Emergency Preparedness Seminar Held At Noel

Representatives from Show Me Hope, part of the Ozark Center, put on an emergency preparedness seminar at the Short-Poynor Community Room in Noel on May 3.

Sharon Patterson and Susan Myers were with Show Me Hope, a grant for survivors of the spring 2017 floods. The first thing they did was show a DVD. The DVD highlighted three steps to be prepared for emergencies: Create a plan, prepare an emergency kit and listen for information about what to do and where to go during an emergency.

While creating a plan, people should think about how to get in touch with family members and where they will meet in case of an emergency, the DVD said. It also noted it is sometimes easier to make a long distance call during an emergency than a local call, so family members should have a designated contact outside the area.

Items in an emergency kit should include three gallons of water for each family member (enough for three days), canned and dried foods, a battery-powered radio, flashlight, extra batteries for flashlight and radio, first-aid kit, prescription medications, clean clothes and sturdy shoes, extra credit card, extra money and sturdy trash bags.

Patterson said if you have an electric cook stove, you want to make sure the items in your kit don't have to be heated, in case the power is out. Some ideas she shared were Vienna sausages and peanut butter and jelly. She said have a manual can opener on hand or pop-top lids. Also, she said, switch out the water every six months to keep it fresh.

Extra cash is important to have on hand in the event that the electricity is out in the entire community because a debit or credit card will be no good in that situation, Patterson said. That was something people found out during the Joplin tornado, she said.

"When you're prepared for something, whether it happens or not, you're more peaceful," she said.

Myers noted, if residents have a landline, they should have one of the old phones that do not require electricity.

Patterson recommended keeping a battery pack charged up because cell phone batteries do not last very long. She also recommended having a deck of cards, board games, books, etc., to keep family members' minds occupied.

"Make it fit your needs," she said of the emergency kit. "We want to help people be prepared because preparation takes the fear out."

General News on 05/10/2018