Go Bag #3: Food
In the fourth of this regular series I explore what you need to put in your go bag. This week: food.
Now you’ve got enough water and some shelter it’s time to turn your mind to your stomach. Whilst the average adult can survive more than a week without food they won’t be functioning too well.
Food will keep you energised, help stop you from getting sick and most importantly boost your morale.
For your go bag food needs to satisfy a few requirements:
Weight – You’re going to be lugging it around, so tinned food is out. You need to go for food that is light and in lightweight packaging.
Energy – To keep you going you’re going to want to eat small amounts often. So nutritious, energy dense food is important.
Water – You’re already using your limited supply for drinking so you don’t want to be re-hydrating food, or cooking something. By the same token foods that are very dry or salty will make you thirsty, putting further strain on your water supplies.
Shelf life – You don’t expect to be needing your go bag on a regular basis, so your food needs to last a while. At least six months is a good length (change it when you do your smoke detectors and other emergency kit maintenance). Don’t forget that there’s a difference between the various forms of labelling “best before” dates.
Taste – At the end of the day though you want food you like. This will boost your spirits and make it easier to rotate your stash so it doesn’t go stale.
All these factors limit your options pretty significantly. Think about packing Muesli/Granola bars, trail mix (aka scroggin), nuts (unsalted), some chocolate, dried fruit, some crackers and spread (in a tube or plastic container) and other pre-packed snacks. I know some folk who swear by tubes of sweetened condensed milk, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Others will get some army rations/MREs, but these aren’t necessarily terribly tasty. Just make sure there’s some variety.
As for the amount there isn’t really any rule of thumb. You probably should have enough to stretch out over 2-3 days, but this may not be practical depending on what else you have in your go bag and how much weight you’re willing to carry.
Do you have a favourite food for your go bag? Leave a note in the comments and I’ll add it to the post.
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The Census and Emergency Management
Yesterday saw the release of the first batch of data from the 2011 Australian Census and my inner statistics nerd was very excited. But the census is not just for demographers and statistics nerds – it has real practical uses for emergency managers. Here’s just a few areas where it comes in handy:
Risk Management
Risk is often characterised as Hazard X Vulnerability. Hazard is generally easy to determine and there are substantial studies on natural hazards in particular. Vulnerability can be much more difficult to determine, especially when talking about people. What makes someone vulnerable will ultimately depend on a host of complicated factors and relationships, but demographic data can provide some coarse indicators.
A description of a community and its vulnerabilities is grounded in solid demographic data, the best of which comes from the census. It can suggest specific issues in a community and allow researchers to target further work to better reveal and understand its vulnerabilities.
The census reveals a raft of data about socioeconomic status, education, age, family characteristics, motor vehicle ownership, English language ability and employment. It can help identify communities where there are concentrations of people who may be more vulnerable in the event of a disaster and thus at higher risk. This can inform risk assessments and ultimately target mitigation and preparedness measures at these communities.
Evacuation
Modern evacuation management depends on demographic data to ensure that the population of an area can be evacuated safely in the event of an emergency. It is particularly relevant for emergencies where there is some warning such as floods, tropical cyclones and bush fires. Here are some key items useful in evacuation planning which can be derived from census data:
Total Population: This number isn’t as important as you might think, but it’s a good starting point. Evacuation centres need to be able to cope with evacuees who go there, but most people who evacuate prefer to stay with friends and family. Still the total population can give an indication of the number of people evacuation centres may need to assist.
Number of households: Although technologically based systems, such as Emergency Alert in Australia, are being increasingly utilised by the emergency services doorknocking remains a mainstay of evacuation warning. It is an effective means of warning, particularly when combined with other methods such as mass media and new technology. Doorknocking is resource intensive in terms of personnel and time. To know how many teams you need or how long it will take you need to know the number of doors that need to be knocked. The census provides answer in the number of households in an area.
Number of cars: In Australia and most other developed nations motor vehicles are the traditional method of evacuation. Australian emergency managers pioneered simple methods for calculating the time required to evacuate an area along a limited number of routes. The number of motor vehicles is a key factor in this calculation. Most households will take all their cars with them, so you can’t just rely on household numbers. With the rise in number of motor vehicles per household, knowledge of the number and growth over time in an area is critical to ensuring safe evacuation.
Number of households without cars: This is a critical factor to ensure that sufficient alternative transport is provided to evacuate those without a vehicle.
