Happy Spring! - Sweet Tip

"Spring has brought me such a nice surprise

popcorn popping right before my eyes!"

-Popcorn Popping, Children's Songbook, Georgia W. Bello, p. 242.

 

Let's take the time this spring to prepare ourselves for the many "surprises" that "pop" into our lives!

 

IT'S SPRING CLEANING TIME AND THE PERFECT TIME TO CLEAN UP OUR 72 HOUR KITS, AND WATER AND FOOD STORAGE.

TAKE TIME TO REFRESH THE ITEMS WE HAVE STORED TO ENSURE THEY ARE FRESH AND USABLE.

 

If you don't havae water stored, start today! Storing water won't break the bank and is a great place to start!

The Great Utah Shake Out- FHE

Check today's paper for an insert called, "What To Do When Disaster Strikes". It is a great reminder for all of us of emergency preparation and procedures for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

 

The Great Utah Shake Out Drill is scheduled throughout the state for Wed. April 17, @ 10:15 am. Many schools and businesses will be practicing the Drop! Cover! and Hold On! technique to follow during an earthquake.

 

 

Save this newspaper insert and use it to review these emergency preparedness techniques with your family for a Family Home Evening this week.

 

For more information go to:

www.shakeout.org/utah/resources

 

 

Thanks for working with your family to increase the level of emergency preparedness in our stake and neighborhood!

The Great Utah Shakeout

In today's paper is an insert for "The Great Utah Shakeout". Our stake will not formally be participating in the Shakeout this year but the information in the insert is a great reminder for all of us to become more prepared for emergencies! Here are some good ideas:

• Use the insert information and games for a fun and important Family Home Evening to keep your family reminded and prepared for emergencies.
• Use lists in the insert to update, add to, or replace emergency supplies (matches, propane, batteries, etc.) Set a goal as a family to buy one new thing to prepare for emergencies in the next few months.

Thanks for all you are doing to help our neighborhood and stake become more prepared!

Family Emergency Preparedness Guide

Salt Lake Valley has a great booklet called the Family Emergency Preparedness Guide. Look for them in the foyers of our buildings on Sundays and on Tuesday before and after Sisters in Scriptures. Read through this great guide as a family and work on improving your emergency preparedness. Our goal as a stake is to be ready to respond in the event of any emergency. The more prepared we are the more we can take care of ourselves and our neighbors in need! Let's get prepared!

Shake Out, Don't Freak Out!

submitted by Christi Jardine, Stake Provident Living Leader

In January 2012 the Deseret News published a pullout "Classroom Connections" section entitled "Shake Out, Don't Freak Out". It is a great pamphlet filled with information on how to prepare your family for an earthquake. Take some time for Family Home Eveing and do the crossword puzzles or word searches. Read over the information and start doing something to prepare for emergencies. 

Here is the link to see the online version. 

Shake Out, Don't Freak Out

Earthquake Preparedness Tips

Each Monday the Deseret News is printing an article on how to prepare 
your family in case of an earthquake leading up to  
Utah's earthquake drill on April 17 at 10:15 am. called 
"The Great Utah Shake Out".  

Here is a link to all the articles by Joe Daugherty, 
spokesperson for Utah Division of Emergency Management and Be Ready Utah.

The-Great-Utah-ShakeOut

Emergency Preparedness Sites for Kids

It is important to talk with all members of your family about Emergency Preparedness for all kinds of natural disasters and emergencies. When family members even children are prepared everyone will be safer.  
Here are two great sites to help you talk to your children or grandchildren about emergency preparedness. These sites contain great information as well as games that are geared to children. Take time to teach your children and help them feel prepared to handle emergency situations!

beready.utah.gov/beready/family/children.html

www.ready.gov/kids

Emergency Laundry Kit

submitted by: Christi Jardine- Stake Provident Living Leader

This is a great way to store a large amount of laundry detergent in a small space! Make sure to include the recipe for laundry soap in the bucket!

Mobile Washer (Emergency Essentials)

5 gallon bucket

Clothes line

Clothes pins

Rubber gloves

Fels-Naptha soap bar

Washing Soda

Borax

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap-  yield: 5 gallons

Charlene Hertzberg, May 27, 2009, localnews.coom, Idaho Falls

4 cups hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha Soap bar

1 cup Washing Soda

½ cup Borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir will until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. To make it easy to use, pour it into an old laundry detergent container.

Optional: Add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. (lavender, rosemary, etc.)

¼ cup per load: Top Loading Machine (approx.180 loads)

1/8 cup per load: Front Loading Machines (approx.360 loads)

Emergency Sanitary Kit

from: Christi Jardine- Stake Provident Living Leader
 
In an emergency sanitation often becomes critical. Here is a kt you can assemble relatively inexpensively which could be useful.

Store all items in the 5 gallon bucket.

