Emergency Management
Give the Gift of Preparedness
***Though links to web sites or products are listed, OEM does not endorse any one company or product. Rather, we hope to provide a starting point from which you may do your own research and due diligence in order to find what resource works for you and your family.***
In the aftermath of a major disaster, Arlington will do all it can to get services up and running again as soon as possible, but this may take time. How well your family and friends do in the meantime depends on how much you have done beforehand to prepare.
If you are not sure your loved ones have all they need, why not buy yourself some peace of mind and give them the gift of disaster preparedness? Disaster preparedness is primarily an individual and family responsibility. Here are some ways that you can incorporate disaster readiness into your holiday season:
Food and Gift Baskets
Every household should have at least three days worth of food, water, medicine and basic survival goods such as battery powered radios and flashlights.
Just because the power is out is no reason you can’t eat well! Numerous companies make delicious ready made meals that can be stored unrefrigerated up to 5 years, and many cookbooks provide hints on how to prepare safe and delicious food without any electricity.
Food packaged for long term storage is available from suppliers such as: Honeyville Grain; Pleasanthill Grain; BePrepared.com; MRE Depot; Mountainhouse; Waltonfeed, or TheReadyStore (Freeze Dried Food Storage Supplier). Soup-in-a-jar mixes with recipes are easily found on the Web or at your supermarket. They generally have a shelf-life of about six months.
Here are a few books on emergency food preparation and disaster preparedness:
Emergency Food Storage Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis by Peggy Layton
Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival by Jack A. Spigarelli
Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Family and Your Home for Any Natural Or Unnatural Disaster by Judith Kolberg
Apocalypse Chow: How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out by Jon Robertson with Robin Robertson
The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity by Daphne Nikolopoulos
A nifty gift basket might include a book plus ingredients for recipes and a couple of cans of EcoFuelXB canned heat!
For outdoor cooking (camping, tailgating, emergency use)
- Cobb Portable BBQ Grill (Burns for 3 hours using 8 charcoal briquets - a fuel stretcher.
- Kelly Kettle (Fueled by wood shavings or pellets or chips, boils water fast)
- Woodgas Camp Stove (Fueled by wood shavings, pellets, wood chips, chopped up twigs - any dry tinder. Burns very efficiently, little smoke.)
- Heat Cell or EcoFuelXB canned heat for cooking indoors or out has an unlimited shelf life.
Other Gift Ideas
Water Purification
Waterbob
Personal water purification bottles such as Katadyn’s Extream XR or Sport Berkey ® Portable Water Purifier
Water purification tablets, available at camping supply stores
Light
Crank flashlight or lantern. Many have a radio and and the capability to charge a cell phone, but the buyer has to order the right adapter tip.
Emergency Essentials sells one with an adapter to recharge cell phones using the cell phone’s cigarette lighter adapter.
Energizer Weather Ready lanterns from Lowes and Home Depot use batteries but afford long burn times.
Power
Batteries (regular or rechargeable plus a charger)
Solar battery charger
Freeplay FreeCharge 12V hand crank charger with 12V adapter for small electronics
Generator or solar panels plus deep cycle battery or Freeplay Weza Step Pedal Generator
Communications
Emergency radio with crank power (many kinds)
72-hour emergency kit in a backpack
Medical Supplies
First aid kit
Latex or nitrile gloves
N95 respirators
You can purchase pre-assembled disaster kits from the Red Cross,
Emergency Indoor Heat
Mr. Heater's Portable Buddy Portable LP Gas Heater
Coleman ProCat Propane Heater
Gifts Ideas for Seniors and Young Adults
Seniors living on fixed incomes and young adults just starting out on their own are among the groups least likely to have emergency supplies in the home. If you have parents or children in either category, you can help them be ready for disaster by giving them essential disaster supplies as a present.
Gift Ideas for Families
It is never too early to start learning about how to be prepared for disasters. This Canadian Company has developed board games to educate children and families on disaster preparedness essentials.
Other ways to teach children about preparedness can be found at FEMA's website.
First aid classes for the whole family: 
Basic first aid and CPR really does save lives, especially after a disaster when regular emergency medical services might be delayed. Plus, it's a great bonding activity!
Information on classes from the Arlington County Red Cross Chapter.
Free resources to download and print
- Get Pandemic Ready guides (See downloads section.)
- Pandemic Influenza Preparation and Response: A Citizen’s Guide (download available at http://www.fluwikie.com/ )
- How to Prepare for Any Disaster: Your Easy Step-By-Step Preparedness Guide (download from http://www.areyouprepared.com/ )
