Some things you can’t plan for and some things you can, even if they are awful and you don’t want to think about them. It seems to me that properly preparing for the aftermath of a catastrophic natural disaster would be about as much fun as was preparing my last will and testament (that process was like having dental work done without novocaine). It wasn’t pleasant to consider my inevitable demise, imagine all the goodbyes I’d hope to say and decide how best to settle my estate and do all the necessary data gathering and paperwork to complete it. The sense of relief I gained from taking care of this important task, however, was a good thing to feel, indeed.
And so would it be, if I informed myself about natural disasters and assembled a post-disaster supplies kit to prepare for that potentiality. Here in mid-Missouri we are subject to many cataclysms on the natural disasters list, including flooding (the most common environmental disaster, worldwide), tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, heat and drought, wild fire, cold, snow, hail and ice storms, earthquakes, pestilence and disease. Our local communities have had to deal with the aftermath of these frightening and destructive events in the past, as we will in the future. So best to get ready! And that can be done by attending the Get Ready! Disaster Preparedness program at the Columbia Public Library, where you can learn all you need to know to prepare from the planning and preparedness specialist from the Boone County Office of Emergency Management. You can also make use of the plenitude of resources available in the library to further inform yourself about creating your own disaster plans.
May you have your disaster plans in place and never need to implement them; may you have your disaster supplies gathered and never have to use them.
Image credits: OmahaUSACE, Flooding Along Missouri River via Flickr (license); DVIDSHUB, Joplin, MO via Flickr (license)
