There is just no sense in pussy-footing around this issue, so I am going to ask a couple of questions right off. Do you have your disaster supply kit ready yet? How about your disaster plan? Your out-of-area contact? ARE YOU WATCHING THE NEWS?
Of all the earthquake events that have taken place in recent years, this one in Japan most closely approximates what we would have if we had our great quakes today, you know, the ones for which we are overdue?
We are all aching for those folks over in Japan, wishing we could do something to help, and I will get to that in a minute. But for now, while the Japanese are the most prepared people in the world as far as earthquakes go, because they are on an island and have so many major quakes on a regular basis, there are people on that island right now who are starving to death. That does not include the thousands killed by the tsunami and the two major earthquakes they have had at the time this column was written. There are people who are starving to death because they did not have emergency food and water in their homes stored in a secure place in the event of an emergency.
According to Pam Knapp-Carver, executive director of the Northeast Arkansas Chapter American Red Cross, there are two websites you can visit to see a complete list of disaster supply kit supplies. The first is www.arkansasredcross.org and the second is www.redcross.org. If you do not have internet access, call the local chapter office at 870-763-4481, and they can give you a complete list of steps to take to help your family ride out a disaster such as an earthquake or tornado in the days following until help can arrive from other areas.
Now, back to Japan. If you have civilian (non-military) friends or relatives in Japan about whom you have not heard, the Japanese Red Cross working with the International Red Cross and the American Red Cross has set up a master list at www.icrc.org/familylinks. This list can be checked and names can be added.
If you do not have Internet access, the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, has set up a locater service for U.S. Citizens living or traveling in Japan. These numbers are 888-407-4747 and 202-647-5225. And, of course, you can call the local Red Cross Chapter for more information.
Knapp-Carver said before the second quake and the power plant explosion that occurred Sunday night, all U.S. Military personnel had been counted and were safe. However, she said the military will need to release the status of those service members caught in the radiation cloud after the latest explosion, and they will contact families directly.
The Japanese Red Cross, she said, is one of the best in the world because they have thousands of trained volunteers. What they are asking for right now is money. With people being evacuated not only from earthquake and tsunami areas but also from regions around nuclear power plants, and with grocery stores literally devoid of any food or water, the Red Cross is setting up dozens of shelters and feeding centers and needs funds to purchase and import the basic needs of its population. To donate to this disaster, go to www.redcross.org and make a donation to the fund set up online for Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. While it is unlikely that all funds will not be needed for this event, any funds left over after the needs of the Japanese people are met will go to fund volunteer training and resupplying for other disaster responses.
You can also donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999 or you can bring your donations to the local Red Cross chapter office at the corner of 630 W. Walnut in Blytheville.
Of course, all of the training, the supplying, the planning and the logistics involving having volunteers where and when they are needed begins locally, and Knapp-Carver said volunteers are needed right now to begin training for the possible relief effort in the event an earthquake (or in our case, as with the current situation in Japan, series of earthquakes) does occur along the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
These quakes are what we could expect if an event occurred here, the rolling of the earth, the dozens of shocks magnitude 4-6 that occurred BEFORE the first earthquake, and the hundreds of aftershocks occurring between the major quakes, all of which causing damage and injury. And you need to remember that everything in Japan is built to withstand huge quakes. Our Arkansas legislature recently voted down a bill that would require earthquake measures to be added to building codes here on the New Madrid.
Donations and volunteers are both badly needed, and they are needed today, for both the ongoing Japanese disaster and for a possible future local relief effort. For more information, contact Knapp-Carver at the chapter office at 763-4481, or just go by. They are waiting to hear from you.
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