The hurricane season has officially started. We’re doing a disaster preparation presentation at the Crystal Beach Community Church, Tuesday June 23rd at 5 pm. It’s open to everyone, there’s no charge and if you bring a copy of “Disaster Prepping For Dummies” with you, I’ll donate $10 per book to the Community Church that offers over a dozen outreach programs on the Peninsula including – Meals on Wheels, Food Pantry, Clothes Closet, Medical Support, AA and Drug Rehabilitation, Mental Health Counseling, Jail Ministry, etc.
The presentation will cover simple, practical disaster preparation steps as well as inexpensive tips and hacks anyone can apply regardless of location or resources. The first question you should ask is why’s this guy qualified to talk about disaster preparation? The short answer is I’m not … no one is. It’s impossible to be an expert in every field required — meteorology, medicine, nutrition, human psychology, law enforcement, etc. The key to the book was consolidating the knowledge of multiple experts. This community also has experts in several of these fields and many with hard earned experience from past disasters. Some of these folks will also be at the talk to answer questions.
We can stockpile food and water, but “stockpiling” power is a bit tougher.
This is the largest chapter in the book, and it’s broken down into levels. Keeping our food and ourselves cool without the power grid can be done but takes a lot of work and resources. However, the first level is just keeping our phones charged. This is critical since our phone lets us know what’s happening, whether we can stay or evacuate and gives us GPS. It also allows us access to emergency services and to stay in touch with family and friends. Keeping our phones charged (and connected when the cell towers are down) can be done with minimal resources. It requires three things that cost less than $100: a phone power bank, a small portable solar panel and if possible a satellite subscription added to your phone service (about $15 per month). This allows you to send and receive texts to and from anyone when the cell towers are down.
Bringing Disaster Prepping For Dummies to the talk isn’t required, but we won’t have them available for purchase at the talk. They’re available online and in most major bookstores, although some Barnes & Noble stores around Houston have sold out, so check before going. Happy to sign the books if desired but regardless, will donate $10 in your name for every book you bring, even if you bring multiple copies for friends and family. Digital versions qualify too … but they’re a little harder to sign lol.