5 gallon bucket

Enzyme packets

Kitchen garbage bags

Toilet paper

Hand sanitizer

Wipes

Sanitary supplies

Rubber gloves

Toilet Seat(fits 5 gallon bucket)

First Aid Kit- Supply List

Whether you purchase or assemble your own First-aid kit here is a great link to make sure your families kit is stocked with the supplies that saves lives!

www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-kits

FHE- Organizing Critical Documents

submitted by Michele Higginson, Stake Provident Living Leader

For FHE- Take time to organize your family documents. After a damaging disaster you will need copies of these documents as well as emergency cash. Keep these items together, current and where possible stored in a fire proof safe or safety deposit box. 

1. Birth certificates- of all family members
2. Marriage license/child custody papers
3. Passports
4. Social Security cards
5. Military/Veteran's papers
6. Critical Medical records, info.
7. Cash- $1.00 bills or other small bills
8. Certificates for stocks, bonds
9. Bank Statements
10. Credit card numbers
11. List of phone numbers of financial institutions
12. Insurance policies
13. Inventory of household possesions
14. Appraisals of valuables, such as artwork, jewelry, etc.
15. Backup of critical files on computer
16. List of names and phone # of family members, business contacts, etc.
17. Deeds, titles, mortgage info.
18. Wills and Power of Attorney

FHE- Emergency Car Kit

submitted by Michele Higginson, Stake Provident Living Leader

Take a moment during Family Home Evening to gather the items you already have around your home for a car  survival kit. Whatever items you do not currently have make a plan to include in your monthly budget to purchase.  Try to include the following items:

• blankets
• flares
• work gloves
• high energy foods (candy, nuts, and dried fruit)
• first aid kit
• flashlight
• extra clothing
• knives
• matches
• water
• maps
• jumper cables
• small shovel (folding)
• tow chain
• windshield scraper
• paper and pen
• bag of sand 
• Also check for proper tools to change a tire.

After gathering the items, use a garbage bag, or a cardboard, or plastic storage box to store the items in your trunk or car.

-Go over safety guidelines for winters storms from Salt Lake County Health Dept. Family Emergency Preparedness Guide, pg. 27. See link below:

www.slvhealth.org/programs/emergencyPreparedness/FamilyEmergPrep.pdf

FHE- Emergency Contact Information

A great idea for Family Home Evening is to take a few minutes and go over important emergency contact information. Depending on the situation, emergency calls are handled in different ways. It is good to go over these situations and calling procedures with your family. Try role playing different situations and correct procedures for the following:

1.  Non-life Threatening Emergencies- (A neighbor or family contact) This is a good number to have in your cell phone, home phone or posted near a home phone. It can be used to get help when family members are home alone, or away from home and need help when parents or spouses are not available.

2.  Life Threatening Emergencies- (911) If someone is in a life-threatening situation or is unconscious call 911 immediately. When you call make sure to give them the following information:

• Your name
• Phone # you are calling from
• Why you are calling- what has happened
• Your exact location (include intersections, landmarks, etc.)
• How many people have been injured and their conditions
• What first aid help is being given
• Do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to

3. Natural Disasters-(ICE #, In Case of Emergency) This should be a number that all family members can program into their phone to call to account for everyone.

• Use the abreviation -ICE as the contact # in your phone
• Choose a family member or close friend who lives out of town preferably out of state. 
• In the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake all members of the family need to call this number to check in an let the ICE person know they are OK. This is helpful when members of the family are at work school, etc. and may not be able to contact each other because of local breaks in communication.
• Make sure to contact the family member or friend to make sure they are aware that they are your ICE contact.
• In the event local communications are out make sure to write down and or memorize the ICE # before your phone battery goes dead. 

 Take time to program ICE #'s into your phones and go over the above procedures.

Emergency Preparedness Family Home Evenings

In the next few months our stake will be focusing on Emergency Preparedness the following requirements can be completed with your children as you work on these Family Home Evenings.

Primary Children:

• Faith in God- Developing Talents, or Serving others

“Plan and complete your own activity that will help you develop your talents .”

 “Plan and complete your own activity to serve others.”

• Cub Scouts- 

Wolf- Achievement #s: 3c, 4a-d, 9a-e, 12a-k, and Elective 16 all, 23b&c

Bear- Achievement #s: 11a-g, 12b,
Webelos- Family Member Requirment # 5, 6,  Readyman Requirements- all

Young Women:

• Personal Progress, Knowledge value experience #7

https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress/knowledge 

“At Young Women camp you learn skills in first aid, safety, sanitation, and survival. Review these teachings in your Young Women Camp Manual and note in your journal how you could apply them in your home to keep your family safe. Develop a list of basic supplies your family will need in case of an emergency. Teach a family home evening lesson or share with a Young Women leader what you have learned and what additional skills you would like to learn to be prepared for emergencies.”

Young Men:

• 1^st Class Scout, Requirement 8c

Emergency Preparedness merit badge

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-EMER. 

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

by Christi Jardine- Stake Provident Living Leader

If you do not know what to get the person who has everything, try an emergency preparedness item.

1. Flashlights
2. 100 hour candles
3. First aid kits
4. Cleaning/Sanitation Buckets (see a list of items to prepare under the Emergency Preparedness tab on this blog.)
5. A 72 hour kit or any item to add to it (also listed on this blog in Emergency Preparedness tab)
6. Auto first aid kits
7. Auto emergency road kits
8. Coal - for those who have been naughty! :)

These are just a few suggestions! The possibilities are endless! Happy shopping!

