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Apr 2006 Issue
by Lori Nawn
When compiling your family’s 72-Hour Kits, don’t forget menu cards, ID cards, and seasonal items.
A menu card, detailing at what intervals food should be consumed, is vital to ensuring supplies are rationed appropriately. In a disaster, following a prewritten guide to sustain life will be much more effective than attempting to make decisions mid-crisis. Likewise, an ID card can aid those too stressed to remember important details. On a 3X5 card record name, address, phone number and emergency numbers, names of family members living in the home, Social Security Number, immunization dates, blood type and medical needs. Photo and fingerprints can also be added to the card which can be either laminated or enclosed in a Ziploc bag.
Since disasters have no regard for season, plan accordingly. Each spring and fall, reassess your family’s kits. For winter, add thermal clothing, as well as warm hats, gloves and socks. In the spring, add bug spray and replace winter clothing items with items intended for more moderate temperatures. For year round use, include sunscreen, lip balm, hand warmers, and bandanas. Hand warmers not only warm extremities in the winter but also provide comfort for aches and pains. Bandanas can serve as coverings for the head, hot pads, signal flags, washrags, and first-aid helps (tourniquet, sling, or bandage).
With a little forethought, items you may have overlooked adding to your 72-Hour kits will pay big dividends in a disaster.
Contributed by Lori Nawn. She is an author, photographer and artist. Visit her at www.lorinawyn.com.
