Emergency Prep Drills

[moolie]

Last day of the challenge, I think they've run out of steam because it's not exactly a "prep" challenge... today's challenge is to prepare a "nice" meal for someone in need, from only shelf-stable foods.

I do have a friend who has just had a baby, and I did take her some pints of home canned soup, chili, stew and a couple of loaves of home made bread (one to eat and one to pop into the freezer for when she needs it) so I guess that counts.

 

[Joel_BC]

Hope moolie and family are doing okay. She's in a place (Calgary) that's experiencing one of the biggest natural disasters in Canadian history. Big flood. Undercut river banks, houses crumpling, blocked main highways, power outages, disrupted city streets, water up to the windows of parked cars. A lot of people evacuated from their homes. Many workplaces shut down. The city government predicted, days ago, a 10-year recovery for the city.

I hope moolie's family is located where the issues haven't been too severe.

I'm sure she'll have a good deal to relate, and solid experience to further inform us from.

 

[moolie]

Hi Joel, thanks for checking in we're fine, not really affected as we are on high ground, although my husband wasn't allowed to go in to work downtown since Thursday until today, and today's commute took forever.

Many people along the two rivers that flow through our city were evacuated from their homes Thursday evening or in the wee hours of Friday morning, electricity and natural gas services is still out in some parts of downtown and in many of the evacuated neighborhoods. We've been working to help others wherever possible while hubs was off work, and will continue to do so until the job is done, as we have friends in many of the affected areas.

Thursday night we had a good hard look at the plans we have in place should we have been in the position that 75,000 people were in--evacuation. And we think we would have done ok had that knock on the door come at 3am. But we are so glad it didn't come for us, because the digging out is nasty and it is going to take a very long time.

This disaster has brought people together though, to work to just get it done and get on with life. And I'm so happy to see my city responding in such a positive way and to see real "neighborhoods" in action

A link to some photos of what is happening here:

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/06/2...cleod Tr., part of 7 Ave. C-Train re-opening

 

[moolie]

And photos of High River, a town about half an hour south of the city that was the hardest hit--everyone in the town of 13,000 was evacuated and no one is allowed to go back yet.

We have friends there who are staying with friends and family in the city for now. They are going to need so much help to dig out--their homes and businesses were completely inundated by the flood waters, and the town is a serious mess still today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/townofhighriver/sets/72157634304715206/

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206922122793595.1073741828.111711268981348&type=1

 

[Denim Deb]

Wow, Moolie, glad you're OK!

 

[moolie]

Thanks Deb

It's been another busy day volunteering, but I'm sure sleeping well each night despite the heat--summer seems to finally have arrived.

 

[baymule]

Glad you are ok Moolie and that you didn't have to evacuate. What is happening in your town made the news way down here in Texas. Around here, during a hurricane when nobody has power, the joke is, "If you can't watch the news, it's because you ARE the news!

 

[Britesea]

Oh my, I'm so glad you are ok. Thank heaven for high ground!

 

[moolie]

Thanks everyone

I forgot to mention, in response to Joel, that my kids have both remarked since the disaster began that they never thought they'd need the emergency kits we made for them to keep at school, but now they totally take them seriously. School is over for the summer, but they have plans to tweak their individual kits before they go back to school in the fall. So I'll try to remember to write about that when it happens

 

[moolie]

Just re-read the rest of this thread and it brought several things to mind about the recent disaster:

-People panic. They freak out and the first thing they do is go to the grocery store and buy all the bottled water, bread, milk etc. Which in my neighborhood was totally unwarranted because we were in no danger and our water supply was never compromised. BUT the power went out in many neighborhoods, including ones next to affected neighborhoods, and all that extra food would have gone to waste because it's not the shelf-stable stuff that people were buying up.

-People gawk. In the midst of the worst of the flooding, when river levels were rising unbelievably fast, people went down to WATCH it happen--in droves. And they also posted pictures of people doing stupid things on facebook.

-People lose it. City and Provincial officials have just begun letting citizens of High River back into their town, on a bus to look at the damage. Tomorrow will be the first day that anyone other than emergency services people will be allowed back into their neighborhoods, and they are only letting people back into areas that were mostly unaffected. Houses are tagged green for fine, yellow for will need some repairs, orange for major repairs, and red for demolition. Only green and yellow people can go home tomorrow. In the 8 days since the evacuation last Thursday people have got louder and louder about being kept away. It's unsafe, and we get daily updates about that, but people can't handle the stress and they are freaking out at emergency responders and specifically the Mayor (who is really just the mouthpiece giving the updates).

-People give. There has been such an outpouring of spontaneous help, and just darn care and concern for others. Random people from unaffected areas heading into the flood zone, knocking on doors, and helping rip out wet basement drywall and moudly furniture. People making sandwiches and cookies and taking them to said workers. Local businesses donating shovels and gloves and buckets and garbage bins toward said efforts. Local food trucks and donut restaurants dropping by affected neighborhoods with free food. The City extending the deadline on property taxes (a July thing here), local utilities extending billing deadlines, and banks not charging penalties for late payments. And so much more. There's been very little in the way of looting--mostly a few targeted thefts that may have happened anyway. One news report had it that crime is way down since the disaster hit.

-People forget. Quickly. People in unaffected areas were asked to stay out of the downtown core while it was being cleaned up and until power was restored, and to stay off the roads to make way for emergency responders. That lasted about a day. Once the sun came out, people in unaffected areas hit the mall, and the grocery stores, and wherever else the heck they wanted to go--cause hey, they didn't have to go to work. So they Mayor had to keep repeating the message--stay home unless you are part of the efforts. With the water so turbid, the Mayor also asked everyone to cut back on their water usage due to the strain on the filtration plants, and I really wonder if anyone is still paying attention. I'm watering my garden by hand with kitchen grey water that I'm collecting in a bucket because of the water restrictions. But I wonder if anyone else is paying attention now that a week has gone by. The resevoirs still look like thick chocolate milk, so the issue is still real.

It's going to take at least all summer for those mildly affected to repair their homes and replace minor things lost. It's going to take years to get back to "normal" for those hit hardest--homes slated for demolition because they are unsafe. My family is very fortunate indeed to have come through untouched, other than the fact that we are helping others. Counting our blessings.