Flood-Proof Friday - Get Ready Update

It's been a while since I did a Flood-Proof Friday post. It's a segment of my blog that will always be here but I don't need to write about flooding every Friday - unless I have something important I want to say or express. Back in November I wrote about signing up for the Get Ready Queensland initiative which basically prepares you and your home over a period of fifty two weeks, for any natural disaster event. I thought I would recap what the weekly suggestions are so far:

1. 'Like' the SES Queensland Facebook page

2. Get a first aid kit or make sure the one you have is up to date

3. Make sure you have a battery operated radio and spare batteries

4. Save 000 in your phone for emergencies

You used to have to ring a different number from your mobile but 000 now works. We had to ring an ambulance for Paul's dad last year and 000 got me straight through. Quicker to dial it than store it though I think?

5. Make sure you have enough water for 3 days

This is always an issue for us. We put pots and pans out to catch rainwater and use the floodwater to flush our toilets, as well as relying on our bottled supply.

6. Get a gas cooker so you can still boil water and cook if the power goes out

Our gas stove has been the best thing for floods. Imagine a fridge full of food that has to be cooked before it goes off? Paul did rely on a small gas burner one year, and boiled eggs as the chooks laid them.

7. Check electrical items for damage before use (ie. Christmas lights)

An odd thing to put on the list at this stage although I suppose it was emailed at Christmas time.

8. Where would you stay if you had to evacuate your home - have a plan

We have great neighbours who own a camping ground and the helicopter shot in my cover photo was taken from there. We have stayed at their place several times when we had to get out.

9. Save 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) in your phone for non-emergency health advice

A great suggestion. I did not even know about this information line. Have you used it for advice before?

10. Ensure you have a working torch and spare batteries

11. Get to know your neighbours, maybe even swap phone numbers

We had thought of getting everyone together but it has not eventuated. It is on my to-do list. When Cathryn from Cobb and Co was arranging for the lady next door to get airlifted from her roof, we discovered the value of knowing who your neighbours are.

12. Make a list of your valuable items and take photos for insurance purposes

13. On hot days check on elderly relatives and neighbours to make sure they are okay.

A great point, but not sure of it's relevance (for this list) anyway. Living out here we don't have close elderly neighbours.

14. Find out where your nearest hospital emergency department is

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There you have it! With fourteen weeks into the fifty-two we have certainly covered a few essentials. I question the order of priorities with a few of them, as there are several things I would have included by now if I were designing the list. For example, a stockpile of food would be more important than making a list of my valuable items...to me anyway :)

What are your thoughts? With bushfires and floods now affecting people where they haven't before, do you have some sort of plan?

Social Media and Missing Persons

MISSING

It probably comes as no surprise that the first 48 hours when someone disappears, is the most crucial. But, have you ever thought about what you would do if your child or another family member went missing? Recently I received a phone call from the local police wanting to know if one of my boy's friends was staying at our house for the night. His mother did not have our phone number and he had been missing for 24 hrs.

Through Facebook and appealing to friends of friends the boys were able to track down their friend, who had had an argument with his mum, and was staying at his girlfriend's house. Now, that girlfriend's mother probably never knew that this boy's mum did not know where he was. I know because the boys have done it to me too - not staying at girlfriend's of course, but staying at other kid's houses. Needless to say we now have a policy that I have to meet the parents (some of them actually think this is odd?) and talk to them on the phone to ensure the boys are there. Anyway I am now sidetracking....

The reason for this post is to provide some information which I gained from a link mentioned in our local paper. Missing Persons Guide Australia offers some really practical advice on where to start if someone you love goes missing. You can even create a Missing Persons Poster - hopefully you would never need one. They suggest that most people are found in the first 48 hours but damned if I would wait that long before doing anything. This is a summary of the suggested steps to take:

Immediately

• Gather details (physical description, circumstances)
• Report to the police (Missing Person Details Form)
• Create poster and distribute 
• Contact Australian Missing Persons Register (AMPR - Facebook)
• Spread the word - doorknock, email etc

Before doing all of the above, I would obviously try and locate my boys the old-fashioned way - by doing a ring around. After ringing around with no result I would put a post on Facebook. I have seen them many times on our Gympie Buy and Sell pages (these have thousand of members) looking for a missing teen and encouraging people to share. To date, the child always gets found, so I think this is really effective.  I have liked the Australian Missing Persons Register Facebook page...you never know when you may spot someone who is missing.

I found the poster template on this site a little primitive and it saves as a PDF which I have no idea how to share to Facebook. Did you know that your local Officeworks (who have a charity fund) or Courthouse will print your Missing Posters for free? Handy information to know.

First Week

• Create Facebook page
• Create Twitter account
• Store information centrally eg. drop box
• Send a media release
• Contact relevant people and organisations

I would think that if your loved one is missing for more than a few days then all of the above would be handled by the Police, to ensure that all bases are covered. I sure don't want to lose someone for me to find out whether that is the case.

I guess if your child was missing you would automatically assume the worst ie. that they may have been abducted. I certainly would. I am wondering if you know about the awesome app available on the Daniel Morecombe Foundation website. It is called the Help Me App and everyone should have it on their phone.

"The 'Help Me' button sounds a warning and allows you to send off an SMS text to two (2) nominated safety numbers, as part of your Trusted Safety Network. Included in the text are GPS co-ordinates from where the text was sent, so the sender can be located or a last known place of contact is indicated. It also provides a range of helpful resources and assistance that is designed to educate kids and parents on how to keep safe plus keep them up to date on the latest news! It offers safety and assistance for children and reassurance for parents and adults."

For a 99c donation to the Morecombe Foundation it is well worth it! The alarm itself may be enough to scare a predator off.

A serious topic I know, considering I have talked a lot about floods, bushfires and cybersafety lately, I don't mean to be so serious...but when I see something interesting and learn something I didn't know before then I figure others may not know too.

Have you ever had a loved one go missing? What would you do first? (Besides panic!)