Congratulations to the new Scouts that Crossed Over. Welcome to the Troop.
1- An Emergency: An event where immediate action is required to intervene between life & death.
2- A Disaster: Disasters are exceptional events that can suddenly kill, injure or displace large numbers of people. A disaster is a situation or event which overcomes local capacity, necessitating a request to a state, tribal, national, or international level for external assistance. An overwhelming ecological, economic, or business disruption occurring on a scale sufficient to require outside assistance.
3- Sometimes I like starting with definitions so that we are on the same page with our language. Let us take a look.
Are we in an emergency with Covid-19? No, we are not.
There is no immediate action to be taken with regard to this virus. We must still take precautions like social distancing, wearing a mask in public, frequent and thorough hand washing, and staying away from sick individuals without precautions. We also should be self-monitoring to see if we get to feeling any of the symptoms and report them to medical professionals.
Are we in an economic disaster? Maybe – but probably not. Has there been a business disruption? Most certainly YES. And / But the state & federal governments have stepped in to help out businesses and families. Everyone that I have spoken with has changed their habits and purchases to accommodate the new “normal.”
How will the country, the economy, schools, churches, shopping, restaurants et. al. look and feel after this virus is under control? I do not know. Stay flexible in your thinking. I am.
Y- What is the technical term for 1 beautiful day of sunshine preceded by 2 days of rain?
Z- Monday
4- Let’s dive deeper into the aspects of Emergency Management (EM/EP) and Emergency Preparedness (MB). There are 5 basic key fundamentals. Draw a circle and label these around the edge: (Every 73 degrees if you were wondering.)
1- Preparedness. A small example is to change your smoke detector batteries. That way your house is prepared for an emergency. Another example of preparedness is to do an EDITH Drill. Exit Drill In The Home. Practice having a fire drill at home and locate a family meeting point outside. Having an agreed meeting point is key to knowing whether everyone is out of the house.
2- Response. Your First Aid skills will come into play here. As a Scout, you can help provide comfort and aid to the injured. You can erect a tarp or tent to shelter a neighbor. You have your Tote-n-Chip to help remove downed debris (watch out and stay away from power lines and gas lines). You can build a fire to keep folks warm and cook over it to provide meals. Our multiple Scout skills will be very useful in a disaster.
3- Recovery. Removing debris may also be part of recovery. If you ever get a chance to help build a Habitat House – please jump in. Learn how to read blueprints. build walls, wire, plumb, paint, sheetrock & mud, and roof. The recovery phase may take years. Rebuilding & repairing will help get the physical property back to normal. This will also help the emotional recovery.
4- Mitigation. The purpose of the Mitigation Phase part of EM/EP is to minimize the damage of the next disaster. Taking notes from the Response and Recovery phases will help put into place actions and plans so the next disaster is not such a disaster. Mitigation may be to trim trees around the house or to put power lines underground or moving to higher ground in case of a flood.
5- Prevention. Preventing a disaster is the best kind of disaster. Prevention points back to Preparedness to start the circle all over again. Sometimes disasters are “gamed” or “simulated” to see where the weak links in the Response and Recovery Phases are. What happens if……..? How do we respond……?
A- When does it rain money?
B- When there is a change in the weather.
5- Check out the Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge. And the Community Emergency Response Teams – CERT. The Emergency Preparedness merit badge will give you a head start if you start or join a CERT Team. Ask a teacher if you can organize one at school or at church.
C- What did the hurricane say to the tornado?
D- I’ve got my eye on you.
6- Practice this in your canoe: Put 2 canoes nose to nose (touching) & move in unison so that the noses do not stop touching. Try going in a circle in that configuration.
Taking notes,
Gaither
Run-Ons and Even More Scout Skits by Thomas Mercaldo
PS: What are the symbols in the bottom right of the Emergency Preparedness MB Patch?