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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Energy Adviser: Build, stash disaster kit; keep it fresh

The Columbian
Published:

Ten billion to 15 billion dollars. That’s the nation’s annual storm-damage loss, averaged over the past 50 years, not counting the costs of business disruption. Luckily, Southwest Washington has experienced few devastating disasters during that time. Clark Public Utilities and the city, county and community services often conduct drills to test their disaster preparedness. They’re ready should “the big one” happen. What about you?

“All county residents should build a disaster kit — just in case,” said Michael Getman, safety manager for the utility. “They should plan for at least two or three days’ provisions.”

When a disaster strikes, you might not have access to food, water or electricity for some time. So take steps now to prepare for the worst.

Searching online brings up a wide variety of recommendations from government organizations dedicated to disaster recovery. Follow one that best suits your situation. Getman advises that you cache your goods in a locking plastic tub or two and store it someplace where it’s easily accessible if you’re stranded at home, lose power indefinitely — or need to grab it and go.

Prepare now for when something happens. Store one gallon of water a day for each family member. A five-gallon jug with a spout runs about $15. Find a cool place to store your water. You may also want a container of bleach should you need to decontaminate water when that’s gone. Water purifiers, sold for camping, are also an option.

If the power is out, eat the food in the fridge first, as long as it’s good. Then eat food you stored away. Only store easy-to-prepare foods requiring no refrigeration. Foods like rice, pasta, oatmeal, boxed potatoes, dried fruit, coffee, tea, cocoa, crackers, ready-to-eat cereals, energy bars, powdered milk and bouillon store well. Meals ready to eat (MREs) are another option.

Put in a manual can opener for canned fruit, soups and vegetables. Nuts, peanut butter and, of course, jelly have screw tops. Plan for anyone with special dietary and medical conditions. If you have pets, consider food and water for them.

Provide for sanitation

Consider other extras you might want. Hand sanitizer for washing your hands is the easiest way to stay clean and healthy. Women should consider the need for sanitary products. Everyone needs toilet paper, so include that. Put away at least one change of clothing per person and eating utensils and dishes in case you need to evacuate. An inexpensive camping toilet may also become a luxury under disaster conditions.

“Stashing items for an emergency also means that you need to rotate the stock every so often,” Getman said. “Follow the appropriate guidelines for food expiration dates, but for freshness change container-stored water a couple of times a year at least.”

If your electricity is out for several days, Getman asks that you follow safety procedures for barbeque grills, portable propane camping stoves and power generators. “Keep them outside,” he said. “Never use them in the house or near ventilated areas coming into the house.”

When running a portable generator, Getman cautions everyone to plug appliances directly into the generator and never to plug the generator into an outlet in the house. That can backfeed electricity into the power lines, putting utility workers at risk.

If you must evacuate, have an exit plan that includes shutting off the electricity — or at least unplugging all appliances — to prevent damage when the power comes back on. Also, turn off your water at the street to prevent water damage.

Check the Red Cross website for a list of supplies and find more tips on the utility website. Make sure the phone number the utility has on file for you is correct; that way, when you call the PowerLine to report an outage and receive outage updates, the system can identify you. The PowerLine number is 360-992-8000 and is the only number you need to know in a power outage.


Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.

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