ices. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake

The best time to prepare for an emergency is immediately after surviving one. At that time the disaster is fresh in your mind and you are able to think about what items you should have close at hand. I was in Miami, Florida during Hurricane Andrew in August of 1992 and also in Northridge, California in January of 1993 during the Northridge earthquake. In both cases I found that my emergency preparedness was not as good as it should have been. After each incident I began to plan for what I should have available if the same type of event would occur again.

Immediately after the hurricane in Miami I began making a list of what items I needed the most. The list grew over the following couple of weeks and included things such as waterproof matches, a generator, and baby wipes. During that time we were unable to get in or out of our neighborhood without the assistance of the National Guard. Credit cards were worthless because there was no electricity and my local bank was completely destroyed. Cash, especially in small denominations, became necessary to secure even the most common goods and services. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake

Northridge, California in January of 1993 during the Northridge earthquake. In both cases I found that my emergency preparedness was not as good as it should have been. After each incident I began to plan for what I should have available if the same type of event would occur again.

Immediately after the hurricane in Miami I began making a list of what items I needed the most. The list grew over the following couple of weeks and included things such as waterproof matches, a generator, and baby wipes. During that time we were unable to get in or out of our neighborhood without the assistance of the National Guard. Credit cards were worthless because there was no electricity and my local bank was completely destroyed. Cash, especially in small denominations, became necessary to secure even the most common goods and services. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake

ain.

Immediately after the hurricane in Miami I began making a list of what items I needed the most. The list grew over the following couple of weeks and included things such as waterproof matches, a generator, and baby wipes. During that time we were unable to get in or out of our neighborhood without the assistance of the National Guard. Credit cards were worthless because there was no electricity and my local bank was completely destroyed. Cash, especially in small denominations, became necessary to secure even the most common goods and services. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake

out of our neighborhood without the assistance of the National Guard. Credit cards were worthless because there was no electricity and my local bank was completely destroyed. Cash, especially in small denominations, became necessary to secure even the most common goods and services. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake

ices. Plastic containers were also valuable for digging through the rubble and scavenging small items from the soggy debris throughout my house. A manual can opener also made it to my list, as did plastic bags and a hand saw.

After living through the Northridge earthquake my list included copper pipes to repair a hot water heater, bottles of water, a propane grill, and camping equipment. The camping equipment was handy to have in order to sleep outdoors if you were frightened by the frequent aftershocks. Hiking boots were important to have because of the broken glass that seemed to be evrywhere.

In both disasters I found that having a bicycle with a basket made it easier to get around. Also, battery operated radios, flashlights, extra batteries and small, packaged snacks were also good to have available.

Hopefully, I will never have to experience another disaster, but if I do I will be more prepared than I was previously.