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Emergency Preparedness Kit
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Be Prepared
Who better to dole out advice on emergency preparedness kits than the Boy Scouts? Here's a summary of their recommendations. What you have on hand when a disaster happens could make a big difference. Plan to store enough supplies for everyone in your household for at least three days.
- Water. Have at least one gallon per person per day.
- Food. Pack non-perishable, high-protein items, including energy bars, ready-to-eat soup, peanut butter, etc. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking, and little or no water.
- Flashlight. Include extra batteries.
- First Aid Kit. Include a reference guide.
- Medications. Don't forget both prescription and non-prescription items.
- Weather Radio. Battery- or crank-operated. Include extra batteries.
- Tools. Include a wrench to turn off gas if necessary, a manual can opener, screwdriver, hammer, pliers, knife, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and garbage bags and ties.
- Clothing. Provide a change of clothes for everyone, including sturdy shoes and gloves.
- Personal Items. Remember eyeglasses or contact lenses and solution; copies of important papers, including identification cards, insurance policies, birth certificates, passports, etc.; and comfort items such as toys and books.
- Sanitary Supplies. You'll want toilet paper, towelettes, feminine supplies, personal hygiene items, bleach, etc.
- Money. Have cash. (ATMs and credit cards won't work if the power is out.)
- Contact Information. Include a current list of family phone numbers and email addresses, including someone out of the area who may be easier to reach by email if local phone lines are overloaded.
- Pet Supplies. Include food, water, leash, litter box or plastic bags, tags, medications, and vaccination information.
- Map. Consider marking an evacuation route on it from your local area.
Original Y2K Article
The following article by Paul Mladjenovic was originally written as a sort of emergency preparedness kit to help home businesses deal with the Year 2000 problem. That crisis has passed, but the article still contains sound advice for home businesses looking for better protection, especially in times of crisis.
Now, the article...
There has been growing awareness that the Year 2000 Problem will be far more than just a computer glitch that is giving programmers the greatest challenge of their careers. Y2K will affect everyone and every industry. What are the potential hazards of Y2K to our society and economy? In particular, how will it affect home businesses?
Although everyone is unanimous that Y2K will have a negative effect, experts have divergent opinions on how bad it will get. Informed observers see a wide range of problems, great and small, affecting all industries. The scenarios that could hit us range from a recession with temporary service disruptions (the optimistic outlook) to a full-blown depression that could last 10 years (the alarmist outlook). The empirical data coupled by the views of government agencies and industry analysts show enough evidence that either of these scenarios (and anything in between) is a real possibility.
The evidence for potential calamity is sobering and gives cause for concern. Just look at a few indications...
The Federal government is behind schedule. IRS, Department of Defense, US Postal Service, US Treasury and most state and local governments are not on schedule for completion of their programming deadlines. This could wreak havoc for taxpayers, retirees and businesses.
The utilities industry is behind schedule. According to some utilities analysts and trade groups, there will almost certainly be power outages that will cripple many metropolitan areas across the country. The blackouts could last from a few days to a few months. In some cases, longer.
The telecommunications industry is behind schedule. According to USA Today, half the industry will experience a disabling of one or more mission-critical systems. This in turn will severely disrupt the Internet and dependent businesses.
The banking industry is behind schedule. Some banks could be forced out of business while others may be closed for a few days. How could you pay bills or make deposits?
Most of the Fortune 500 are behind schedule. Some have not even started their efforts to manage Y2K problems while many do not have contingency plans for the inevitable problems that await them. In addition, a majority of small and mid-sized businesses are not ready to deal with Y2K.
Many of the personal computers currently being used by individuals and businesses are not Y2K compliant. Unless remedied, these PCs will not recognize some dates. This will obviously cause problems for anyone processing date-sensitive information.
How will these challenges affect home businesses? Think about the ramifications for any entrepreneur. How would your business fare during extended blackouts? If your metropolitan area's utilities get downed by the Y2K crisis, the loss of electricity could last 3 hours, 3 days or 30 days. This could even ignite social unrest. Could your organization survive during this period? Do you have an emergency preparedness kit?
With consumers and businesses dealing with disruptions of electricity, banking services, water, food, transportation gridlock, etc. How will that affect day-to-day operations?
If disruptions continue for 30-60 days or longer, what kind of difficulties would arise?
Yes, these potential conditions paint a tough picture. I am not saying that these things are a certainty; they are a possibility. We have to come to the realization that the Y2K Problem is not a "distant" problem that is just a big headache for computer programmers and a nuisance to us. It is not merely a computer or technical problem. It a business, financial and social problem that will affect all of us in some degree or another. The reason that Y2K is such a vexing challenge and virtually unfixable is that it is a system-wide problem. Our society is totally immersed in computer dependency. Disruptions and difficulties are unavoidable.
Computers are an ingrained part of nearly every process in a modern economy. Even if 90% of all the businesses and government agencies repair their systems and achieve 100% Year 2000 compliance, it is not enough. They will still have to interact with the 10% that are not compliant. The non-compliant data could then corrupt the compliant system subsequently rendering it non-compliant as well. What can you do?
To protect your business from adverse effects that may occur, some preparation will be critical. Some steps you should take soon are...
Test your computer systems for Year 2000 compliance. If your computer does not recognize the Year 2000 in its date computations, your operations will suffer.
Ask your local municipal agencies if they are Year 2000 compliant. Get this in writing and make sure that their written statement is unequivocal. If they are not Year 2000 compliant push for answers regarding contingency plans. What written guarantees can they give you?
Ask your vendors, suppliers and customers about their Year 2000 efforts. Get unequivocal statements in writing. Is your telephone company compliant? How about your electric utility? Water company? Police and fire departments? Find out.
Keep paper records of all your vital documents. Get hard copies for business, personal, medical and financial transactions and hold in safekeeping and as part of an emergency preparedness kit. If computers issue incorrect data (or no data at all) your records will be crucial.
As you remediate the transactions and data that are vulnerable to Y2K, document your efforts for legal reasons. The Gartner Group, a computer industry consulting group that is specializing on Y2K matters estimates that lawsuits resulting from the Year 2000 Problem will reach $1 trillion. Lawyers will be looking for ways to sue organizations that aggrieved parties will say were negligent in business transactions because of lack-of-preparation for Y2K. Cover yourself.
These points will become more evident as we get into the second half of 1999. Those should be the minimum steps that you should take. For added precaution, you may consider the following...
Minimize your stock investments. Y2K will definitely hit the stock market as investors consider the ramifications of Y2K on companies that have not prepared.
In case your research indicates that utilities may be vulnerable to Y2K, keep some essentials on hand. Stock up on items such as canned food, water, batteries, etc. If you have no access to electricity, food or water for a week or longer, would you have enough provisions on hand until the situation is sorted out? Do you have an emergency preparedness kit?
These points may sound a little extreme but such strategies bear little risk. After all, if your area has no disturbances, no problem. However, if you end up in a problem area then such precautions would prove to be wise. In times of uncertainty, it is best to err on the side of caution.
A writer researching the Year 2000 Problem contacted a Usenet group on the Internet. It was for Y2K programmers. He surveyed them with the following question: How serious is the Year 2000 problem? Rank it on a scale of 1-to-5 with 1 being "no problem," 3 "a workable problem" and 5 for "Horrible - head for the hills." 82 programmers responded. They had experience averaging 19.65 years. The final score for the group was 4.18! In other words, "in-the-know" computer programmers were very worried about the potential problems.
Do not take this article as gospel. Take it as a starting point to your own investigation with your own conclusions and to get together your own emergency preparedness kit. Just do it soon so you can plan properly.
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