Contributed by Debra McGhan, Mat-Su Local Emergency Planning Committee
September is all about preparing for emergencies and disasters: https://Ready.Gov - National Emergency Preparedness Month.
For more than a decade the Mat-Su Valley has been home to the annual Emergency Preparedness Expo; first at the Mat-Su College, and later as it grew much larger, the Menard Sports Center.
This year, it’s been like September since January when 2020 roared in with an unwelcome visitor and unleashed this corona virus pandemic on the world. Those who were not stocked up and prepared with supplies found out the hard way just how uncomfortable, inconvenient and downright scary that feels like.
No toilet paper, face masks, disinfecting wipes, meat… and lots of other things that just disappeared from store shelves. And are still often in very short supply. This has been a time to hunker down and figure out how we are going to survive. We must dig past the rumors and clutter and downright lies to find truth and fact. Instead of a world united, we have discovered a world divided, fractured and far from prepared.
But with every challenge comes opportunity. Instead of focusing on all we have lost, this is a time to zoom in on what we can and are gaining: cleaner public transportation, a lot more elbow room, time to slow down and just be home. Versatility in the classroom. It’s a time for creative adventures and finding new paths to address old problems.
For those struggling with underlying illness, loss of income and a myriad of other challenges, finding answers to scary questions is more important than ever.
The Mat-Su Emergency Preparedness Expo planning committee wants to help. This group of dedicated emergency management personnel and volunteers have been doing everything they can to help develop and launch new, innovative solutions to answer critical questions.
This September, instead of a one-day live event that brings hundreds of people together to learn and practice emergency and disaster preparedness, due to the COVID-19 virus, the planning committee has recognized the importance of a safer alternative to an in-person expo. And so the expo is going to move again. This time you can join the free, entirely virtual platform hosted on the Mat-Su Borough’s website through all of September and beyond.
You’ll find a multitude of informative presentations on how to prepare for everything from avalanches to wild fire. Plus activities for the kids, including the annual poster contest.
The top poster in each of five age divisions will win a family emergency preparedness kit and other great prizes. All just for drawing a picture to share what being prepared for emergencies and disasters means to you.
For people like Tim McDaniel, it means having a fire extinguisher primed and close at hand. He knows all too well the horrors of a fire that destroyed his home and took the lives of his beloved dogs.
“I had a space heater get knocked over and incinerate my entire world,” said McDaniel. “I’ve had to learn by losing everything the hard lesson of how important it is to be prepared and ready. Often just doing that can prevent the disaster in the first place.”
Lawrence Agosti would agree. He had what he described as a “humbling experience” one spring while riding his snowmachine with friends on the Kenai. It was one of those, ‘if it could go wrong it did,’ days.
“We got stuck out overnight in a blizzard with no real survival supplies. It was the most demoralizing moment of my life,” said Agosti. “I couldn’t believe how totally unprepared we really were for this ordeal.”
Agosti made it clear this experience made him realize that being prepared is THE most important thing we can control.
“If we had taken the time and effort to think about what could happen and what we might need, we would not have had to endure that horrible night. We almost died. We knew better. I know I’ll never make that mistake again.”
When disaster strikes, whether it impacts you, your family or the entire community, you may have questions. Many questions. Like, “What should be in my emergency kit? Where can I get a reliable weather forecast,” or, “Where is the safest place to be in an earthquake?”
The Mat-Su Borough Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) wants to help answer your questions about staying safe no matter what the situation. They’ve gathered information covering a host of topics from what to do if the power goes out to disasters like earthquakes, fires, floods, and yes, a pandemic.
You are invited to join the platform and share with your family and friends the 2020 Emergency Preparedness Expo online starting September 1, 2020. Come explore the variety of informative and interactive offerings. Bring your questions and your curiosity. Check it out online at https://matsugov.us.
If you have a great presentation to share, you can submit your idea to Talon.Boeve@matsugov.us for consideration to be included.
