In the week leading up to Christmas we witnessed some pretty amazing changes in weather, the torrential downpour caught many unprepared, as did the flooding that followed. For many the rain was a welcome sight, for others it was a heart aching time as it flooded houses and roads, destroyed gardens and uprooted trees. How did your house fare? Did your guttering cope with the volume of water? What about the drains and drainage areas around your house? It was a perfect time to get a little wet and see how our yards, houses and streets coped with the huge amount of water that fell.
It was also an interesting time to look around your neighbourhood and see where the flooding zones are and consider what worst-case scenario might see your house suddenly flooded. If you have drains near or out front your house consider how high the water might get if they became blocked. Literally just up the road from us was under nearly a metre of water as the drains failed to cope and overflowed, the run off from the street and houses on higher ground had nowhere else to go so the water level continued to rise. Further down the road were more scenes of severe flooding leaving the road totally cut off in several sections.
Great for sightseers but not so great for the poor people whose houses were suddenly filled with water.
For us as a prepared people there is plenty we can do to ensure our houses do not become flooded and to ride out any power outages that may occur during a storm.
Check your guttering is always clear of debris, if you have a sewer drain out front your property ensure that it is kept clear, don’t let grass clippings and other rubbish accumulate near it or fall down into it. Though it is not nice to have to clean up after someone else has had a party and left a mess on the road, it is less fun to have to rip up your carpet and throw out all the furniture that gets ruined in a flood.
If you feel your home may be susceptible to flooding, consider storing some sand bags somewhere easy to get to but out of everyday sight. If you can sandbag around your doors before the water gets too high you stand a fair chance of avoiding the mess and damage caused.
Even now there are still signs of the direction and depth of the water, in our yards and in the street, take advantage if this and consider ways you can divert water off your property and back onto the street, it may mean building a new and somewhat curiously designed garden that directs water away from the house. Of course I don’t mean for you to direct it straight into the neighbours yard!
Inside the roof is another place we should look, cracked tiles or gaps in the mortar that can’t be seen from ground level may allow rain to seep into the ceiling causing damage to the ceiling as well as the electrical cabling in the roof. It would be quite an amazing irony for your house to short out and catch fire in the middle of a huge downpour. Of course that is worst-case scenario. But the damage that can be caused to our insulation and ceiling plaster and electrical circuitry is a real possibility. Check it out and get it fixed.
Of course the other side to heavy rain is loss of power, no big deal during the day but in the evening and throughout the night, it can cause a problem. Ensure you know where your torches and batteries or candles and matches are. Do you have another means of cooking if your stove is electric? Can you get by without the power on for anywhere up to several hours? Did you know that wrapping your freezer in a blanket will help keep it frozen longer?
Now of course we are faced with the other side of summer… the extremely hot days. After all this rain our gardens have shouted out in joy… but now they face the threat of dying in the heat, not much we can do during the day but in the evening we can water them from our grey water or other water storage to help them survive the heat.
Same applies to us, we can dehydrate really quickly and become affected by the heat. Thankfully it has become commonplace and in some instances a fashion accessory to carry water bottles so there is no excuse for us not to keep hydrated. I took 2 large bottles of water to both the full rehearsal and then the actual night of the carols by candlelight and needed both of them along with the bottle supplied under our seats each night. I still found myself dehydrated and took a few days to recover fully. So it is not just out in the sun that we can get dehydrated.
Preventing sunburn, heat stroke and dehydration is a matter of being wise and not foolish. Stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible; wear a hat, long sleaves and sunscreen if you are out in the sun. Keep your fluids up and don’t overdo the foods and drinks that tend to sap us such as salted nuts and soft drinks. If you find yourself getting too hot, wiping your extremities with a cool cloth as well as your face, neck and top of your head can help to cool you down. Keep cool fresh water and shade available to pets at all times during the summer, they suffer the heat just as much as we do and don’t have the luxury of being able to wander around without their fur coat on.
We are a peculiar people and we need to be a prepared people in all things. Don’t assume all will be well, but neither should we join the doomsayers. Being prepared means to take all things into consideration and have action plans in place in the event of an emergency or a change to the normal flow of life. Becoming prepared in all things does give a sense of peace, through the knowledge gained, the plans put into place, through the understanding of the welfare program and through knowing that we are living the gospel not just watching from the sidelines.
If you haven’t already done so, set yourself some achievable goals for your own and for your families welfare preparedness then stick it on the fridge or somewhere you will see it and actually read it rather than just look at it and make the time and effort to fulfil your gaols, the rewards will be greater than just having everything in place.
Until next year my dear brothers and sisters remember it is good to be a summer sun avoiding, rehydrating, personally prepared, goal making, cool keeping, all thing considerin’, spirit feeling Latter Day Saint.
Yours in preparedness
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