This is a beautiful time of year for a drive or a walk. The leaves are turning glorious colors and soon will be gone from the trees. Then we will move from autumn into serious fall. Before we know it, its time for holiday decorating and possibly severe winter weather conditions. Are you ready? We all see the advertising “3 days, 3 ways”, but in rural areas such as Mason County we stress seven days of personal and family readiness.

Be ready to be on your own during a winter storm for as long as seven days.

So ask yourself this simple question: What do I need in order to survive without assistance for up to seven days?

Being ready can be a major undertaking. But by taking it in small steps, it’s not so overwhelming.

• Have enough non-perishable food and water to sustain you and your family for seven days. For those on low or fixed income, new is the time to make arrangements with local service providers for assistance. Don’t forget extra water for personal hygiene and flushing. (If you know a storm is coming, you might want to fill up your bathtub to provide extra water.)
• Have at least some cash handy. During last year’s windstorm many services including gas stations, were unable to process credit card payments. ATM machine will not be in service either.
• Have an “out-of-state” contact number for friends and family. Often when local phone service is out or overwhelmed, long distance services will continue to work. Have a number of a family member out of the area that everyone can call and check in with.
• If you rely on your computer for your phone services (Voice of Internet) – or rely on cordless phones, make sure that you have an emergency phone that you can plug into a wall jack.
• If you are dependent on electrical power for medical equipment, now is the time to consider getting a generator and learning how to operate it. Don’t forget to buy a gas can, too, and get it filled.
• Talk to your physician about extra medication; he or she can probably write your regular prescriptions for 35-40 days in place of the 30-days’ supply or even 100 days rather than the 90-days’ supply. Get an extra medication box, fill it, and put it with your grab-and-go bag. (Don’t forget to rotate your supply periodically.)
• Put together a bag of warm clothing and sturdy shoes for every member of your family. Add in a game or two for the kids and that book you’ve been dying to read. This way if you have to head for a shelter, you’re ready to go.
• Have warm blankets easily accessible.
• Check your insurance policy and talk to your agency to make sure of what your policy will cover in the event of a storm
• Check your rain gutters – make sure they are cleaned out and that the downspouts channel the water away from your foundation.
• Prepare your car for winter, too. Check the tires, anti-freeze, and all those other little things that keep your car trustworthy for winter driving. It’s also a good idea to keep at least a half tank of gas in your car so it’s ready to go without having to stop and look for gas.
• Buy an extra bag of pet food and have a dry, warm place for your pets to get out of the weather.
• Watch out for your neighbors.
• Check your emergency source of fuel. Do you have enough wood, pellets, or propane to get you by?
  

As you can see there are a lot of things you can do to get ready for this winter’s storm season. Some are relatively easy and inexpensive; others may take a bit more time. But by taking a common sense approach and starting now you can protect you, your family and others and minimize the impacts of this season’s storms.

The Division of Emergency Management will provide a speaker to your neighborhood group, community organizations including senior centers and daycare providers, or faith-based groups. We’ll go over our recommendations and answer questions. Call 427-9670, ext 801 for more information.