Stake Emergency Preparedness and Home Storage Initiatives

Give the gift of preparedness and the peace of mind to have emergency supplies this season.

Our bodies can only survive 3 to 4 days without water. It is vital to our survival. It is important to store a minimum of 1 gallon of water per person per day. It would be best to store more

if possible, for cooking and sanitation. Know how to safely store and rotate water for your household. Remember to have a plan for emergency water in your vehicle and at your office or school. Learn how to purify water if needed and have the necessary supplies.

The lack of sanitation facilities following major disasters can quickly create secondary problems. Your health may depend on knowing how to properly treat and dispose of waste, avoid contamination, access and maintain food safety and the use of alternative washing stations.

Be aware of possible sewer backflow and what to do. Avoid flood waters. Make a plan and have the supply of protective gloves and masks, soaps and sanitizers, diapers and baby wipes, hygiene products, garbage bags and buckets with lids.

Store foods that are part of your normal diet in your three-month supply. Food that is prepared regularly, can be rotated and is shelf stable is easiest to store and maintain. Starting in March, by purchasing two additional complete meal ingredients per week you will have accumulated about 88 meals by the end of December.

You likely already have many of these supplies at home. You don’t need to go shopping and spend lots of money on supplies. Start with collecting what you have at home. Have Grab and Go Bags for each of your family members. Take time to go through each one regularly. April and October General Conferences are a great time to traditionally inventory your 72-hour kits. Change out seasonal and outgrown clothing, put in fresh batteries, make a list of what is missing or you would like to add, and our kid’s favorite…eat the protein bars and snacks during conference. Description goes here

During an emergency, communication with others may be limited and cell phone will likely not work. Make a plan for communication and reunification with family members. Discuss the types of disasters that are likely to happen and what to do in each case. Pick two places to meet: right outside your home in case of fire and where to meet outside your neighborhood if you cannot return home. Everyone can carry an out-of-area contact card. You may choose to have a secret code word to help assure family identity in communication. Have alternative communication devices such as walkie talkies. Consider Ham radio training. Have your red and green emergency status cards readily available. Learn about your neighborhood plan to communicate from your Block Captain or Emergency Preparedness Specialist.

Summer is a great time to take the challenge to try a new self sufficiency skill. These skills can bring enjoyment and satisfaction to yourself and service to others as you share your new talents. You may be able to use your skills to provide income for yourself. Youth and children can be included in this challenge and be given as a gift. There are so many choices: auto repair and maintenance, sewing and mending, hair cutting, carpentry, furniture restoration, hunting and fishing, orienteering and navigation, swimming and lifeguarding, gardening and composting, babysitter training, budgeting and bookkeeping, building a fire, healthy food choices, candle making, leather tooling and shoe repair, cake decorating and soap making, and tree spraying and pruning….the list goes on and on.

Shelter is synonymous with protection, refuge, safety, and security. Our homes are designed and built to give us shelter. Assess and make a plan to have your home as safe and secure as possible in emergencies. Learn how to recognize damage and dangers in your home. Know when and how to shut off utilities. Have insurance and the documentation required to make a claim. Have an alternative means of shelter (tent, etc.) in the event your home is inhabitable. Plan a campout in your backyard and practice setting up your tent, sleeping in your sleeping bags, cooking outdoors, lighting your lanterns, and playing games and sharing meaningful stories. Decide what you need to make the experience more comfortable in the future, for instance, mosquito repellant and netting! If you must leave your neighborhood, explore your options, and decide and prepare as if this was to happen.

Assessing and planning for possible medical emergencies with the necessary skills and supplies will help you have peace of mind and react calmly when medical help might not be immediately available. Be ready with kits in your home, vehicle, and office. Along with having First Aid and Trauma kits, consider training in First Aid, CPR, AED, Lifeguarding, CERT, and other skills that would be invaluable in emergencies. Have any necessary prescription medication filled. If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life-sustaining equipment, have a backup energy plan in the event of an emergency.

When emergencies happen, chances are you will be without power for a period of time. Learn what the safe and effective options are for cooking, lighting, heating and cooling without conventional power sources and make a plan. Know how to assess and preserve your refrigerated and frozen foods. Know the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and other potential gases. Practice using a generator safely. Safeguard against power surges and spikes. Having a battery, solar or hand-crank powered radio may be useful. Have a backup plan for charging your cell phone. Don’t trip in the dark…keep a flashlight near your bed at night!

Utah has a history of being impacted by earthquakes. Homes and their contents are vulnerable to rocking and rolling caused by earthquakes. Take time to identify and secure potential hazards. Practice how to respond to an earthquake with your household. Keep shoes and gloves by your bed. Know how to access damage in your home and its’ safety. Home fires can occur anytime. Practice cooking safety along with firework, candle, space heater, and charging station safety. Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should be tested, and the batteries should be replaced every six months. Have a fire extinguisher. If the fire is too big for you to handle, immediately get out of the house. Call 911 from outside! Once outside, stay outside.

Long Term Food Storage has been a part of our preparedness as members for generations. Our generous donations of food storage as a Church have saved and blessed lives all over the world. We have a nearby Deseret Industries and Home Storage Center next to Cosco with accessible, affordable, sealed, and safe food for sale. With our storage of food, if adversity should come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others. Take a tour and volunteer at our Deseret Industries Home Storage Center.

As you are able, add long term food storage to your emergency preparedness. Learn to cook with your storage. Gather recipes or a cookbook. Store spices and condiments to make delicious meals.

A critical incident or disaster may provoke overwhelming feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, and anxiety. President Nelson expressed this concern about our preparedness: “I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared. But I am even more concerned about your spiritual and emotional preparation” (“Embrace the Future With Faith,” general conference, October 2020). Create an emotional and spiritual first-aid kit for yourself and your family to use when you are feeling strong emotions. This kit may include personal health reminders, photos, comforting objects, materials (blankets, cloths), music, books, journals, or other supportive items that fit your needs. You may also consider recommendations from the September 2018 Friend Magazine. By taking small and simple steps to prepare physically, emotionally, and financially, we can have confidence that the Lord will magnify our consistent efforts. As the Brother of Jared prepared his family to enter the barges and cross the sea, he thought carefully about what they would need—light, air, food, and so on. After asking the Lord for guidance and working together to prepare for the likely hardships on their journey, the Brother of Jared and his companions “got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God” (Ether 6:4).