Here we are again in the middle of a perfect storm: Fires are raging in California after Sunday’s lightning thunderstorms that sparked fires amidst some of the hottest days we’ve had on record. This is unnerving as we’re already dealing with fears of COVID-19, loss of jobs, displaced students, and isolation from friends. This is the best time to fill out my Micro-Community Disaster Plan and Information packet to prepare your family now. Here are 5 proactive things you can do now to give you more control over the many things that feel completely out of our control today.
#1: REACH OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS
Put your differences aside, and email or visit with your neighbors today. Check in with them to update their contact information so you can help if they need support in evacuating or taking care of pets if they’re not at home.
#2: CREATE A FAMILY DISASTER PLAN
Select a meeting place to avoid going in circles searching for one another should there be an evacuation or a disaster. Make sure all family members understand that they should meet at this location and wait for everyone to arrive. Choose an out-of-state (or out-of-area) person to be the contact person. That way, if cell phones aren’t working or your internet is down, your contact person can retrieve messages and keep everyone informed of the status of each family member.
* Disaster Plan
#3: MAKE YOUR GO-BAGS
Gather the things you absolutely need to survive, and place them in a backpack or suitcase. Think: medications, personal items, clothing, water, food. Be prepared as evacuation orders don’t give you much time. If evacuation isn’t eminent, then create a Go Bag for your car and your house so you’ll always be ready.
#4: SIGN UP FOR CODE RED
Go to your alert notification systems and sign up for alerts. That way, you’ll be alerted to evacuation orders and you can start preparing by gathering your family, pets, and Go Bags. You can also help your neighbors by giving them a heads up and helping those who are non-ambulatory.
#5: PROTECT YOUR HOUSE
Move wooden or flammable items that are within 5 feet of your house. That means that cord of wood next to the garage, wooden picnic tables, old planter boxes, and other things. Ideally, move them 100 feet from your house but do whatever works for your home and property.
If time permits, remove dead branches and lower limbs on trees that are within 100 feet of your house. This could reduce the chance the wildfires would make their way to your homes. Weedwhack dense areas to create a firebreak. Clean out gutters and debris that have collected on your roofs. Learn more here.
Whether you’re waiting for evacuation orders or you just haven’t had time to prepare for disasters, let this be a wake-up call to get started. Share this with family and friends, and encourage them to do prepare now.
Here we are again in the middle of a perfect storm: Fires are raging in California after Sunday’s lightning thunderstorms that sparked fires amidst some of the hottest days we’ve had on record. This is unnerving as we’re already dealing with fears of COVID-19, loss of jobs, displaced students, and isolation from friends. This is the best time to fill out my Micro-Community Disaster Plan and Information packet to prepare your family now. Here are 5 proactive things you can do now to give you more control over the many things that feel completely out of our control today.
#1: REACH OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS
Put your differences aside, and email or visit with your neighbors today. Check in with them to update their contact information so you can help if they need support in evacuating or taking care of pets if they’re not at home.
#2: CREATE A FAMILY DISASTER PLAN
Select a meeting place to avoid going in circles searching for one another should there be an evacuation or a disaster. Make sure all family members understand that they should meet at this location and wait for everyone to arrive. Choose an out-of-state (or out-of-area) person to be the contact person. That way, if cell phones aren’t working or your internet is down, your contact person can retrieve messages and keep everyone informed of the status of each family member.
* Disaster Plan
#3: MAKE YOUR GO-BAGS
Gather the things you absolutely need to survive, and place them in a backpack or suitcase. Think: medications, personal items, clothing, water, food. Be prepared as evacuation orders don’t give you much time. If evacuation isn’t eminent, then create a Go Bag for your car and your house so you’ll always be ready.
#4: SIGN UP FOR CODE RED
Go to your alert notification systems and sign up for alerts. That way, you’ll be alerted to evacuation orders and you can start preparing by gathering your family, pets, and Go Bags. You can also help your neighbors by giving them a heads up and helping those who are non-ambulatory.
#5: PROTECT YOUR HOUSE
Move wooden or flammable items that are within 5 feet of your house. That means that cord of wood next to the garage, wooden picnic tables, old planter boxes, and other things. Ideally, move them 100 feet from your house but do whatever works for your home and property.
If time permits, remove dead branches and lower limbs on trees that are within 100 feet of your house. This could reduce the chance the wildfires would make their way to your homes. Weedwhack dense areas to create a firebreak. Clean out gutters and debris that have collected on your roofs. Learn more here.
Whether you’re waiting for evacuation orders or you just haven’t had time to prepare for disasters, let this be a wake-up call to get started. Share this with family and friends, and encourage them to do prepare now.
Just returned from a whirlwind visit in Chicago where we ate our way around the city. We started out with Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza at Gino’s, enjoyed their unique Eatily, where a medley of artisan chefs prepare gourmet dishes, and tried dozens of other specialty restaurants on just about every block downtown. Jaclyn and Alex (and Radar!) live on the 40th floor right downtown and just 1.5 blocks from Kellogg’s grad school.
We stayed in a suite with a conference table and a Murphy bed (love Murphy beds!) in their building, where we hosted a mini family reunion with Jean and Davis Tatsui-Satake. It was our first time meeting the Chicago Tatsui relatives who left California right after Pearl Harbor. Rather than be interned like the rest of the family, this part of our family moved to Chicago and has stayed there ever since. We immediately hit it off with Jean and Davis, and have already made plans to get together again this year. It’s exciting to make connections with family members, learn new facts, and hear interesting stories about our ancestors. They contributed to our genealogy database and plan to help us fill in stories and data about our Chicago family.
We also had dinner with Rob’s brother Bill and his family in the suburbs south of Chicago. Rob and Bill exchanged stories about their youth – the ones you don’t want your children to hear – except, oops Jaclyn sat there in shock with her mouth wide open as she learned about her father’s earlier days. She kept looking at me to make sure these were real stories! It’s shocking that Rob and Bill are alive today…
Jaclyn hosted a get together with her Kellogg friends (Alex, Rob, and Kelly – yup, weird coincidence!) so Rob and I could meet them. As always, we love her new friends and had a blast with them. We plan to return to Chicago in June for Jaclyn’s graduation ceremony. Time flies; and we can’t wait to get her back to California!
Packing in business with pleasure in Chicago! I joined Jaclyn in business classes at Kellogg’s MBA program at Northwestern last week.
Sitting in on one of the Top 10 MBA programs in the nation, I was intrigued and inspired by the excellence in both professors and grad students. We toured the new Global Hub on the Evanston campus where I saw students engaged in conversations and projects with fellow students.
The design of the Global Hub was quite impressive; with amphitheater social areas and modern architecture both inside and outside, it made me want to go back to college!
We also toured University of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Visiting these colleges makes us better resources to our students – so we can recommend programs that meet our students’ needs, expectations, and goals. With over 4,000 colleges just in the United States, there’s a college that’s perfect for every student!