[00:00:02] Speaker A: There's a disaster on the horizon. It's imminent, it's life threatening, it's going to be destructive. But to what extent are you ready?
Do you know what to do?
Let me help you. Right here, right now.
This is where personal public safety coupled with community awareness and practical knowledge come together to help you make informed decisions for you, your family and your pets.
Stay until the end to learn about an important giveaway.
It could just save your life.
Cue the music.
Foreign.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: From the natural state. This is Public Facing the Podcast with Joe Holman.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Alright, thanks, Annabelle.
Today we're talking about something that affects every one of us, regardless of where we live, how much money we have, or even what kind of work we do.
Emergency preparedness.
Not fear, not panic, just preparedness.
Now, whether you're dealing with hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, there's quite a list. Earthquakes, winter storms, power outages, communication outages, cyber attacks, hazardous material incidents and other emergencies, of course.
But with all that, one truth remains.
The more prepared you are before a disaster, the more options you'll have during one.
Most experts, well, from FEMA and from Ready.gov and NOAA, the National oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and emergency management agencies across this great country, they agree that preparedness begins long before an emergency occurs.
Welcome to Public Facing the Podcast. I'm Joe Holman.
Today we're going to walk through practical and actionable steps that you can take to prepare yourself, your family, your pets and your community.
There's not going to be any of this extreme survivalism, no doom and gloom, just realistic, achievable preparedness so that you're not caught unexpectedly or with your pants down, so to speak.
See, we're trying to avoid the compromising positions here.
So let's start with understanding what threats are actually relevant to where you live.
One of the biggest mistakes, I think, is people making or preparing for someone else's emergency.
Yeah, preparedness is not one size fits all.
A hurricane plan in Florida may not help so much in, say, Montana.
And an earthquake plan in California, well, I don't think that'll look identical when it comes to a blizzard plan in Minnesota.
So let's break down these threats into, say, three levels.
Obviously, local threats. So these are the emergencies most likely to affect you in your immediate community.
Things like house fires, flash floods, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, ice storms, wildfires, power outages, utility outages, chemical spills and transportation accidents.
These are the ones that happen right here up in front, right where you are.
So ask yourself, what disasters have happened within 25 miles of my home in say the last 10 or 20 years.
See history is often the best predictor of what the future risk could be.
So after we've nailed down what our local threats are, now let's look at what our regional threats are.
These are the ones that affect larger geographic areas example like hurricanes, drought, major flooding, extreme heat events, ice storms, winter storms, even large scale wildfires depending on where you're at.
So local threats, regional threats and finally national threats. So although these are less frequent, they're still important.
Some examples might be pandemic events.
Don't we know that one national infrastructure disruptions, cyber attacks, supply chain interruptions.
Now we know that with, even with the situation in Iran that you know it's taken its toll on certain supplies that is being you know, gasoline, jet fuel, all that good stuff.
And on top of those supply chain interruptions, another national threat, terror incidents, terrorist incidents, you know back to 9, 11.
So those are the, the breakdown of the local, regional and national threats. Now one of the easiest things that you can do right now today is visit ready.gov It's a great resource for beginning or to top off your preparedness journey.
Also FEMA go to fema.gov that's F E M a dot gov.
It's an excellent useful information for preparing for and managing emergencies.
I'm most drawn, I'm pretty happy with the app that FEMA has released in the Play store and the Apple Store.
I get my weather alerts through it but you'll get any type of alert that is for your area.
The release of, of that information like say because it's from a, a federal agency, it sticks a little better than somebody.
I guess what I'm saying is these, the folks there at FEMA are you know, experts in much of that. So I also I go to weather.gov it's a real time source for your up to the minute weather information alerts, safety, heck even, even the radar is available there. And weather.gov shares an awful lot of good tips on preparedness as well as you know, with your safety and so and review your local hazard information from your state or county emergency management agencies.
Now knowing your risks that helps determine what preparation that actually makes sense for you because again it's not one size fits all.
So when severe weather strikes, seconds really matter no matter what the situation. There's no time to waste unnecessarily.
