A very useful publication, put together by several experts in earthquake preparedness, is the Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country booklet. It can be downloaded from the www.daretoprepare.org website. I also have some on hand from past trainings, so feel free to ask me at church to bring you one.
The booklet outlines seven steps of earthquake safety. Steps 1 - 4 are specific to preparing before the quake hits.
1. Identify the hazards in your home and begin to fix them
2. Develop a plan
3. Prepare a disaster supplies kit
4. Identify your building's potential weaknesses and work on getting them repaired.
If you are out in an open field when the earthquake hits, you are going to be just fine. The problem is that we live in buildings - and have lots of unsecured furniture and knick knacks all around us. If the shaking gets rough - things fall and fly about, which can cause a lot of bodily harm. You need to plan on securing items so that they don't become lethal. The booklet gives lots of guidance on what to look for and how to make corrections. Fortunately many of the fixes are easy and supplies are readily available in local hardware stores.
If you don't feel confident in your handiman skills, give the Elder's Quorum President a call. If this isn't something your home teacher could handle, then he'll know of someone in the quorum who could volunteer to get the job done. We have some brethren in the ward who do this as a sideline business, if you are looking to pay someone to take care of it for you.
Bottom line - no excuses. The safety of you and your family depends on you taking the first steps.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment