It’s not the first-aid kit. It’s not the roadside flares. It’s not your cellphone. The thing that everyone needs, every day, no matter what, is water. Emergency officials recommend having one gallon of water per person or pet for each day. And they recommend storing enough for three days at a minimum, and up to…
Category Archives: Disaster
Operation Photo Rescue
When stricken by a fire or flood, there are some things that insurance can replace — our furniture, clothes, and other possessions for example. But heirloom photographs have too often been irretrievably lost. One small group aims to change that. Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) is a volunteer network of professional photojournalists, amateur digital photographers, and…
Is It a Disaster or Is It an Emergency?
What’s the difference between the words “disaster” and “emergency?” We often use these words interchangeably, but there are two distinctions worth keeping in mind. An emergency requires an immediate response to a life-threatening situation. It is usually local and specific, affecting one building, for example, or even just one person. A disaster, on the other…
Service Reconnects Loved Ones After a Disaster
One of the most distressing aspects of disasters is the prospect of being separated from loved ones and unable to communicate. Letting your family know that you are unharmed provides peace of mind. The Red Cross offers a service to make it easy to let your family know that you are safe and well. It’s…
Notes and Lessons from the San Bruno Blast
If the firemen knocked on your door to say you had to evacuate, what would you do first? My friend and professional organizing colleague Molly Brady, who lives in San Bruno, CA, was under an evacuation order on the night of September 9th this year, after a Pacific Gas and Electric pipeline exploded in a…
If It Were Easy, You Would Have Done It Already – are your vital records ready to grab & go?
Maybe you’ve wanted to get ready for emergencies for a long time, but you’re confused about what tools to use and what steps to take. Maybe you know you should organize some important papers to grab and go, but somehow you still haven’t taken the time to gather your vital records. Emergencies can happen to…
Guest Post: What the 7.4 New Zealand Earthquake Felt Like
Today I’m really happy to share with you a post by my New Zealand organizing colleague, Wendy Davie, owner and organizing guru at Totally Organised (yes, in New Zealand it’s spelled with an “s” rather than a “z.”) Beginning Saturday, September 4, when a magnitude 7.4 quake struck near her home city of Christchurch, in…
Help for Pets in the San Bruno Fire
A corporation has stepped up to fill a gap in emergency preparations. While emergency shelters cannot accommodate pets of any kind, Petco in San Bruno has announced that it will accept pets who need shelter from the San Bruno explosion and fire. This is a wonderful community service. Finding a safe home for pets during…
Natural Disaster or Man-made? Does It Matter?
Tonight I plan to head to the theater to see The Big Uneasy, a documentary by Harry Shearer about Hurricane Katrina, the failure of the levee system, and the inundation of New Orleans. In interviews I have heard Shearer object vigorously (I think the words he used were “…I thought my head would explode”) when…
Protect Your Assets With a Video Home Inventory
Imagine that a fire, flood, hurricane, or tornado struck where you live. What if you had to make an insurance claim for everything in your home? How long would it take you to name the contents of every drawer, every closet, every room? Making a home inventory protects your financial well-being, making it possible to…