Log Your Readiness

Prepare for surviving the first 72 hours

During weather emergencies, most major injuries and deaths occur in the 72 hours that follow an extreme event. Often water and power supplies are down, fresh food is scarce, and medical staff and hospitals are stretched to the max. So it's important to plan ahead. To do this first consider what the key risks are in your area using your common sense and local history (Is it more about Fires? Floods? Cyclones? Heat waves? Wild storms?) Then you can:

Heaps of emergency agencies have good information about how to prepare your home or school for extreme weather events.

The best tips for preparing for emergencies are in the Red Cross RediPlan which can help you get ready at home and school. There is also a great list of what you should keep in an emergency kit from SES NSW.

There are plenty of fire, flood, heatwave, cyclone and storm preparation tips out there. Here are some of our favourite sites:

Home bushfire preparation- NSW Fire brigade

What to do before, during and after a flood - Wangaratta Council (VIC)
Surviving cyclones - Bureau of Meteorology

Dealing with heatwaves - SES (VIC)

Believe it or not, many people die because they refuse to evacuate their homes if it means leaving their pets behind.

Katrina was tragic because owners with pets waited until the last 48 hours only to discover that most shelters and hotels would not allow pets. People defied evacuation orders and lost their lives because they refused to leave their pets behind.

Americans are awake to this huge issue because of Katrina publicity, and many communities at risk are planning ahead. Our favourite pet survival tips come from the Village of East Rockaway in Long Island New York (a hurricane prone area).

Have you met your neighbours? Don’t wait till Know Your Neighbour Day on March 23rd to find out who will need your help in an emergency.

Here’s what you can do right now:

Say G'day to your neighbours.
Explain what you know about climate change and weather, and how we need to prepare Australia to help ourselves through it.
Make a special effort to introduce yourself to older residents in your street and anyone who lives alone. People die from heat waves (especially older people, babies and people on certain medications) because nobody looks after them and they aren’t aware of the problem.
Make people with pets aware of the challenges of evacuating animals and encourage them to plan ahead – especially if they are older, disabled and/or live alone.
Leave your mobile and home number for their use in an emergency.
Agree to keep in contact.

extreme weather heroes

Log Your Readiness

Prepare for surviving the first 72 hours