In light of the recent Colorado Floods and all the damage that has occurred as a result, we want to share a series of posts from one Colorado woman’s perspective. Opinions expressed are hers and do not necessarily reflect those of Emergency Essentials. If you lived through the recent flooding in Colorado and want to share your story, please email [email protected].
We asked Sandy what she learned about emergency preparedness and how she plans to continue to prepare in the future:
They say it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to come together in an emergency. I saw communities starting to band together to help each other, and they need to continue to do so. The trickledown effect from the Colorado floods is going to be felt for many years to come, because most of the farm lands are all under water. It could take years for them to be cleaned up and productive again without community involvement.
I am glad I could enlighten so many people in the past week about being ready for emergencies and helping each other during an emergency. It took a natural disaster for me to see that so many people were not even prepared for the first 72 hours. I learned that knowledge is power and survival. The more you know the more you can help yourself, your family, and others to survive—and people will actually listen to you.
Everyone needs to start preparing now and continue preparing, even when they think they have prepared enough. Before a disaster hits, everyone should think about what they really need, talk with their neighbors, and slowly put their emergency plan into action. You don’t have to go broke getting everything all at once to prepare. And even though food will be important to you during an emergency, there are other items important to your survival that you should stock up on as well.
One thing that I learned from the flood is that having backup supplies is good to think about as you create an emergency plan. These backups should be stored in a different location than your home. It’s great to have your stock right with you so you can watch it, but you can lose it pretty fast in situations like this flood.
Everyone should be prepared for every kind of emergency. You can be prepared by educating yourself on what to do. The reason I prepare is because I don’t want to be a victim. I am joining an emergency rescue organization so I can be better prepared in the future. I want to help others as much as I can and have advance notice for any future emergencies.
After living through the Colorado flood, I guess my motto would be “Help each other be prepared for anything.”
For more information on how to prepare yourself, community, and loved ones for a flood, check out these articles:
What to do Before, During, and After a Flood
Planning for an Emergency
Neighborhood Emergency Plan (downloadable)
