Recently, much attention has been given to the Cascadia Subduction Zone (https://www.google.com/search?q=new+yorker+cascadia), and the havoc and devastation wreaked by this severe seismic activity. When this quake occurs, you want to be ready! Camp Prepare! on Saturday, August 1, is a great way to test your disaster kit and see what it would be like to survive after a calamity. Conceived by the American Red Cross Cascades Region in 2014, the event aims to get people to live off their disaster kit for one night by camping out – whether it’s pitching a tent in your back yard or packing up your camping gear and heading to a state park. The idea is to spend one night living without the comforts of electricity, running water or technology (with the exception of Red Cross apps). “There is a lot of overlap in what people have in a preparedness kit and what you would bring on a camping trip,” says Melinda McGoldrick, preparedness and partnerships manager for the American Red Cross Cascades Region. “Camp Prepare! is a great reason to update your kits and find out if your current supplies are going to work in a real post-disaster situation.” Common items used for camping such as water, canned food, flashlights, extra batteries and first aid supplies are just a few of the items that should be in a disaster preparedness kit. While the Red Cross recommends at least a three-day supply of food and water, larger disasters may require people to have enough supplies to live comfortably for several weeks as may be the case when the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake hits. Henry Soderberg, preparedness coordinator for the Southwest Oregon Chapter of the American Red Cross, took part in the first Camp Prepare! He says that having an opportunity to check out his kit in advance to get ready for the camp out was a great way to see what items he needed to add or update. “I camped with other Red Cross team members,” says Henry,” and we shared food and other items. This really highlighted the importance of being part of a community that is prepared.” To participate and become an official “camper,” visit www.redcross.org/campprepare. In addition to camping registration, the website also offers useful information about what belongs in a typical Preparedness Kit and what to do before, during and after common disasters. Participants are encouraged to take photos, post to Facebook, Tweet or share their experience in other ways. Registrants who submit a photo, or post to Facebook and “share” with the Red Cross, will be entered in a drawing for a Red Cross T-shirt!