Now an all hazard radio with NOAA weather radio alert capabilities that provide 24 hour alerts directly from the National Weather Service. And even when cell towers are down or Internet service is unavailable.
This is a radio signal that comes to it. It's a receiver and so there's a greater chance that that will make it.
That'll make it to your your All Hazard Radio.
Now, many models include battery backup and emergency alert capabilities.
You can ask your local emergency management agency or your electronics retailer about all hazard radios that come with the NOAA weather alerts.
Now I'll be making an important announcement about these later in this broadcast.
So stay informed, stay prepared by whatever means.
All hazard radios from your local retailer or distributor.
Now, we're all well informed on the many perils of this current severe weather and tornado outbreak season. It's been rough already.
Now pile on top of that, the possibilities that are building in this early part of hurricane season on top of it.
So I am running a giveaway.
You're welcome to enter to win. This will be one NOAA weather radio with same localized programming.
It's weather Alert radio with more than 80 emergency alerts, including an alarm clock, NOAA Weather Radio with battery backup, plus an external warning light for emergency notifications. Now this is very helpful.
The light is like an extra boost when when a when a alert comes through. Let's say you're hearing impaired.
You may or may not be close enough to hear your weather radio trip, but what you're you'd be able to see the light with it. I've been really happy with this particular make and model.
So if you enter to win, you can enter by submitting an email to me at hello at Public Facing Pod Stream. That's hello at Public Facing Pod Pod Stream.
The drawing will be made on July 5, 2026. Winner will be notified for prize delivery and announced on an upcoming episode.
So now let's talk about planning and preparedness.
See, preparedness isn't about buying stuff.
Preparedness is making decisions before stress and the threat arrive.
So think about these questions.
How will the family members contact each other?
Will there be a preset relative or communication point if it's a time of disaster?
Oftentimes the cellular systems are overloaded at the time.
I have heard of people who have instead of making a local call through their cell phone during a disaster time that they contacted someone long distance in a whole other state. And those calls seem to go through freer than that of local to local calls because the system is just simply overloaded with everyone trying to get a call through.
But what if cell phones fail?
What are your options then?
Well, if you're in close proximity of one another, you could Utilize FRS radios. Those are from the family radio service.
There is no license required. They're on very low power and they're set for specific frequencies.
Another option though is gmrs. That's the general mobile radio service.
And in getting a license for the GMRS, there's no exam. You simply go to the fcc.gov website and you, you set up your FRN number and I say FRN number, but the N actually stands for number.
Anyway, once that's in place and you process your, you know, application for the GMRS license, you'll get a contact back from the FCC and they'll send you things saying you need to pay the fee, which I believe currently is $35.
That license, once granted, is good for you, your immediate family, all the way down to your grandkids even. I thought that was interesting.
And you are able to operate with a bit more power on those, and in doing so you're signal could potentially reach farther.
Now that's a, that's a secondary or thirdly option, I guess in this case. But what about ham radio, Amateur radio?
How about you have to obtain the study materials and you can go through that.
When you're ready to do the actual test, you can do in person or online.
Then once you've received your certificate from the volunteer examiners, then they'll submit that also to the FCC.
You'll be contacted to process a payment to the FCC.
This license also is good for 10 years. But the obviously what I'm getting at is there you're studying, so there is an exam for the amateur radio license. You'd start out at the technician level and once that's attained, you could move on up to general or extra.
Anyway, on that, where's everybody going to meet? You guys have a preset location and what happens if evacuation becomes necessary?
What about transportation?
Do you have elderly relatives? Who's going to check on them? Who's the point of contact with transportation that can serve them? Especially if there's a situation where you need to evacuate.
How will that happen?
And who picks up the children? What if it's in the middle of the day, your kids are at school?
Now we need to know who the point of contact is with transportation that is able to take care of getting the children from school.
Many families, they discover during an emergency that everyone assumed that someone else had a plan or was doing something, whatever that something might be.
Test your plans.
The emergency management, the managers often say that plans, they aren't practiced.
And if they're not practiced, then they only become Suggestions?
