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Emergency Storm Apps & Checklists for Food & Other Supplies (Part 1 of 2)

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There have been many kinds of storms including hurricanes, tornadoes, nor’easters & more over the years & such storm activity will continue in the future. One can’t stress enough how important it is to have an emergency plan of preparedness that includes a checklist for supplies & be ready at a moment’s notice to actually implement any such plan.

Dietitians who operate feeding centers have to be prepared to serve thousands of meals, even if there is no power available and limited water supplies.

We have personally experienced 11 days without power after a microburst storm hit our area back in 1998 around Labor Day that year. Farther north of us earlier that same year many people experienced microburst storm activity to a much greater extent with freezing rain/ice.  Just two years prior that area had experienced similar microburst winter ice storm activity and been without power for at least 17 days (and in many instances for several weeks) during the height of freezing cold winter.

Many people have experienced much worse storm damage and much longer periods without power, so know that being prepared really is essential.

(Image of potential disasters striking from 1993 Federal Emergency Management Agency aka FEMA materials developed in conjunction with the American Red Cross)

Disaster preparedness includes much more than just having adequate water and food supplies.

This two-part blog series is a compilation of some advisements put out by various emergency preparedness agencies and other sources to encourage readers to implement any emergency planning should you be in the path of any storm system at any given time.

As this blog post was being finalized, advisements concerning Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy had been circulating for days, so hopefully you have taken all of the advance warnings about this major storm seriously, since in some areas it may present as a combination of a hurricane or tropical storm + a nor’easter. It has not only progressed as a hurricane which traveled through the Caribbean, but experts have expected it to pick up some winter storm system activity to boot as it turns Westward on the East Coast.

Pointers raised for this storm event will echo emergency management checklist pointers for all kinds of storm events, so feel free to bookmark this post for future reference.

In this Part 1 of 2 we’ll mention some sites to check for emergency preparedness information, including for downloading apps to a smart phone, and some water and food considerations in advance of any emergency storm situation.  In Part 2 of 2, we’ll mention clothing considerations, paperwork pointers including having handy paper versions of emergency contact info for your own family and then for local services, other equipment and supplies to have handy for the various human family members, and even supplies to have handy for any pets.

There are MANY versions of emergency preparedness checklists available from a wide range of sources, including:

You can go to the sites listed above or a local site and download an emergency checklist from there and if you have not already done so, we urge you to do so now and keep it waterproof in a readily accessible spot.

We will highlight some of the key suggestions found at those and other sites and mention some of our own takes on the subject hoping you might find such infotainment useful.

NOTE: You should ALWAYS follow advice from emergency management service(s) in your area and we urge you to be aware of that information and to make sure you follow any and all emergency advisements provided by any emergency management service(s) in your area, including advisements to evacuate your location heading for safer ground when told to do so. Don’t wait to take such advisements to heart–please take such advisements seriously when they are given and don’t delay in getting to a safer location while it is still safe to travel. Delaying following such advisements could place you and your loved ones in harm’s way, so follow advisements promptly.

ABC News kindly posted hotlinks to some smart phone apps as we were finishing up this blog entry on Oct 28th, so full credit to them for sharing that information on their website.

Some of the apps mentioned include:

  • FEMA has an App for either Apple’s iPhone (version 1.1.0) or Android phones (version 1.1.0), including details concerning app use. The FEMA app reportedly “contains preparedness information for different types of disasters, an interactive checklist for emergency kits, a section to plan emergency meeting locations, information on how to stay safe and recover after a disaster, a map with FEMA Disaster Recovery Center locations (one-stop centers where disaster survivors can access key relief services) and Shelters, general ways the public can get involved before and after a disaster, and the FEMA blog.”
  • American Red Cross Emergency Phone App for either iPhone (version 1.3.1) or Android (version 1.3.2) smart phones. The American Red Cross Emergency Phone App reportedly includes access to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hurricane-related weather condition alerts for the US and its territories; a Hurricane Toolkit from the American Red Cross for your smart phone with a strobe light, flashlight, and audible alert functions; information on emergency kit assembly; listing of open Red Cross shelters in your area; step-by-step instructions for what to do before/during/after a storm; reminders with caveats concerning handling food and drinking water should your area be impacted by floods and/or power outages.
  • National Weather Service National Hurricane Center at NOAA (where you can track updated storm information if you still have power) and
  • The Weather Channel App for smart phones including Apple’s iPhone (version 5.1.0) and also for Android phones (version 3.8.3).

Suggestions To Consider in Your Emergency Storm Preparations

NOTE: The following is for infotainment purposes only and is NOT meant to be all inclusive and is NOT meant to replace information available in your own unique location. You are URGED to make yourself aware of information available in your own locale from emergency management services there as they are most familiar with the location where you live and how you should prepare for any emergency in your area.

Water Supplies:

Figure a minimum of 3-6 days or longer of potable water supplies depending upon recommendations for your area:

  • 1 gallon total/person/day (1/2 gallon of potable water to drink and possibly more for any breast feeding moms and 1/2 gallon of potable water for other needs); allow for extra potable water for food preparation using pots and a camp stove as needed. (Image of water bottle courtesy of nazreth at rgbstock.com)

Non-potable water supplies depending upon recommendations for your area:

  • If at home, fill the bathtub with water that be scooped up in a bucket to allow for toilet flushing

Food Equipment & Supplies:

Figure a minimum of 3-6 days or longer of shelf-stable food supplies, depending upon recommendations for your area.

