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Challenge activities week 4

Posted on by dekiss4

If you are having a hard time believing that we are in the 4th week of September and our 2015 Prepare Kansas online challenge, we feel the same way! Happily, we still have 10 days left in the month to finish up all of the challenge tasks.

Challenge activities for week 4, September 14-20 are to:

  • Plan and practice a family/workplace fire drill, and
  • Add items to your grab-and-go bags.

Our weather-related emergency focus this week is fire. Check out Kansas State Climatologist Mary Knapp’s Weather Wonders programs to learn more about fire weather, the dangers of lightning, and preventing fires in the home.

We’ve had questions about how you will report your progress. The Challenge Tracking Sheet is available for you to keep track of what you’ve accomplished during the month. Soon after the Challenge ends, you will receive an email with a link to a survey that we hope you will complete. The survey will ask you to tell us about your progress with the weekly tasks. As we’ve said, you have the entire month to complete the tasks. Even small actions can make a difference so don’t give up!

Thanks to those who have commented on the blog — we love to hear from you!

 

Don’t forget your four-legged friends!

Posted on by dekiss4

As we plan ahead and prepare for emergencies and natural disasters, it is important to consider all members of our households and that includes our pets. Check out these tips posted recently by Tanika C. Whittington, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Legislative and Public Affairs, on the USDA blog.

Prepare a pet emergency supply kit with supplies for at least three days. Plan what you will do in an emergency. Stay informed about current or potential emergencies in your area.

NatlPrep_16

 

Grab-and-go bags

Posted on by dekiss4

One of the Prepare Kansas week 3 challenge tasks is to begin assembling grab-and-go bags for family members, including household pets. You may be wondering how these are different from the emergency supply kits you assembled in weeks 1 and 2.

NPM Digital Toolkit 2015 Flood_3
Image source: NPM Digital Toolkit 2015

 

The short answer is that they may contain some similar items. In our minds, there are differences though. A basic household or vehicle emergency  kit will be used whenever there is an emergency. A grab-and-go bag will likely only be used when you and members of your household need to evacuate quickly. Sometimes it might be hard to decide what the outcome of the emergency will be and you will want to grab both.

Items to include in grab-and-go bags for individual family members include those that are listed as additional items to consider on FEMA’s emergency supply list as well as the supplies for unique needs listed at http://www.ready.gov/kit

Individual and family needs vary and so will needs over time. Be sure to include items that will meet your current needs and update your grab-and-go bags at least once a year.