So run simple drills. Practice how to evacuate your home in case of a fire, severe weather, sheltering in place, family communication. How is it that you guys find your way to reach one another during
[00:19:19] Speaker B: a
[00:19:21] Speaker A: time of disaster and who your emergency contacts are. Make sure that the phone numbers are right, make sure they're available to you at the time and keep in mind that. What if the cell phone battery is, is dead? What if, what if you got the number inadvertently entered incorrectly? What? Well, this is a great way to run those simple drills and to practice and see what works. And if you're in an area of deficiency, by all means, then let's beef that area up and do it right.
You don't need military style exercises to do this. We are not building a, not building a bunker or anything like that.
Even a 10 minute discussion around the dinner table, that can reveal weaknesses. And like I said, where there's weaknesses, we need to fill in those holes and fortify that area so that you're beyond a shadow of a doubt rather you're taken care of in time of emergency.
Now, different households need different plans.
Again, it's not a one size fits all.
For instance, consider apartment residents.
I've been through a tornado before when I was a child that we lived in an apartment on the third floor and we had to go down to the lowest level hallway and we waited down there.
And the tornado, when it passed, we went back upstairs and the building directly across from us, their third floor roof was gone on one end of the building.
So just a key for, you know, staying away from windows, that sort of thing. In those type of severe weather, severe thunderstorms and also in tornadoes and hurricanes for that matter. Shoot.
Okay, what about rural residents?
Rural residents, oftentimes they need to go into a below ground storm shelter.
Maybe they don't have a basement where they live.
Maybe that's not an option.
And families with children, they pose a unique need as well because now it's not just one person that you're trying to keep an eye on. You have to do for yourself, your child as well as if, if there's other family members with you.
This, this plan needs to account for all of you.
So single adults. Now these are unique because single adults, you know, they may be at work, they may be at home, they may
[00:22:48] Speaker B: be
[00:22:51] Speaker A: no telling what their location might be. This is when we start checking in with our neighbors and that sort of thing to make sure that everyone's alright.
And how about elderly residents?
You know, these, these folks tend to more so than not have mobility issues and lack of transportation issues.
Some even have medical equipment.
So we need to look to account for all of those aspects.
Same with people with disabilities.
Again, with the limited mobility, the transportation can be an issue, especially depending on what they're.
If all they have to get around is a power wheelchair, then we have to have a vehicle that will accommodate that. Also, what do we do when their batteries are run dead on? That does the person have extra batteries?
So finally, pet owners. Pet owners, yeah. The need to make sure that your pet has a collar up to date, identification tags, a leash, a crate and or a carrier, their food, their particular food and their medications, whatever those might be.
More times than not, these, these pets require heartworm pills.
Some may require other medications such as for seizures or just whatever variety of a situation is.
Now each of these has a unique need.
So preparedness should reflect your actual life, not some generic checklist.
Specifics matter in this regard.
Now one myth about preparedness is that it requires hundreds or thousands of dollars.
It does not.
Let's discuss budget preparedness and premium preparedness if you're on a shoestring budget.
Now the.
We start with water.
The guideline is one gallon per person per day, a minimum of three days.
So you can get the like say at dollar tree or something. As an example, you can get a gallon of the water there. And again you'd probably want to put at least three days worth some shelf stable food.
Now oftentimes it's going to be cans. It might be, I don't know, might be Vienna sausages, it might be fruit, it might be a variety of things.
The, the situation is though that it's shelf stable.
You're probably also going to want to put hands on a can opener at that time.
And flashlights.
Flashlights are great.
They serve a wonderful purpose and you can usually get them pretty cheap. But what about the batteries?
Yeah, most people remember that the batteries need to go. Now you can, you can get flashlights or consider getting a headlamp.
You can get the headlamps.
Sometimes they come even with batteries in them, so they're ready to go. It's like a whole package.
Now next is first aid supplies.
Do you have access to bandages, gauze, tourniquet, that sort of thing?
These are things that can really help out in a disaster situation. Remember?
Maybe I didn't stress this enough. Listen, when, when it comes down to a disaster happening for a certain area, let's say it's flooding, okay, you may not receive emergency rescue as quickly as you'd like. Remember, when that, when that disaster happens, the whole system of 911 and the responders, they are spread pretty darn thin, and it's just a matter of when they get. You know, listen, like I said, if the situation shows itself, you very well could be maybe not minutes, maybe not even hours.
