Welcome to my preparedness thoughts for this month.

1. Do you know how to turn off your utilities?

- Water.  Every member of your family, other than small children, can be taught how to shut off the water. Every minute counts when water is pouring in from a broken pipe and everyone should be able to quickly get to the main water shut-off valve and turn off the water to the house. If you don't know how, ask a neighbor for help. When? Today.

- Gas.  Learn how to shut off the gas and have the tool to do so. Don't teach this to the younger kids. When should you turn off the gas? If you're smelling gas and you are pretty sure it's not from an appliance that can be easily shut off, then turn off the outside valve on the meter. You will likely need an employee from the gas company to restore the gas flow, so only do this as a last resort.

- Electricity.  There is a main breaker outside by your meter that can be thrown to shut off all power to your home. Since you can simply pull the lever back into place, this isn't as big of a deal as your gas service.

- Sewer.  What if we had a serious problem with the sewers and they started backing up into your home? Could you shut it down? I had a lengthy discussion with our sewer district and ended up talking to a couple of their engineers. They finally came back to me with this:  "Sorry, there is nothing the home owner can do to shut off the sewer." That is very disheartening since I know several people who have had sewer back-up into their homes, some filling their basements up to two feet deep with raw sewage. Suggestion: In the cases I'm privy to, the sewer comes into a finished basement via a toilet. How quickly can you close the bathroom door and seal off the door with plastic and duct tape? If the sewage backup isn't too serious, you could salvage the rest of your home. It's just a suggestion. Anyone who has experience with this or has other ideas, PLEASE share them with us.

2. Water storage. How much water does your family use in a typical month? I checked my most recent water bill and it showed how many units were used during that billing cycle and stated that each unit equaled one thousand. I called the City to make sure that the Units represented gallons and they said it does. For example, if the bill said we used 9 units, that means we used 9,000 gallons of water. During that same billing cycle we personally used zero gallons outside, which means those units represent the water we used inside for drinking, cleaning, toilets, showers, cooking, dishwasher and washing machine.

What's the point? How much water have you stored and how much would you need to survive just one month? If you used 9000 gallons, could you get by on a few hundred in an emergency? Yes. Do you have several hundred gallons to take care of your family? Talk to your ward emergency preparedness specialist or myself if you want any help figuring out what to do to increase your water storage. In addition, there are ideas in my Emergency Preparedness Guide that could assist you. If you need me to resend the Guide, don't hesitate to ask.

3. Food.  Question: If commerce stopped overnight due to any number of possible reasons, how long could your family survive with only the food you have this moment in your home? If it is not at least two weeks, please use the attached document as a guide and go immediately and secure a 2-week supply of food. Remember, our stake goal is for every household to secure a one year supply of food, at least enough for two meals per day, and to do so this year. We just finished the first quarter of the year, so you're probably a third of the way to your goal. If not, start today - please.

If you don't have any food or water stored and an emergency hits, what is your plan? The bishop doesn't store food for you. Your prepared neighbor stored food for their family, not yours. The church and the government could be several days or even weeks away from being able to assist in some scenarios. So again, what is your plan? I hope your plan is to go immediately to the store and start with a least a 2-week supply of food and water. It's easy, but if it sounds hard, please contact your ward emergency preparedness specialist or myself for insights and help.

Plan now.   Act now.   Have peace of mind now.

If you would like to discuss your family's needs, we'd love to help.

Sincerely,

Larry Madsen
Stake Preparedness Specialist