Assemble a wide range of shelf stable food items from various food group categories appropriate to cover the needs of various persons in your family. Don’t forget to include baby and toddler items for the littlest ones as well (even if you normally make your own baby food, unless for some reason you already did some canning ahead of homemade baby food). Having one of those non-electric small chopper jars can come in handy for cutting up room temperature stable veggies when light levels are low as they are safer to use to avoid hand injuries in low lighting situations without power.

Keep handy a manual safety-type can opener (that is actually a can lid uncrimper) as noted on our Pinterest site under Kitchen Gadget Favorites (the type of can opener that unseals cans, rather than cutting them is always best to use, especially in a storm crisis when the last thing anyone needs is a cut from a cut-off can lid, but a can opener that cuts off can lids could be used if there is no other option) for whoever will be opening canned food supplies as needed. Uncrimping style safety can openers really are much safer to use under low lighting conditions.

Think about the supplies you might bring camping (expecting to have NO access to refrigeration) to serve yourself and your family/friends for several or more days. Assemble containers that once opened are likely to be used up during a single dining session UNLESS the food product is totally stable at room temperature. An exception to this would be if for some reason you have access to a generator that can maintain safe food storage temperatures for perishable food items in a refrigerator and/or freezer.

Consider including items mentioned in a simple emergency food and recipe guide renamed the Healthy Disaster Cookbook originally prepared by dietetic students at Florida International University, although realistically skip any ingredients that require any refrigeration UNLESS you have access to a generator to maintain safe food temperatures for such perishables. Perishable food items have rapid bacterial growth after a mere hour at high room temps and a couple of hours at lower room  temps.

Unless you have a protected area with adequate ventilation (but not aggressive wind) for camp stove cooking, plan for most dining times to feature room temperature offerings only.

There can potentially be a time and place for disposables and this may well be considered one of those times, so if you have disposable picnic supplies of cups, plates, bowls, utensils, napkins, paper towels, plastic gloves, plastic garbage & other plastic bags, etc., you might want to have those handy and available for use as needed; also sanitizing surface wipes might come in handy at times like these.

Consider any food allergies and/or intolerances of whoever will be grouped together where you are staying, then gather up from the pantry/cupboard/closets/cabinets & clean off the tops ahead of time of various shelf stable:

  • already cooked cans and jars of beans (kidney, black, navy, white, pigeon, cannelloni, chick peas/garbanzo beans, and if you will have a camp stove, baked beans);
  • canned poultry and fish (including chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, shrimp, crabmeat, sardines, mackerel and possibly even clams);
  • canned fruits and canned vegetables;
  •  “nut” butters such as peanut, almond or cashew; dried fruits such as apricots, prunes, raisins, and possibly also fruit leathers;
  • ready-to eat “nuts” such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, peanuts, pecans, “soynuts” and walnuts;
  • ready-to-eat cereals;
  • ready-to-eat preserved food items (sold in jars and cans) that don’t require reheating
  • ready-to-eat trail mix;
  • various edible seeds;
  • washed ahead room temperature whole fruits that may last a few days;
  • washed ahead room temperature whole vegetables that may last a few days;
  • individual condiment packs to flavor hot items if you will be able to use a camp stove;
  • various breads and crackers;
  • individual water bottles (remember various sizes are available) and/or
  • juice or juice/vegetable mix brik pack boxes as single portion brik pack juice containers can be desirable since anything not consumed can be immediately discarded; single serving bowl, no refrigeration needed foil pack sealed applesauce and similar pureed or canned fruit containers can also be desirable for the same reason
  • powdered as well as brik pack shelf stable milk (including soy and/or nut milk) options might also be considered.

Additionally keep these suggestions in mind:

  • Instant oatmeal will soften at room temperature in a short time of minutes if liquid is added and combined with small pieces of soft pack dried fruit and some nut pieces will remind one of muesli served often in Switzerland and throughout Europe for breakfast.
  • Portioning snack food items into waterproof plastic bags in advance would be wise. Think about whatever you and your family like to take on outings such as hikes and portion out some “trail mix” for example.
  • Keep handy breakfast, granola or energy bars as they are ready-to-eat at any time
  • Some healthy individuals find products similar to an all-in-one breakfast beverage such as Carnation Instant Breakfast (ready-to-drink containers may sometimes work well, or in other instances adding dry powdered milk to potable water and adding a dry packet of the breakfast mix may work out satisfactorily if you have shaker bottles or a battery operated hand stick blender for this purpose).
  • Some nutrient supplements may be appropriate for healthy persons during times of a storm disaster since obviously it is especially challenging to eat a balanced diet during that time period. Consuming nutrient supplements up to the level suggested by the National Academy of Sciences through their National Academy Press (NAP) website is often considered by many health authorities to be prudent for healthy Americans, however, be sure to follow specific advice relevant to your personal health from your medical practitioner’s office before ever consuming any Over-the Counter (OTC) nutrient or other dietary supplements. Your health care practitioner should be aware of your total health status, medications, etc. and thus best able to address your questions and concerns as you manage your own personal health status and ditto for your family members. Especially during a storm crisis you want to avoid any negative interactions that could be caused by casually consuming certain OTC nutrient or dietary supplements along with any required medication.
  • If needed, sufficient infant formula (preferably ready-to-feed) realizing it will be difficult or in some instances impossible to sterilize anything during the storm emergency time, so plan accordingly for enough extra bottles and nipples.

In Part 2 of 2 we’ll continue with important paper copies of items to have handy and other supplies to have grouped together and within easy access during the emergency period.