to evacuate a specific location, evacuate. We've all seen the television images of those who are boarding up their homes and businesses and are preparing to "ride out the storm." Although these stories and images provide excellent examples of the enduring American spirit, the decision to remain in harm's way is oftentimes the wrong decision. Lives can needlessly be lost during the event, as well as after the event, when search and rescue efforts are hampered by the damage to the infrastructure in the community. It's prudent to remember that tangible items can be rebuilt or replaced but human lives cannot.

Know Your Way To Safety: How many of you know where the emergency shelters are located in your communities? If you had to evacuate due to a pending disaster, how many know what the main and alternative routes to a shelter or evacuate the area are? In a situation where you could not rely on a dependable Wi-Fi signal for the GPS on your cellular telephone, do you have access to a traditional paper map and if so can you read it accurately? At the time you need to get to a shelter or get out of harm's way by evacuating, you will need to know the primary, secondary, and tertiary routes to travel and how best to navigate your way by using a traditional paper map.

Documentation: When addressing important documentation such as deeds to property, mortgage information for homes, titles to motor vehicles, health records, wills, banking account information, firearm permits, and driver's licenses, it is recommended that you make copies of these important documents and retain those copies in a number of secured locations in case the originals become either lost or damaged or are not obtainable from the disaster zone. FEMA recommends that the original copies be secured in a safe deposit box at your local bank branch, a second set of copies remain in a secure location at your residence for everyday use, and a third set be added to your Go-Kit in the event you require emergency services or need to apply for temporary housing.

Comfort Items for Children: Those who are following directives to either seek a shelter facility or evacuate the community ahead of a pending disaster event, if you have children with you, do your best to bring a comfort item for the child. Whether this item is a favorite small toy, special blanket, a favorite book, or favorite item of clothing, this cherished item, in the possession of a child during adverse conditions, will help reduce fear and stress and allow them to better cope during the difficult times ahead. I handed out approximately 50 small teddy bears to displaced children during a part of my stay in the Florida Panhandle and can speak from personal experience of the comfort an item such as a teddy bear can provide a child who is facing unspeakable loss and is incapable of understanding what has happened to them and why.

Patience: The Florida Panhandle and portions of Alabama will take years to return to normalcy. The damage to infrastructure and the local/regional economies mean that families will be returning to areas in which they and previous generations have resided, that will be vastly different. Neighborhoods and those who reside in them will be forever changed by the disaster and its aftermath. A significant component of anyone's personal preparedness plan is to understand and accept the realities of these social and economic changes and adapt to them as best as they can. We in Emergency Management all strive to return a community to a similar social, economic, and functional viability that existed before the disaster. Additionally, we as a community also need to be realistic and accept that a full restoration to pre-disaster living and working conditions may not be possible.

For additional information on how best to prepare for emergencies and disasters or to schedule individual and/or group training sessions on emergency and disaster preparedness contact Emergency Manager Chuck DiSalvo at x2926 or via e-mail at cdisalvo@monroecc.edu

Charles DiSalvo
Public Safety
10/23/2018