National Preparedness Month
My first brush with how natural disasters can shape your life came on January 4, 1982. That day, my family lost everything we owned in a once-in-a-century flood that filled our home in Point Reyes Station, California, with four feet of water and two feet of mud. I was nine, and it forever shaped my outlook on the importance of being prepared for the unexpected.
Years later, emergency preparedness became a more integral part of my life through my work with the Regional Water Providers Consortium. After the birth of our daughter Hazel in 2014, I started to support the Consortium’s emergency planning work, and it quickly became apparent to me just how important a role we all will play in helping the region recover from a large-scale disaster.
After such an event, water providers and other first responders will need to get water systems, roads, and other infrastructure back up and running. This will require neighbors to work together until help can reach our region. And because people can only survive for a few days without water, it makes sense to start one’s personal preparedness journey with water.
Take One Step
September is National Preparedness month, so I invite you to take one step today to help your household get ready for emergencies. The best place to start is by visiting regionalH2O.org, the Consortium’s website. It has a ton of information including how-to videos that focus on storing, accessing, and treating water in an emergency. PublicAlerts.org is the next place to go. It includes ways to sign up for local emergency alerts, information on what else to include in your emergency kit, and other ways to get ready.
Beaumont-Wilshire resident Bonny Cushman is mother of one, wife, canner, prepper, walker, and avid gardener. She works as Program Manager for the Portland-based Regional Water Providers Consortium. In her spare time she coordinates the Alameda Elementary School Discovery Garden.