IN MY OPINION
My goal in this article is to share
pertinent points I picked up at this event.
The most important point is that grassroots citizens like you and me
MUST DO OUR PART in educating our community on being prepared. Recall what you saw on television during Hurricane
Katrina and realize that we all need to take action on the information below.
Don’t wait. Get ready
now.
Citizen preparedness makes sense whether it’s a house fire, natural
disaster, pandemic flu or a terrorist attack.
Recommended supplies to include
in a basic kit for emergencies include: water: one gallon per person per
day for drinking and sanitation; food: a three day supply of non-perishable
food; battery-powered radio and extra batteries; flashlight and extra batteries;
first aid kit; whistle; filter mask or
cotton t-shirt to filter the air; moist towelettes for sanitation; wrench or
pliers to turn off utilities; manual can opener for food; plastic sheeting and
duct tape for shelter-in-place; garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation;
unique family needs, such as prescriptions, infant formula, important documents.
Consider a family communications plan
where each on contacts the same out of town person in the event of an emergency.
Go to www.ready.gov to learn more or call 1 800 BE-READY
for a free brochure.
We have a Citizen Corps Council in our state ready to speak at a civic group
meeting to relay our local activities in this effort. Contact Bob George in
A Medical Reserve Corps at
Our Division of Public Health is stockpiling equipment, antiviral drugs,
equipping incident response teams and educating the public about readiness for
health emergencies such as an outbreak of the avian flu.
Please do your part in contacting
speaker, visiting web sites and reading brochures on these important public
safety measures. Dr. Jaime Rivera of
Let’s be the first state of preparedness! Thank you for this opportunity to share with
you a topic of interest and concern. Go
to www.pandemicflu.gov for a Faith-Based
and Community Organizations Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Checklist.
Get ready now!
Respectfully yours,
Pam Maier
State Representative 21st District
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