Number of vulnerable people: Those who are elderly, have a disability or are from a Non-English Speaking background may find it difficult to either evacuate on their own, or understand the evacuation warnings. These people are present in all areas, but if the census identifies a particular concentration this can allow for emergency planners to take their needs into account and plan accordingly.
Census data can also show changes in population in an area over time indicating when evacuation routes may reach capacity. This should trigger the need to either curb development or increase the capacity of these routes.
Community Engagement
Community engagement material and programs will function best if they are targeted and tailored to the at risk communities. Some of the useful census data for community engagement includes:
Language: A common and relatively cheap option is to reprint preparedness materials in different languages and then distribute these materials among the communities who speak that language.
Non-Private Dwellings: The census doesn’t just count people at home. It counts people in hospitals, prisons and other institutions. This can help emergency managers identify areas with a large concentration of facilities like nursing homes and hotels, which need to be targeted with education materials specific to their circumstances.
Private Dwelling types: The types of private dwellings in an area and the number of people in them can also suggest how community engagement should be targeted. For example caravans are a high risk group combining both high hazard (caravan parks are often in hazard prone areas) and high vulnerability (long term residents of caravan parks often have low socioeconomic status and may also be elderly or have a disability). Census data can identify at a broad scale areas with large concentrations of caravan residents enabling emergency managers to locate the individual parks and target education efforts.
New features in the 2011 census
There have been some changes to the way the census data is packaged for use. Of particular relevance to emergency managers are changes to the geographical areas on which census data is reported have improved in granularity. This allows emergency managers to examine demographic data on much smaller areas. Over time this will enable approaches that are increasingly customised towards communities.
Go Bag #2: Shelter
In the third of this regular series I explore what you need to put in your go bag. This week: shelter.
If your home or workplace becomes unsafe or is destroyed, and other buildings aren’t safe you’re going to need somewhere to stay. That means that you really need to think about shelter if you’re in an area prone to devastating earthquakes.
The most important thing here is climate:
How hot or cold does it get in your location, especially at night? What about rain, or snow? And if it does rain, how cold is it usually. Being wet is uncomfortable – being cold and wet can kill.
You can choose a tent or, if you’re the adventurous type, two tarpaulins and some rope will usually work nicely.
You will also need something to keep you warm. An emergency blanket, regular blanket or sleeping bag will work, also consider that you might need some insect repellent. Make sure that if you need a sleeping bag, it’s rated for the sort of weather you might be facing.
Think about your pets too. Much of the time evacuation centres won’t have the facilities to cater for them. Even though you might be safe and dry make sure you have taken their needs into account.
Go Bag #1: Water
In the second of this regular series I explore what you need to put in your go bag. This week: water.
A healthy adult can last a week or more without food, but only a couple of days without water. In a disaster water supplies may be contaminated or just plain unavailable. Thus, if you put nothing else in your Go Bag ensure you have some water.
How Much?
Depending on size, amount of exercise and climate the average adult will need to drink 2-4 litres of water a day. You can calculate what your needs might be here. Add a little extra for sanitation, multiply it by a few days and your talking about 15 litres, per bag. One litre of water weighs one kilogram so your Go Bag could get pretty heavy if you carry all the water you need fresh.
However all these treatment methods below depend on you finding water, which may or may not be easy. I recommend you carry as much clean water in your Go Bag as you can.
Bottled Water
There’s a range of different ways to carry fresh water. You can buy it bottled or use containers (including ‘Camel-back’ type bladders). Remember to periodically change the water, particularly if you’re using your own bottles.
I prefer one litre clear plastic bottles. It means your supply is split up (in case one of the bottles breaks or is contaminated) and once you’ve finished a bottle, you can use the empty to start purifying any water you find straight away.
Purification
As you can’t carry enough water to sustain you for more than a couple of days the answer is purification. There’s a variety of methods you can use, but regardless of your choice you should always try and purify the freshest water you can find.
One pitfall of purification is that although most methods will kill all micro-organisms in the water, they generally can’t remove any chemical contamination such as pollutants.
All these methods are less effective (including the filters, which are designed for small particles including bacteria) if the water you find has lots of dirt or other matter in it. You should try and use some sort of coarse filter (or you can make an effective filter using sand, material and a funnel) to remove most of the gunk before proceeding.
Boiling
Boiling water is the tried and true method of killing germs, including viruses and parasites. However it’s dependent on having a container to boil the water in (though I have seen water boiled in a plastic bottle) and enough fuel to light a fire. Don’t depend on this method.