It could be days, hopefully not, but it could be.
So when it comes to.
These are some of the things you'll need in order to survive until help arrives.
Now, don't forget a phone charger. Why does that matter? Well, if you have a phone charger and even if your power's out, you're like, well, Joe, this doesn't even work. I'm at home. I don't have power. You're right, you absolutely don't.
But when you, during a disaster, if you find yourself moving to a community center or something like that that they're using for shelter temporarily, chances are you'll have access to the electricity you need to charge your phone, or perhaps you are able to charge your phone in your car.
So now also prescription information.
This one is key. Okay.
Prescription information is more than just
[00:29:50] Speaker B: you
[00:29:50] Speaker A: rattling off a list. Off the top of your head, you might can do that. But what I'm getting at is that you want to, you want a paper list of all your medications, all your dosages, all of the information as far as how many times a day you take that medication, that sort of thing. It's very helpful because if you get to a place where you're separated from your medication, you're able to show that information to another medical professional who is probably in a better, better situation to replace that medication for you.
And you don't have to do this all at once.
Add one or two items each shopping trip as able, slowly build that capability, faster if possible.
But slow works too, because at least you're chipping away at that list.
Now, if you want to be moderately ready, well, you can expand that, that first list of items and add water storage.
Now, these are like I bought them before at Walmart. They are really water containers. I think they hold like 6 or 7 gallons at a time.
And with that buying that, you know, I was able to have access to drinking water, cooking water, sanitary water, and that was really a good thing. That helped. What about a backup power bank?
There's little handheld ones that you can put in a bag or in a purse or whatever, and you can use that as backup power.
And also a weather radio.
Now, with the weather radio, you're able to get information specifically for your county. If you set up the alerts. That way you can get it set up for your county or you know, several neighboring counties, whatever.
And you can also, you can have it set where just everything and anything that they said alert for yours is, your radio is going to go off. So weather radios are great. Weather alert radios are even better.
How about some emergency lighting?
Now this can be, this can be really several things. This can be, you know, maybe if it's safe, you can use candles.
You can also consider using glow sticks, those little siloam glow sticks.
Now also extra medications. Now your doctor would be able to help you with this because you're not looking for a full, you're not looking for a full prescription of this. You, you might want to get, you know, three to three to seven, three to 10 days, whatever of your medications so that you can stick these and have these ready to go in your kit. Because when you have that kit and the, the, the situation arises where if you've got to go, you've got access to that, you, you do know you'll be able to put hands on your stuff and you're not going to be able, you're not going to have to frantically run through the house.
Time is of the essence. And so you really wouldn't want to, really wouldn't want to linger there any longer than you had to in a severe situation or disaster.
Cash. How about cash? Cash is king.
If the power's out, well, that means that the ATMs aren't getting power either. And even if they were getting power, you run the risk of that being an empty ATM because with the just the frantic stampede, so to speak, you know, the, the machine might get cleaned out. Well then what do you do?
Because you won't be able to use credit card at that time. So cash is king and premium readiness. We've talked about budget, we just got done with moderate readiness. Now let's do premium for those with the resources. Now if they want to get really deep deep.
For those with the resources, how about a portable generator?
I know there are some generators that people are getting built into their homes or under their properties.
Also there are the gas, the, the gas generators.
I've used them in the past when it was wintertime. I live in a drilling that is all electric. So when it comes to ice storms and whatnot here, when, when the power goes out, we've got to stay warm some kind of way. So, so also with that, the home backup power system, that's the other I was just referring to.
What about freeze dried Food supplies. Now these, these really look like you just did add a bit of water to whatever the contents is that's been freeze dried and that would make your meal on it. But you do have to have a way to start that, that fire or to cook. And if you're going to do cooking, I don't recommend you necessarily running this in the house, but. So let's talk about water filtration systems.
