Salem Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Andrew Strong is encouraging overall disaster preparation, noting preparing for one type of disaster in reality helps you prepare for all of them.
He gave a presentation to several dozen people at the Salem First Baptist Church over the weekend.
Strong says the Federal Emergency Management Agency is an excellent resource with thousands of videos. He gave a few examples of simple things to do to eliminate potential hazards in your home.
“If you have things hanging on the wall that can fall off in an earthquake, fall off and fall down on you, that’s something you want to move away. Knowing where all your utilities are in yo0ur house is a big thing. With earthquakes, a lot of underground infrastructure, water and gas lines, those get interrupted and broke, so being able to shut some of that down before you leave the area may help out to cause fewer damage.”
Strong also encouraged having an exit strategy in place.
“Where are we going, how are we going to make sure everyone is out of the house? You can’t stay around and grab every family heirloom, grab the necessities and get out quick. And then having a way to communicate with local first responders. There is going to be a plan in place where everyone goes to get a plan and then triage the affected areas.”
Strong is also encouraging residents to plan ahead for the Solar Eclipse in April when traffic could be snarled and there could be difficulties getting to the grocery store or pharmacy.
The program was presented at the request of Emil Nattier who heads a 45 person group in the local Kaskaskia Baptist Association that responds to help in disasters. He noted the importance of residents having a plan to initially take care of themselves as much as possible until help can arrive.
