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In the Face of Disaster: Protecting Your Family and Home · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to Talking Facts.
• 0:03
  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized award winning podcast is hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals,
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  families and communities to improve quality of life.
• 0:24
  Hello and welcome to Talking Facts.
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  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
• 0:30
  I am your host,
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  Mindy mcculley Extension Specialist for instructional support at the University of Kentucky.
• 0:37
  When natural disaster strikes,
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  it not only impacts our own family but often entire neighborhoods or communities in the face of disaster.
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  A disaster preparedness and response program presented by Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky seeks to give families the resources they need to prepare for a natural disaster before it occurs and rebound in the aftermath.
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  My guests today are Harden Stevens,
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  Senior Extension Associate in Family and Consumer Sciences and Miranda Beta A phd student in Family Sciences program.
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  Miranda is also the graduate research assistant with family and Consumer Sciences.
• 1:22
  Our topic today is preparing your family and home for a natural disaster while we all have little control over disasters.
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  There are steps that you can take before a disaster occurs to keep your home and family safe.
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  Preparing in advance may be especially helpful when disasters come with little warning.
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  If we don't know that a disaster is coming.
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  How in the world can we prepare for this?
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  Yeah,
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  one of the best things that you can do is take time to create a disaster preparedness plan with your family.
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  As you're creating your plan,
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  consider giving each family member a specific task such as getting the emergency kit or overseeing emergency alerts as they're issued.
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  You can also create an emergency contact list and save it in your phone.
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  Keep a printed copy and post it somewhere that's easily accessible for all family members on that list.
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  Include anyone you may need to reach in an emergency such as family,
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  medical professionals and local resources like your county cooperative extension office,
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  always update your list regularly,
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  especially if that contact information may change and mindy,
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  I would like to add that uh having an evacuation plan in place.
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  Should you need to leave your home?
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  It is recommended to have two designated meeting points,
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  one close to your home in case of a a fire or another in the home disaster and one outside of your neighborhood in case you must evacuate the immediate area.
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  Some things to consider should you need to leave is uh emergency shelters,
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  hotels or the home of a trusted family member or friend and you can print uh directions to your evacuation points and keep them somewhere accessible,
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  such as in your vehicle.
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  Some things to keep in mind though is roads may be blocked depending on the disaster.
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  So you might need to take an alternate route.
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  And also we encourage you to be mindful of any special needs.
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  Your family might have based on age medical conditions or their dietary requirements and also consider pets in any of your plans by practicing and updating your emergency plan and kit regularly,
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  especially as the needs of your family changes or the items inside the kit might expire.
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  So I know that in my community,
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  there are different types of,
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  of alerts that I can receive on my seat cell phone or on email.
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  So how do people access those alerts?
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  Uh That's a great question,
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  Mindy.
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  There are several ways you can receive emergency alerts such as television,
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  radio,
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  cellphone or other mobile devices or uh the public siren system.
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  There's the NOA which is N O A A which stands for and it's a mouthful National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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  Weather radios are one way to get the information and they continuously broadcast weather and other hazard information to all 50 states.
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  Uh You had mentioned earlier,
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  there's also uh you can download mobile apps such as the American Red Cross Emergency App,
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  uh the Fema app.
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  And uh we would encourage you to do that before an emergency so that you can stay updated about local disasters and alerts if there is a specific emergency in your zip code.
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  Also by keeping flashlights and batteries charging devices or power packs and a hand crank radio on hand in the event of a power outage.
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  What are the different types of alerts and warnings for emergency alerts?
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  Generally,
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  there are three different types of emergency alerts that you might receive.
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  So you might receive an advisory,
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  a watch or a warning.
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  A weather advisory lets you know that a nonlife threatening hazard is expected nearby.
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  Whereas a weather watch such as a tornado watch advises you to get prepared because a hazard might occur in your area.
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  A weather warning such as a thunderstorm warning informs you that a serious hazard is already occurring or will occur very soon during a weather warning.
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  You should act as local authorities and disaster alerts,
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  advise to keep yourself and those around you safe.
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  So we have experienced some major disasters in Kentucky in the last year.
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  But what are the different types of disasters that are frequently seen in Kentucky?
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  Some of the most common natural disasters in Kentucky are tornadoes,
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  landslides and earthquakes,
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  but we might also experience severe winter storms,
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  thunderstorms,
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  fires and floods.
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  So when we think about tornadoes and thunderstorms,
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  the precautions are very similar,
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  we want to get indoors,
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  avoid windows and get to an interior room such as a bathroom or a center hallway.
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  If possible if you cannot get inside and a tornado is approaching,
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  take some,
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  take shelter somewhere low,
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  such as in a ditch and regardless of where you take shelter during a tornado,
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  get low and protect your head from flying debris.
