Hurricane Sandy is taking aim at a huge swath of the East Coast this week, and she’s got me pretty worried. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from working at the American Red Cross for three years is this: never underestimate and always prepare.
Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to get ready this week:
- Buying food that doesn’t require refrigeration
- Stocking up on drinkable water
- Filling up the gas tank in the car (this was a major problem last time we lost power – no gas stations nearby available for a couple days)
- Making sure we have enough supply of dog food, toilet paper, batteries, prescription medications
- Putting flashlights and battery powered lamps in an easily accessible place
At the same time, the well-oiled machine of Red Cross disaster services has leapt into action, and much larger preparations are taking place:
- The Disaster Operations Center is activated
- Tech equipment and Red Cross volunteers/workers are deploying to areas likely to be affected
- Coordination calls with local chapters and disaster relief partners are happening
- Plans to work through the weekend in the Disaster Operations Center are being formed and staffing confirmed
If you’re in a potentially affected area, please take this seriously and prepare! You can download our Hurricane app if you have a smartphone, or visit our power outage tips and hurricane tips pages.
And as always, if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to reach out to us! We will be sharing info on the Red Cross Facebook page, Twitter account, and Disaster Online Newsroom. I’m also available on my Twitter account at @riaglo.