Filters
A mainstay of stationary disaster water purification systems there are also portable filters that will remove all micro-organisms from water (though beware, most cheaper filters won’t). The advantage of some filters is that they can also remove certain pollutants and other contamination. The disadvantage of filters is that they can be expensive, bulky, clog easily and once they’re broke are difficult or impossible to fix. If you choose to carry one in your go bag don’t forget to back it up with something else.
You can buy filters at most camping and trekking supply stores.
Chemical
The two prevailing chemical treatments are chlorine and iodine. There’s not a huge difference between the two (though there’s plenty of arguments on the interwebz about which is the superior treatment), but keep in mind that some people can be allergic to iodine. There’s a variety of different formulations out there, just follow the instructions on the container. I like chemicals cause they’re cheap, lightweight and can purify a lot of water.
Depending on where you are you can purchase these products at chemists/drugists, camping stores and supermarkets.
Alternatives
There are also UV sterilisers on the market as well as other chemical products which use silver. UV sterilisers use precious batteries and silver treatments are not widely available but depending on your situation may be worth investigating.
Alternatively if you’re out of options a clear (PET) plastic bottle filled with shaken water left out in the sun for around 6 hours should kill most microbes.
Go Bag: Are you ready to get out?
Recently I’ve finished putting together my ‘Go Bag’ and collecting together supplies for some of my friends. The threat of a major earthquake here in the Kathmandu Valley is very real. It was rated as having by far the highest risk of all megacities in a study by the Global Earthquake Safety Initiative. Having a Go Bag is the first step to being prepared for a major earthquake should it happen whilst I’m living here.
As one of the cornerstones of disaster preparedness I’ll be writing a series of articles about Go Bags and their contents.
For some localised guidance check the websites of your local, state or national governments and emergency services or your national Red Cross/Red Crescent society.
What is a Go Bag?
Alternately called a ‘Grab and Go Bag’ or a ‘Bug-Out-Bag’ (and a range of other cute names and acronyms) the Go Bag is a kit of essential supplies to carry with you if you need to evacuate in an emergency.
Why have a Go Bag?
A Go Bag is the first practical step to being prepared for a disaster, whether it’s a large earthquake a chemical spill or a house fire. But when I ask people about their Go Bag, they often respond that they have those items lying around the house.
Unfortunately that just won’t cut it in a disaster. The purpose of the Go Bag is that you can literally grab it and go. If you need to evacuate you don’t want to be digging through drawers and cupboards trying to pull together supplies, and then find you’re missing key items.
A Go Bag might not save your life, but it will sure make dealing with the emergency much easier and improve your comfort during the first 72 hours. And if you’re able to look after yourself, that means that the emergency services can use their limited supplies to look after those who are more in need.
A Go Bag is just one element of disaster preparedness. It’s also important know your risks, have a plan and a way to communicate with friends and family, prepare your property and get some training.
Go-Bag vs Emergency Kit
Many preparedness education will also tell you to have an emergency kit (also called a home survival kit, home emergency kit or household kit). An emergency kit is a larger box with additional supplies to help you survive in your home if you have to shelter in place, either inside or near your home. These kits often duplicate some items in a go bag but they go further, having supplies and equipment for at least 72 hours.
You can use your Go Bag to form the core of your emergency kit but it might be a good idea to duplicate some of the items in case you can’t find or access your Go Bag.
The #1 Item: Your Head
What’s the first thing in your Go Bag? It’s thinking about what you need to put in there.
Think about the hazards that might affect your area, the strength of infrastructure and emergency services. Research any public safety advice about evacuations. If the local emergency services don’t provide this information you’re going to need to come up with it yourself.
If you have to evacuate, where might you need to go, how long will it take you to get there and how long would you expect to be out of your house? For example if you’re a foreign national working or volunteering in a disaster prone area, you may think that you’d be flown out but it could take days or weeks, in which time you might have very little support.
Also think about your own needs, including any medical conditions or allergies and those of your family and pets too.
There’s no substitute for putting together your own Go Bag. Even if you buy one that’s ready made, it will have some items missing that you’ll need to add on your own such as documents and medications. Having said that a pre-made bag can be an easy and quick way of assembling the core items for your Go Bag. Just make sure you familiarise yourself with the contents and add what you need.
So what goes into a Go Bag? Stay tuned for the next instalment.
Casus Calamitas 