Emergency Preparedness Tips from Palo Alto Hardware


Get ready. Be prepared. Don’t be blindsided in an emergency, whether it’s a fire, a bad storm, or…

Emergency Resources | Supply List | General Information | Planning

1/11/10 - Hey, those recent "little temblors "in the east bay probably caught your attention. We know they caught ours.

And the 6.6 shaker in Eureka County definitely made us pause! Take a look at the links below - they'll take you to some good information through the California Office of Emergency Services. Then get in here and pick up a few things that you will definitely need - flashlights, batteries, gas shut off wrench, tarps and more.

We also carry pre-packed kits for individuals, couples and families, along with a kit that will be a great addition to your car trunk. Let's be real - none of us likes to think about this. We have better things we'd like to do with our time. But please - DO think about it. And then ACT. Don't be caught unprepared!

We live in earthquake country. And we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn't stock products to keep you and your family safe and secure in the event of an earthquake or other disaster. But if you’re like most of us, we are busy with our jobs and our families, and don’t think about preparing for an emergency, unless it’s Disaster Preparedness Month (September). You hear about emergency kits and water supplies and contact plans and you think “I should do that”. Then you get busy, and it slips your mind and September is over and you don’t hear much about disaster preparedness until the next September.

That’s why we created “Emergency Preparedness 101”
The goal: Be prepared for an emergency in 12 months. Do it in small increments to make it easier for you.

We did our homework, talked to the Red Cross and City and County officials, and read through lots of information about preparedness. This is what we came up with, and we hope that what we’ve learned makes getting prepared easier for you.

It started in October 2007. Each month for 12 months, we featured two or three items that are part of any good emergency preparedness kit. The items were discounted for the entire month. We also suggested some food items that you should stock up on when you do your grocery shopping. And we worked in some helpful hints whenever possible.

But hey, it’s hard to think about an emergency until you are confronted with one. Didn’t start the program? Don’t stress about it! Drop by the store – we always have an endcap that with Emergency Supplies, along with information about emergency preparedness. The “official program” has ended, but our staff can answer questions you may have, and if we don’t know the answer, we’ll do our best to refer you to someone who can help you.

Our only request: Please start an emergency kit. We created this program for a very selfish reason: We’d like to keep all of our customers safe.

Dealing with outages

Tips for handling power outages:

Light: Have flashlights and battery-powered radios on hand.

Phones: Keep fully charged cell phones and corded regular phones ready. Cordless phones won't work in an outage.

Refrigeration: Fill and stow several liter-sized soda bottles in the freezer. In an outage, they can be put in the refrigerator to keep food from spoiling.

Power lines: If you see a downed power line, call PG&E's emergency help line at (800) 743-5002.

Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

The City of Palo Alto has launched a Community Alert and Notification System (Palo Alto CANS) and encourages the community to 'sign-up' for the system provided by Connect-CTY® from The NTI Group, Inc. City Staff, in collaboration with the Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN), local industry, and Palo Alto Neighborhood Disaster Assistance (PANDA) volunteers, have been working together to determine what the needs are for the community and how the new system might be used. Palo Alto CANS will enable the City to communicate with all residents regarding time-sensitive matters, such as unforeseen events or emergencies.

For more information, or to sign up, click here.

Santa Clara County Supes Approve New Emergency Alert System
By Mercury News
Article Launched: 09/23/2008 11:29:56 AM PDT

Santa Clara County supervisors approved funding today for a regional emergency alert system for use in the case of a catastrophic event or disaster.

Multiple formats will be used to communicate with residents of 15 cities in the county as well as unincorporated areas, informing them of evacuation areas, shelter locations and other life-saving information.

The new emergency notification system is expected to cost approximately $1.5 million per year for the first three years of implementation, and will target the county's roughly 1.8 million residents and 565,000 households.

Notifications will go out via land lines and cell lines, on Web sites and through e-mail and text messages for those residents who have agreed to voluntary listings in 911 and 411 databases. Alerts will advise them on safety measures following fires, major crime incidents, hazardous material spills, infectious disease and contaminated food outbreaks and road and school closures.

The new notification system will enhance, but not supplant, existing communication systems used by first responders.