Whistles and Larabars: #preparednessfail
my blog of shame
Every Tuesday at noon, the city of San Francisco tests its outdoor warning system.
I know this because I hear it from my office on the 10th floor of the federal building each week, and after two months of wondering what the heck it was, I finally looked it up. It is loud and jarring from the Financial District, and the message is very hard to make out.
Apparently, there are 109 of these sirens on top of buildings and on poles through the city, on Treasure Island, and Yerba Buena (where?).
Two weeks or so ago, when I heard it, I Googled “Noon Siren San Francisco” to learn that the city does this as both a test of the Outdoor Public Warning System (OPWS) and…
…to remind people “to build an emergency supply kit and be prepared to be self sufficient for 72 hours.”
#facepalm
I still haven’t done it yet. After promising the world (the world of Medium.com, anyway) that I would do it and post it.
I keep seeing the giant jugs of water at the Marina Safeway (aka the “Dateway”) advertised for 2/$5.00. And I’ve either been in a hurry or been walking since it’s 2 blocks from my apartment and I couldn’t carry them. Next time, I tell myself. Next time.
And I keep meaning to buy one of these emergency radio thingies. But I haven’t yet.
So what have I done?
Okay, so got these really cool whistle compass things. On Amazon. For like $1 as add-on items. So now I know where north is and I can blow a whistle in case I’m trapped. Pretty lame, Abby, pretty lame.
And I always have bars in the house from all the bike riding, but we know these are going to get eaten in the next day and a half:
But, in researching this blog post, I actually learned a few things, and I’ve done a few things that are important IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!
Indeed, emergency preparedness is about supplies and whistles and gadgets and having a enough food and water for 72 hours or more. But in Googling that wacky siren, I learned there is an organization called “SF72" that provides resources and guidance on emergency preparedness for the city.
Per their suggestion, I started following SF72, SF_emergency, and 511, on Twitter.
I joined Nextdoor, which links people in the neighborhood in case of emergency.
I listed an “In Case of Emergency” contact in my phone.
And I really, really liked the slogan on SF72's “Get Connected” tab, which says “Preparedness is all about people.” So, I gave my business card and personal contact information to all my neighbors, and I invited them to return theirs. Maybe we can all throw our Larabars and sunflower seeds into a pool and survive more than 72 hours together.
Here’s hoping that next Tuesday, when the siren goes off, I will write myself a note to drive to the Safeway and buy those jugs of water.
GET PREPARED!!!
