EmmaOreo peacefully unaware of the chaos around her Today we have had a little excitement along with a bit of tragedy. We live in Washington State. Living here we are able to enjoy all the beauty around us. That beauty does have a cost....Rain AND LOTS OF IT! Today we found out our city along with several others have declared an emergency. We were on Flood Watch, now have a Flood Warning. I am not too worried about the flooding. The river was at 20.35', flood level is 24' but we have been fine up to 26.4'. Tomorrow (or rather today now) should give us a bit of a reprieve from the rain. The tragedy was to find out some dear friends lost their home to what we believe were several explosions caused by a natural gas. All of this rain must have effected stability. My husband drove there as soon as we heard but could not find our friends among the chaos. He came home and said it was like he was not really there. It was like he was behind a veil watching all of the emergency crews doing their jobs, everything was black and smoldering. He felt so ill when we he saw the loss. We are so thankful they were with us and not home when it happened. I cannot imagine what they are going through right now.
All of this got me thinking. Am I Prepared for disaster? Do I have enough water for not only the people in our home but our furbabies as well. The answer is no to both. Did you know they say 1 gallon per person and same for dogs, cats and in our case all the caged critters. So to have just 3 days on hand for all of us we need 27 gallons! Now this is just if we are stranded or stuck.
What if we have to EVACUATE!!! I do not want to even think of that. After reading about the Humane Society in our area not only offering temp housing for displaced animals they were also seeking volunteers. I have all of our travel cages for shows nicely packed away in the garage but realize that since they usually close access to our town and evacuate when the river is at 24', I probably should at least make sure I have food bagged up for our ratties and bedding all ready. The dogs & cat are easy to pack up but to make sure each rat is in safe cage with water, food and bedding that is something to think about. If not for this City Emergency than at least the next.
I encourage all of you to do a quick mental check:
What do I need for us to stay here without power for 3 days?
What do i need for us to evacuate for some emergency... be it fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, etc...
All of this got me thinking. Am I Prepared for disaster? Do I have enough water for not only the people in our home but our furbabies as well. The answer is no to both. Did you know they say 1 gallon per person and same for dogs, cats and in our case all the caged critters. So to have just 3 days on hand for all of us we need 27 gallons! Now this is just if we are stranded or stuck.
What if we have to EVACUATE!!! I do not want to even think of that. After reading about the Humane Society in our area not only offering temp housing for displaced animals they were also seeking volunteers. I have all of our travel cages for shows nicely packed away in the garage but realize that since they usually close access to our town and evacuate when the river is at 24', I probably should at least make sure I have food bagged up for our ratties and bedding all ready. The dogs & cat are easy to pack up but to make sure each rat is in safe cage with water, food and bedding that is something to think about. If not for this City Emergency than at least the next.
I encourage all of you to do a quick mental check:
What do I need for us to stay here without power for 3 days?
What do i need for us to evacuate for some emergency... be it fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, etc...
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