CERT Training

Here is the information for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training through the Unified Fire Authority. It is great for members of our neighborhood to be CERT trained. There are different dates and locations around the valley to choose from.  The one in Millcreek starts Sept. 14, 2011. The training is once a week for 4 weeks. There is an online prerequisite which needs to be completed by the first day of class. If you are interested here is the site for registration.

unifiedfire.org/divisions/community/cert.aspx

FHE Idea- Assemble 72 hour kits

For Family Home Evening gather as many of the following supplies as you can to start a 72 hour emergency kit for each family member. 

Use the following checklist to make sure they are supplied with the necessary items for an emergency. If you are missing items work over the next few months to purchase the needed items. 

When preparing for a possible emergency situation, it's best to think first about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air and warmth.

Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers

Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:

• Prescription medications and glasses
• Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food and extra water for your pet
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
• Cash or traveler's checks and change
• Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
• Fire Extinguisher
• Matches in a waterproof container
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
• Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

above info. from:  http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html

For more info. go to the following link:

  http://homeland.slco.org/index.html

Water Storage

• Plastic juice or soda bottles can be used to store water.  Used containers should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed.  Then they can be filled with water from a municipal water supply without any other treatment.
• If the water is not pure use 8 drops (1/2 tsp.) of household bleach per gallon if water is clear.  Add 16 drops (1 tsp.) per gallon, if water is cloudy.
• Water can also be boiled for 3-5 min. Make sure to cover with a lid to prevent evaporation.
• Water can go flat when stored. It can be aerated by pouring between two containers.
• There are many water filters on the market. The charcoal type filters can also remove bad tastes. Water can be filtered through these to purify.
• Protect water storage from light and heat. Algae can grow if water is stored in light.
• Store in areas where leakage will not cause damage to the home.

Information from:   Be Prepared: A Provident Living Resource, Christine Van Wagenen and Claudia Erekson, 2007.

Provident Living/Emergency Preparedness Survey

The Olympus Stake Provident Living/Emergency Preparedness Survey that we have been using in Relief Society to assess the needs of members in our stake is now on the blog. Click on the Emergency Preparedness tab at the top of the blog home page.

Emergency Procedures for an Earthquake

With the Earthquake in Japan it is a good time to spend a minute at Family Home Evening to review the following to protect and prepare your family in the event of an earthquake.


Before an Earthquake

• Secure water heater, storage shelves, heavy mirrors, shelves, etc. to walls.
• Place large or heavy objects on lower shelves
• Know where and how to shut off electricity, gas and water at main switches and valves.
• Have earthquake drills- identify safe spots in each room.
• Have an out-of-state contact person.
• Develop a plan for reuniting your family after an earthquake.
• Review your insurance policies.
• Keep a good pair of shoes and a flashlight near your bed.
• Prepare to survive on your own for at least three days. See "Your Family Disaster Supplies Kit - 72 Hour Kit"  for instructions.*

During an Earthquake

• Stay calm.
• Inside: stay inside and find protection in a doorway, or crouch under a desk or table, away from windows, glass, brick walls and chimneys.
• Outside: stand away from buildings, trees, telephones and electric lines.
• On the road: drive away from under-passes/over-passes; stop in a safe area; stay in your vehicle. 
• In an office building: stay next to a pillar or column, or under a heavy table or desk.
• Stay where you are until the shaking has stopped and you are sure it is safe to move. 

Remain calm and stay inside during and earthquake. Most injurines during earthquakes occur when people are hit by falling debris when entering or exiting buildings.

If you must go out after an earthquake, watch for fallen objects, downed electrical wires, weakened walls, bridges, roads, and sidewalks.
 
After and Earthquake

• Check for injuries. Provide first aid.
• Check for fires; gas, water, sewage breaks; downed electric lines; building damage and potential problems during after shocks, such as cracks around fireplace and foundation. Turn off interrupted utilities as necessary.
• Clean up dangerous spills.
• Wear shoes and leather gloves.
• Tune radio to an emergency station and listen for instructions from public safety agencies.
• Use the telephone only for emergencies.
• As soon as possible, notify family that you are safe.
• Do not use matches or open flames until you are sure there are no gas leaks.
• Don't turn light switches off and on. Sprarks created by the switch contacts can ignite gas furmes.
• In public buildings, follow evacuation procedures immediately and return only after the building has been declared safe by the appropriate authorities. 

Utah is earthquake country. Earthquakes can strike at any time without warning, causing major damage to homes and critical infrastructure. They are almost always followed by aftershocks that can be even larger than the initial quake. Estimates in the Journal of Geophysical Research show that the probability of a major earthquake along the Wasatch fault alone may be 13% in 50 years and 25% in 100 years. Additionally, the probability for an earthquake on the Salt Lake segment of the Wasatch fault may be as high as 75% in 100 years.

Information taken from SLVHD Salt Lake Valley Health Department- Family Emergency Preparedness Guide.
For a pdf of this booklet go to www.slvhealth.org/programs/emergencyPreparedness/index.html 
*The 72 Hour Kit is on pp. 4-9 of this booklet.