Hello COAD Outreach Partners - 

 

COAD's AFN & Older Adults Subcommittee continues this year's information campaign for emergency preparedness. As our partners, we encourage you to share this information with as many clients and partners as you can so that more people know about the resources available in our community before a disaster happens. The first steps in a response for vulnerable individuals, such as older adults and those with access and functional needs, is preparedness. Together we can build a more resilient Napa County!

 

This week's topic is: EMERGENCY SUPPLIES & CRITICAL DOCUMENTS

 

We provide OUTREACH QUESTIONS as conversation starters for this week's topic, and in the following section we provide the RESOURCES to answer those questions. Flyers, in both pdf and jpeg formats, and links are provided for easy sharing. You may use the jpeg images for online sharing, and the pdf versions for sharing hard copies and via email. Feel free to share this information with your distribution list of partners and/or include this information in any newsletters you may send out to the greater community. 

 

If you are sharing these flyers on Facebook, please copy and paste this blurb as the caption and tag us (@Napa Valley COAD):

 

English: "Napa Valley COAD continues this spring's information campaign! Our topic this week in preparedness is EMERGENCY SUPPLIES & CRITICAL DOCUMENTS. It can be difficult to replace your critical documents if anything were to happen to them during an emergency. Be sure they are all together in an accessible location so you are able to "grab and go" in the case of an evacuation. You may even want to digitize these documents so you can access them in case you're not home when the disaster takes place. Emergency supplies should also be prepared before a disaster. Keep a go bag ready during fire season to stay ahead! Take a look at these resources and please share them so more people can be informed. Thank you!"

Spanish: "¡El Napa Valley COAD continúa nuestra campaña informativa de esta primavera! El tema de preparación de esta semana es SUMINISTROS DE EMERGENCIA Y DOCUMENTOS IMPORTANTES. Puede ser difícil reemplazar sus documentos importantes si algo les pasa durante una emergencia. Asegúrese que todos sus documentos estén juntos en un lugar accesible por si se tiene que salir de repente durante una evacuación. Tal vez considere digitalizar sus documentos para que los pueda acceder si no está en casa cuando sucede el desastre. Los suministros de emergencia también deben de estar preparados antes de un desastre. Tenga su mochila de emergencia lista durante la temporada de incendios forestales para mantenerse preparado. Mire estos recursos y por favor compártelos para que más personas puedan informarse. ¡Gracias!"

EMERGENCY GO BAG/ STAY BOX

A Go Bag is a backpack or bag filled with emergency supplies and personal items that you take with you when there is an evacuation. It's good to have one ready and handy, so if there is a spontaneous evacuation, you're ready to head out safely. A few things to include would be your critical documents (either hard copies or digital copies), medication lists, cash in small bills, and other personal items. Your Go Bag should be in an accessible area so you are able to evacuate quickly and safely. Below is the COAD Go Bag flyer with more ideas of what to include in your emergency Go Bag.  

A Stay Box is an emergency kit for your household in the case you need to shelter-in-place. This is typical during and after earthquakes and floods. The roads are too dangerous to evacuate, so people need to shelter-in-place and have the supplies necessary for these situations. There could be power outages, so flashlights and extra batteries are essential, as well as lots of bottled water and nonperishable foods with a long shelf-life.  

 

NOTE: REMEMBER TO PERIODICALLY CHECK THE NONPERISHABLE FOODS YOU MAY PACK IN YOUR GO BAG OR STAY BOX TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE STILL SAFE TO EAT.

GRAB LIST

Not all families can have Go Bags ready because the items in these bags are used daily, so having a grab list is a great alternative. Many people "steal" from their Go Bags because they need the items, and never replenish the things they take out. A Grab list is a list of all the things you would need to take with you in the case of an evacuation (and where you will find these items), so you don't forget anything before you leave.

 

Below is a Grab List and Critical Documents worksheet in both English and Spanish.

CRITICAL DOCUMENTS

Critical documents can be very difficult or impossible to replace if they are left behind during an evacuation. Everyone should put all their critical documents together in an accessible area. They should be somewhere handy in the case that you need to leave abruptly. Older adults may have a more extensive list of critical documents that may include medication lists and other medical documents. More information can be found below in the Vial of Life section.

 

Below is a Grab List and Critical Documents worksheet in both English and Spanish.

VIAL OF LIFE

A Vial of Life form, when filled out and readily accessible, is a smart way to have your medical information on hand just in case of an emergency. This helps medical personnel know your many things about you when you can’t think straight due to the disaster at hand. Leave these documents on your fridge for easy access!

PET PREPAREDNESS

Many older adults don't live with any direct family members, and instead look to pets for companionship. These pets become important members of the family that also need supplies in case of evacuations. Be sure to pack a go bag for your pets and have a hard case carrier for easy and safe evacuations.

 

Napa CART has a Senior Evacuation Toolkit for their companion animals, and more resources on how to evacuate larger animals. 

• NapaCART main website
• Senior Evacuation Toolkit

Jameson Humane has some great resources on how to prepare your pets for emergencies and also does pet food distributions at certain locations. 

• Disaster Preparedness with Jameson Humane
• Pet Food Pantry

NV COAD PREPAREDNESS CALENDAR