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  While any protection is better than none,
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  using thick sturdy items will offer the most protection you can use whatever you have around you.
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  But if you have advanced notice,
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  consider grabbing a bicycle or sports helmet.
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  If you have one as we saw in eastern Kentucky in 2022 flooding can be catastrophic.
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  Listen to your local radio television and weather stations.
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  If significant rainfall or river cresting is expected in your area or if a flood watch or warning has been issued,
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  pack necessities,
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  locate your emergency kit and be ready to evacuate.
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  Now as you're evacuating,
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  you do want to avoid driving through floodwaters and over bridges.
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  And when you're on foot,
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  you want to avoid any water that could have electricity in it.
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  Even shallow moving water can sweep away your vehicle,
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  knock you over and contain debris.
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  But the key action to prepare for a fire is to make sure that smoke alarms are installed and that the batteries are replaced regularly,
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  test smoke alarms so that everyone in your home knows what they sound like.
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  Especially younger Children,
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  teach everyone how to dial 911 how to use a fire extinguisher and stop drop and roll.
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  If a fire starts,
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  get out of the home or location and,
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  and call 911 immediately.
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  You can yell fire to alert other family members and you always want to use stairs when you're evacuating and avoid opening doors that feel warm smoke rises.
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  So remain low to the ground and avoid the smoke as much as possible.
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  Stop drop and roll if your clothing catches on fire.
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  Additionally to what Miranda shared,
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  uh we also have earthquakes and if you're thinking earthquakes don't occur in Kentucky,
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  you are mistaken.
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  According to the Kentucky Geological Survey,
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  there have been at least 77 earthquakes on record for Kentucky since 1931 during an earthquake,
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  seek places that can provide protection.
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  These places should be away from windows and things that could fall on.
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  You consider what furniture you could shelter under to protect your head and body from falling objects.
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  Also during an earthquake,
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  it is advised to drop cover and hold on,
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  avoid moving as much as possible and use what is around you to protect your body.
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  And then we are all familiar with winter weather.
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  And uh in Kentucky,
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  winter weather could include low temperatures,
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  freezing rain,
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  ice storms and snow and blizzards.
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  A frozen fuel line can prevent you from evacuating in an emergency.
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  So to avoid this,
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  keep your gas tank full,
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  keep items in your car such as blankets,
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  coats,
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  food water to keep you warm and safe.
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  Kitty litter or sand is good for tire traction.
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  If you get stuck in the snow and if you become stranded in your vehicle,
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  call for help and remain inside your exhaust pipe,
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  should be clear of snow before continuing to run the vehicle to conserve gass,
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  only run the vehicle for 10 minutes per hour.
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  And if you're in your home,
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  be prepared with supplies to keep warm.
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  If you lose power and heat,
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  wear layers of warm clothing and hats.
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  If you must go outside,
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  remain indoors as much as possible.
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  Dress in layers,
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  stay together with your family and pets in one room of your home and have extra blankets and food on hand.
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  And then if you are planning on using a fireplace,
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  wood burning stove or portable generator,
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  note how to operate those safely,
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  gas grills and generators produce carbon monoxide and should never be brought inside the home as a heating source.
• 10:34
  These are all great tips for preparing for a natural disaster before we wrap up.
• 10:42
  Is there anything that you want to point out as we finish out this podcast?
• 10:48
  Well,
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  Mindy,
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  we have all heard the importance of um,
• 10:52
  a disaster preparedness,
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  but again,
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  we just want to reiterate that and,
• 10:57
  uh,
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  we cannot recommend highly enough how important it is to talk with your family about disaster preparedness and safety plans and how that can reduce fears and ensure everyone knows what to do.
• 11:10
  If an emergency arises again,
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  preparing in advance can help protect you,
• 11:16
  your family and your home when disaster strikes.
• 11:20
  I thank you both for taking the time to share with me about this important topic.
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  I know that as we have been discussing preparing for disasters uh on the podcast for the past several weeks,
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  you all have really provided a great summary of everything that everyone else has said.
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  So I do appreciate you both joining me.
• 11:43
  Thank you,
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  Mindy.
• 11:44
  Thank you,
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  Mindy.
• 11:45
  Preparing for a natural disaster can be a long process and there are many considerations which we did not discuss today,
• 11:54
  but you can always learn more by doubt,
• 11:57
  the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Service publication series in the face of disaster which covers ways to prepare for an emergency and ways to recover if affected topics include finances,
• 12:12
  food and water considerations,
• 12:14
  ways to protect your family and home and how to take care of your mental health after a traumatic event.
• 12:22
  If you are just tuning in,
• 12:23
  you have been listening to Talking Facts,
• 12:26
  which is available wherever you get your favorite podcast.
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• 12:40
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• 12:42
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• 12:43
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• 12:44
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• 12:56
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