Do you have an emergency back up plan?
As I listened to the news this morning and heard about Pasadena declaring a state of emergency with thousands of people out of power and having to deal with the aftermath of what gusting winds of over 80miles/hour have destroyed, I remembered a New York Times article from last month.
In her article Power Envy, Penelope Green, tells her story about having to cope with a huge power outage caused by snow storms in Connecticut. Luckily, friends of hers who own generators that kicked in right when the power went out, made these freezing winter days with no electricity more endurable. Her family managed to live through this cold week by “generator hopping” and having “…a different sleepover every night.” (see article)
Having read that article a month ago it stayed on my mind since I wanted to mention it on this blog. After all, having a generator in the house might not be such a bad idea in earthquake prone California either. Today’s news about Pasadena was a reminder, even though the culprit of disaster were historically strong Santa Ana winds and no earthquake.
For everyone out there, it sure is a good idea in general to be prepared for whatever natural disaster might happen. The climate is obviously changing all over the planet and we most likely will face many changes over the years to come that we cannot anticipate in all their capacity at this present day.
For my family Pasadena happenings today were a warning to put more thought into disaster preparedness and I definitely will look into purchasing a generator.
A good resource for making a disaster preparedness plan or for reading more about it, are the following websites:
- American Red Cross
- http://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
- http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html#secure
- Disaster Preparedness for seniors and people with disabilities
NEWS about Pasadena & Los Angeleas area:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-winds-california-idUSTRE7B02GA20111201
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30143/la-wind-storm-resources/
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30140/la-wind-updates-damage-wrought-santa-anas/
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30137/santa-ana-winds-blow-through-southland-toppling-tr/