EMA Preparedness

Your Family Disaster Supplies Kit

Disasters happen anytime and anywhere. And when disaster strikes, you should be prepared. A hazardous material incident could mean evacuation. A winter storm could confine your family at home. A tornado or any other disaster could cut water, electricity and telephones for days. After a disaster, local officials and relief workers will be on the scene, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. Would your family be prepared to cope with the emergency until help arrives? Your family will cope best by preparing for disaster before it strikes. One way to prepare is by assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit. Once disaster hits, you won't have time to shop or search for supplies. By being prepared and gathering supplies in advance your family can better survive in an emergency. Families should prepare themselves to be completely self-sufficient for a period of no less than 3 to 5 days.

Proper Water Storage

You can store your water in thoroughly washed plastic, glass, fiberglass or enamel-lined metal containers. Never use a container that has held toxic substances, because tiny amounts may remain in the container's pores. Sound plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles, are best. You can also purchase food-grade plastic buckets or drums.

Before storing your water, treat it with a preservative, such as chlorine bleach, to prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms. Use liquid bleach that contains 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite and no soap. Some containers warn, "Not for Personal Use." You can disregard these warnings if the label states sodium hypochlorite is the only active ingredient and if you use only the small quantities in these instructions.

Add four drops of bleach per quart of water (or two scant teaspoons per 10 gallons), and stir. If the water does not taste and smell of chlorine after 30 minutes, add another dose of 1/8 teaspoon and let stand another 15 minutes. Seal the containers and label with contents and date of preparation and store them in a cool, dark place.

Preparing for Terrorism

It's natural to be afraid of terrorists and their potential threats. It's also our fear upon which the terrorists feed. Terrorists use our fear as a weapon to achieve their political and social goals.

Evacuations

There may be times when a situation calls for the immediate evacuation of an area. When authorities ask you to leave a specific area it means your health and safety is at risk. If this occurs you should not hesitate to follow emergency instructions and leave the area immediately. Specific instructions may be given to you by officials utilizing the Alert Rutherford Notification System, commercial radio and or television, National Weather Service NOAA weather alert radios or Several Social Media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and Nixle.

Emergency Authorities in Rutherford county have an in place an electronic telephone notification system that allows officials to notify residents in a designated area of an emergency situation. If such a situation exists and the system is activated, you may receive an automated message from, ALERT RUTHERFORD. Please follow the instructions provided to you in the message and monitor television broadcast for further information! Sign up for Alert Rutherford Today.

Hazardous Materials

Even though we may not realize it, most American families have become dependent upon the daily use of chemical products in our homes. Many of these chemical products require special handling, storage, and disposal. We depend upon these products because they are quick and easy to use.

Dangers from chemicals depend greatly on the individuals using them. Chemicals are safe to use when people read the directions and use them correctly. Chemicals play an important role in our health, economy, and social lives by providing us with better medicines and foods, creating jobs, and making our living environment more comfortable.

When people assume they know how to deal with a chemical or they just do not follow the directions, injuries, illness, and even death can occur. Our homes can sometimes be more dangerous than a laboratory because people ignore safety measures.

Americans have about half a million different products containing chemicals available for use in our homes. Most people use chemicals safely everyday without incident, but as the number of chemical products increases, the rate of improper use and injury also increases.