Now water filtration systems, you can get the ones that are like a oversized rounded straw that will filter the water that you put through it or, or into your, your water storage you might put some of the, the believe they're like either like a bleach or chlorine. I'm not sure what they're made out of, but it's the tablets that go in there and they clean up the water, the water, they, they kill any microbes or anything that's in there that could be detrimental to you.
So after the water filtration systems, what about satellite communication devices?
Now some folks have phones specifically currently right now from T Mobile or Metro T Mobile that they have access to satellite capability from their phone. It's got to be specific phone. It's got to have that, that certain feature built in. So.
And what about fuel storage where it's legal and where it's safe.
Maybe you're in the position where
[00:38:31] Speaker B: you
[00:38:31] Speaker A: need fuel for your generator or you need fuel for your vehicle and you've stored it separately. Well that's, that's with that just make sure that you're, you're actually storing that fuel in a approved fuel container and yeah, that should be good there.
Now the goal here, please know the goal here isn't about creating a bunker.
This goal is really about reducing hardship on you at the time of the disaster.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Public facing the podcast.
[00:39:28] Speaker A: Now, when it comes to local pharmacy preparedness, let me ask you, do you have enough medication for an emergency?
Talk with your healthcare provider and your pharmacist about emergency prescription planning because you don't want to wait until the last day to refill your medicine.
Ideally you would like to fill your medicine at the first available day that it will allow you to refill your medicine because again it's, it's one of these things that times of the essence and if you're without your medication, I know that there's diabetics and there are people with heart problems and you know, the list goes on and on now.
But yeah, the many of the pharmacies they can help patients understand what the refill schedules and the medication storage recommendations are.
And again, preparedness starts with protecting your health.
So speak with your pharmacist today.
Well, let's discuss items frequently forgotten.
Now, experts, they consistently identify several overlooked necessities.
And some of these are things like documents. Yeah, IDs, copies of IDs, insurance policies, medical records, prescriptions, emergency contacts. We want to store both the digital and physical copies, preferably in a waterproof container or envelope so that you're not.
It just saves that if, that if it was introduced to somewhere that was wet, that it wouldn't actually damage your documents.
So store both of those, the digital and the physical copies together.
Flash drive and a, you know, whatever your other papers are.
And again, as I said earlier, cash is king. Yeah, see, electronic systems fail and the cash can still work when your cards can't.
And how about prescription eyeglasses? Now, many people own only one pair, so if you have a spare pair, include them in your kit.
And what about hygiene items?
Soap, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, diapers if needed.
We don't want to forget wipes.
And for the children, more of a comfort item. Their favorite toy or a game.
Not an electronic game, but maybe some board games if they're into that.
Comfort items. Maybe you want to include their, their blankie.
I almost said blankie. Oh, wait, I just did. Okay, but that sums up for the children. Now for adults, maybe a family photos.
You know, these are small but potent morale boosters.
And remember your mental resilience.
It matters.
Take care of your needs as well as your family's.
Your needs are important in this formula as well.
When it comes to chargers, extra charging cables, they often become unexpectedly valuable.
So you might want to gather a few of the, say, the type C, the micro usb. I mean, there's, I'm sure there's a few different ones, but.
So now let's talk about preparedness, both at home and when you're away. Because preparedness isn't only about your house. Think about where you spend your day.
You're at home. Okay, well, know where your utility shut offs are. Gas, water, all of it. Electric.
Get your breaker box or whatever.
Know where your fire extinguishers are and consider adding a small fire extinguisher to your preparedness kit. Because you never know.
And know when you're at home, where your shelters are around you. Like, where would you go if there was a disaster in your neighborhood?
These are important things to get worked out.
So also, let's say you're at work. Now, at work, you have to Know your evacuation routes, you have to know where the emergency exits are and you have to know what the severe weather procedures are.
Now if you're in your vehicle, I think it's, it's prudent for you to keep water, blanket again, a flashlight or a headlamp, a phone charger and a first aid kit. Now you are actually in essence making more than one kit because you're going to want one for home, you're going to want one in the car and you may or may not desire to put one somewhere at work or whatever. I'm just thinking out loud on that. But you definitely want your bases covered for sure.
Well, how about when you're traveling, you're nowhere near home.
