Floods drive home message of preparedness

Most of us have been glued to the media -- traditional and social -- to find out the latest news from the Rocky Mountain Front Range, which has been inundated with flood waters following heavy rains over the past few days.

The area is a popular vacation spot for Nebraska flatlanders, and even those of us who don't make it to Colorado that often have friends and relatives who live there.

Those dramatic vistas that make Colorado such an inviting place to live can create the dramatic disasters like the flooding the area is experiencing this fall or the blizzards in winter.

But no one is immune from natural or manmade disasters, whether it's the terrorist attacks we remembered on Sept. 11, hurricanes like Katrina, West Coast earthquakes or the tornadoes that strike the Plains states.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency shouldn't have any trouble getting its message across for this month's National Preparedness Month.

NEMA officials are doing all they can to address a wide range of natural and manmade disasters, but it's up to individuals and families to do all they can to get ready for any eventuality.

The Ready.Gov website has a fill-in-the-blank plan available to make it easy to assemble most of the information needed for personal emergency plans. Check it out at http://1.usa.gov/17vRAny

A news release from the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department reprinted in today's paper spotlights "shelter-in-place" buckets of emergency supplies recently delivered to local schools. It's an important concept.

"Everyone needs to be prepared to shelter in place for a minimum of three days," said NEMA assistant director Al Berndt. "Our health, and the health of our loved ones, could very well depend on our kit and our plan if there is a major disaster. Emergency responders can't always take care of everyone for a short amount of time."

Emergency kits should include items such as:

* battery-powered or crank radio

* weather alert radio

* extra batteries

* first aid kit

* sanitary wipes

* dust mask

* water for drinking and sanitation

* water purification tablets

* waterproof matches and/or butane lighter

* crank flashlight

* plastic sheeting

* non-perishable food for at least three days

* disinfectants and medications.

* medical information for entire family, including details about dosages of required medications and a list of known health issues.

Also, it is important to consider a few seasonal needs such as extra water for hydration and bug repellants in the summer and warm clothes and sleeping bags for winter months. Visit www.ready.gov/document/family-supply-list for a complete list.

"Store your kit and support materials where you can find them easily and move them quickly,"

Berndt said. "The best-supplied kit may not do any good if you can't take it with you. Consider using a buddy system with nearby families, to help and support one another in the case of extreme emergencies.

For more information, visit www.nema.nebraska.gov and check out these tips for being prepared for severe weather: http://www.nema.ne.gov/response-recovery/severe-storm-guide.html and

http://www.nema.ne.gov/response-recovery/winter-weather.html