I'm working on a list....

Since we had the EQ I've been working on a list of things I've learnt... Some of them will probably be "duh, everyone knows that" kinds of things to other people. Before I start I should mention that ever since I was tiny Dad has told us "if Something Big happens, I'm gone. You won't see me for 3-5 days at least. I'll be immediately on-duty and you will have to be patient. I can't just come home. However, all other fire personnel will help you all they can, but I can't come home"... so we were raised to #1 Not Panic and #2 Do What Needs To Be Done. Dad taught us a lot of stuff just by his daily life that got us prepared for this too. Some of that will be in the list, so maybe I should call it "List of Stuff You Should Know/Do in an Emergency"

1) Always sleep with shoes/slippers and a dressing gown/clothes next to your bed. (Dad used to go to bed with his clothes lying on the floor, ready to jump into them. I know he does this at work but I don't think he does it at home anymore??) When the electricity is cut off (for whatever reason) you cannot see what is on the floor and you don't want to waste time or energy having to look where you put your feet. You want to get out of bed, slip your shoes on and go get your kids... There could be glass, sewerage, splinters... anything on the floor.

2) Keep your rings and cellphone in a (closed) drawer so they don't go flying around the room (Chuck, you scoffed but I still have my rings)

3) Have a 72hr kit handy (we keep ours in the car so if we travel we have it with us and if we are at home then it is safe because our garage will never fall down... and if it did it is easily moved away)

4) Tape a magnetic/wind-up torch to the underneth of your table. That way when your kids want torches for their games and they steal them out of the 72 hr kit you will still have one that no one else knows about, and in a very handy spot.

5) Keep candles/matches/torch/blanket in a cupboard near your table (so you can get them without leaving the room when the kids are whimpering under the table)

6) Raise you kids so they trust you. Always be calm and in control in difficult situations. Never start yelling, or panic. This is so if you tell them everything is okay and that you will look after them they instantly stop worrying and just do as they are told.

7) Have water storage! Not just bottled drinking water from a shop that you can safely open and drink without having to do anything to it, but gallons and gallons of water (fill up your empty milk bottles or juice bottles and store them at the back of the pantry or under the stairs) so you can wash, flush the toilet, clean up stuff that has fallen on the floor, rinse dust out of clothes etc etc etc.

8) Check on your neighbours - they are probably freaking out and could do with a Voice of Reason and a bit of a laugh.

9) Declare a State of Emergency in your own house. You have no idea when the electricity or water will come back on so tell your family NO ONE OPENS THE FRIDGE/FREEZER (or the cold will come out and the food will rot), we walk everywhere because we need to conserve petrol (this means no cruising around town sightseeing the damage), the gas in the BBQ is not to be touched (and certainly not for heating water to make coffee... come on people!), we will only eat food that can be eaten without any cooking (so we can save the gas in the BBQ bottle etc) and comes from the cupboard, we do not "make dirty dishes" because we have no idea when we can wash them propertly and we do not want to stink up the kitchen with dishes piling up in the sink. You may pee in the toilet but nothing else! (and this means no toilet paper in the toilet either). If you are smart you will have a large supply of zip lock bags... Let them poo in that, then double bag it and throw it away in a sealed container. Toilet paper also goes in ziplock bags. (Buy up big on ziplock bags right now!) You must ask for a drink until told otherwise as we have to ration the drinking water. The cellphone is for contacting family and emergency calls only. It is not a source of light. We do not play games with it. We do not take photos with it. Any kind of battery powered thing is only to be used when totally necessary. If it is cold outside we keep all the doors and windows shut as much as possible to keep the heat in... This is because everyone else around you will be acting like someone is going to turn on the electricity/water/internet and open the well stocked shops any minute now.... hello people, our shops have been open for a week but the shelves are empty because the warehouses are destroyed, the railroad is warped, the road leading thru the mountains to our fair city has a massive landslide over it and they are trying to dig it out and when there is no electricity there is also no security alarms/lights/EFTPOS so you can pay for your purchases etc etc and no one wants to go to work! Until all the services are back WE PRETENED THEY MIGHT NOT BE BACK FOR A MONTH.

10) Start pointing out/talking about the positives IMMEDIATELY. Everyone is alive. The air is breathable. We have light (candles, torches). We have shoes on and jackets so we are well clothed and protected. (aftershock... just a wee one) You can see a lot of stars when there is no electricty in the city and the street lights are out. We contacted our family and everyone is accounted for. The sun will be up soon. When we all snuggle together we are warm. We have a cellphone. We have lots of zip lock bags.... :)

I'm sure I'll think of more but right now I have to go and prepare for my French classes tomorrow. My poor students are getting SO BEHIND because of the earthquake etc and it kills me!!!