So how about while you're traveling,
[00:46:28] Speaker B: research
[00:46:30] Speaker A: the local hazards to where you are.
Summer flood in the winter avalanche or snow or ice in the summer, heat, fire.
And stay tuned with the weather forecast. You can visit weather.gov you can also download a very important to me app that's in my arsenal is weather wise.
It's W e a t h e r w I s e and it's an app and best part, it's free.
You can use something like that or you can use weather bug. I've had better results with the weather wise myself and staying focused on or not focused but staying on top of the emergency alerts like with an all hazard radio or your cell phone if you have coverage there.
Computer notifications if you're, you know, plugged into somebody else's network.
Preparedness should travel with you.
Preparedness isn't something we want to leave at home.
We want this to be like the old American Express. We don't leave home without it.
The power outages, they can, they can happen anywhere.
Portable battery banks, those help keep phones and essential devices charged when electricity isn't available.
To be better prepared for power loss, choose quality products from reputable manufacturers and keep them charged before emergencies occur.
Reliable power, greater peace of mind.
Add a portable power bank to your emergency kit.
Now preparedness becomes even more important for people that have additional needs.
As in consider elderly individuals, they may have mobility and transportation limitations.
Medication management, medical equipment.
It's important that if they are someone that gets, that gets service from say a caregiver, that we make sure that they have to, you know, backup caregiver plans.
What about the folks with disabilities, folks that are considered special needs individuals? Well, think it through.
Medical devices including wheelchairs and such, service animals, communication requirements and accessible transportation.
All of this should be maintained with updated medical information.
Now I want to have you ponder this.
How about veterans?
Veterans often bring valuable emergency experience.
However, their preparedness planning should still account for VA healthcare access, medication continuity, mobility concerns, mental health support systems and service animals.
See, Preparedness works best when support networks are put in place before the disaster strikes.
Now let's talk about pet and animal preparedness. Because your pets and your service animals, well, they depend on you entirely.
So emergency plans have got to include them.
Make sure they have food and their water, any medications, including heartworm medications, vaccination records. Make sure those go into your envelope with all your important documents.
Make sure they have a leash and or a well and a carrier.
And make sure their identification tags are up to date.
Remember this too, because this is important.
Many shelters may not accept animals without proper containment.
So plan ahead.
Locate the places that will accept animals with or without containment.
And for the livestock owners out there, evacuation planning becomes even more critical because transportation requirements are far greater.
Your emergency supplies, they shouldn't stop with your family prepared pet emergency kits.
Well, they can help ensure that food, medications, records and essential supplies are available when disaster strikes.
So talk with your veterinarian about building a preparedness plan and kit for your pets today.
Now, preparedness at its core, well, it isn't predicting the future.
It's about improving your ability to respond. Not if, but when you respond and when life becomes unpredictable.
So start small, identify your risks, make a plan and build a kit.
And practice.
Check on your neighbors.
And remember, preparedness isn't a destination, it's a process.
For more trusted information visit fema.gov that's F E M a.gov you'll get information and they'll give you an opportunity to download that FEMA app from the app store.
Also ready.gov that's R E A D Y.gov there you'll to find more information and resources for preparing your kit and taking away some of the stress and giving you a little more peace of mind. Back and weather.gov follow that for current weather forecasts, radar and other information.
And finally you can enter the win one no weather radio with same localized programming.
It's a weather radio with more than 80 emergency alerts including has a alarm clock and no weather radio with battery backup plus an external warning light for visual emergency notifications.
You can enter by submitting an email to me at hellobublicfacingpod stream with the subject line of all hazard drawing will be made on July 5, 2026.
Winner will be notified for prize delivery and also announced on a future episode. So thanks for joining us today.
I've enjoyed our time together. I know I've run a little long, just under an hour.
Again, thanks for joining today. For Public Facing the podcast, I'm Joe Holman. Take care.
[00:55:49] Speaker B: Thanks for listening to Public Facing the Podcast with Joe Holman. Visit us online at public facingpod stream and on
[email protected] public facing pod.
[00:56:10] Speaker A: Sa.
