Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

Hurricane Sandy

Disaster Response, Disaster Preparedness

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When a disaster like Hurricane Sandy hits, we are reminded yet again that life is fragile. We’ve been reminded before with 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and many other disasters. However, once the dust settles and we’ve had a few days to calm down, the lives of those of us not affected return to normal…and we forget to learn lessons.

Right now, the main focus is on assisting the survivors of this devastating storm. To that end, blogger Jen Malone is offering a charity auction…check out her website if you have an interest in any auction items. I learned about this auction through the Rach Writes blog, so send her some love for passing this on.

What can we learn? Are you prepared for a disaster? Most people aren’t, as evidenced by the way grocery stores empty out just before a storm. I had gotten pretty good at preparing for hurricanes, mainly because I dislike crowds! I guess an anxiety disorder is good for something! We’ve been much more lax, though, now that we live in earthquake country — an unwise move, given that earthquakes often strike without notice. I spent some time yesterday ordering supplies and starting the process of getting organized in case the unthinkable happens. We can’t stop nature, but we can empower ourselves.

Regardless of what type of disaster you are most likely to experience in your area, there are things you can do to be prepared. They include:

  1. Find a safe place to store insurance and financial records. This could be a safe deposit box, or even on the “cloud.”
  2. Never let your car’s gas tank go below a half tank. Has anyone seen the long lines for fuel in the Northeast right now?
  3. Store at least seven days’ food supply and one gallon of water per person per day for seven days.
  4. Keep a “to go” backpack in the house and car. This includes emergency food, first aid, and personal care products. The Red Cross has created several useful kits from which to choose.
  5. Have an evacuation plan.
  6. Learn where to shut off all utilities in your home.

There are a lot more tips available on the Red Cross Website. Washington State also has GetEmergencyPrepared.com, which offers a free, eight-part course on disaster preparedness. It includes a variety of national links useful to anyone.

The weather is changing and becoming ever more severe. The best way to avoid living in fear is to take action. Listen to Hurricane Sandy and the lessons she is offering. Take care!

Sandy: The Scariest of Hallowe’en Stories

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I have a lot of blog posts stacked up, but today they all seem trivial. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, as the clean-up begins and we wait for the latest death toll numbers, we are left with questions. How do we keep Americans safe in the midst of ever-increasing, ever-intensifying weather events? How do we repair a crumbling infrastructure when money is tight — and yet, how do we not? How do we even consider electing someone for our country’s highest office who would privatize the work that FEMA does?

Passionate debates occur online and in the media. Some still stick to their guns that the climate change we see isn’t man-made. Even after Sandy. Even after Richard Muller, a Koch brothers-funded climate change denier, changed his stance last summer. Even with more than 97% of scientists in agreement.

Scary.

We do what we can. A few years ago, when my old Mustang bit the dust, I opted to live without a replacement. We keep our thermostat turned down and add layers of clothing instead. I dry only sheets and towels in the dryer, and hang all our clothing on drying racks. We recycle, compost and look for ways to reuse and reduce the packaging that we use. Most of our food comes from nearby, reducing the energy costs of getting the food to us.

Still, I feel a sense of futility. My efforts feel puny and inadequate.

Yes, let’s donate to the American Red Cross and other organizations who can help our friends and loved ones in the Northeast. Yes, let’s pull together as Americans still seem to do, even in our divided political landscape. But let’s also not waste this catastrophic event to have the real discussions we need to have. I am grateful for Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for daring to utter the words “climate change,” which have been erased from political debates. We need to bring those words front and center.

Today, local children will dress up in their costumes and parade through downtown, where we will applaud them. We’ll give away lots of little Kit Kat bars (I hope so, anyway, because we sure have a bunch of them!). We’ll have fun and enjoy Hallowe’en. Maybe we’ll tell a ghost story or two…and we’ll try not to let the real scary story keep us up at night. This is not an imaginary monster hiding under the bed. This is real. We need to change.