Learning what to do in an emergency

It’s vital to have a plan Nassau County OEM says

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With Atlantic Beach surrounded on one side by Reynolds Channel and the other by the Atlantic Ocean, and with Hurricane Sandy still fresh in their minds residents packed village hall for an educational seminar presented by Nassau County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) on Oct. 1.
The free forum was one of several the county has provided as part of National Preparedness Month.
Seminar presenter, Eric Zausner, said that OEM’s goal is to encourage residents to establish and practice procedures they need to follow during an emergency situation, especially when evacuating their homes becomes necessary. “We at the county level teach residents about what we do to help people in a disaster,” he said. “It’s so important to have a plan.”
Some of the tips Zausner provided were to prepare a shelter-in-place kit with enough water and food for every household member to last seven days, extra medical prescriptions filled, non-electric tools, batteries and matches; taking photographs of the home in every single room and of the valuables inside them, along with collecting receipts for major appliances and electronics and important documents in a safe, water and fireproof container; having cleaning items such as heavy-duty trash bags, rubber gloves and cleaning wipes; and labeling pets with proper identification.
The OEM has also created a group of volunteers, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), that are activated during emergencies to help keep residents safe and protect property.

To become involved in CERT, the OEM offers a six-week course, where one night a week, the team meets to learn a life skill or topic. After training completion, people are able to volunteer with a team.
Steve Watkins, a carpenter from Atlantic Beach, thinks becoming a CERT member would be a good idea.” I’m interested in the CERT program,” he said. “I’d love to take part in that. I’d known a lot of this information already but there were still things I didn’t know. Living this close to the ocean, this type of knowledge is necessary.”
Watkins remembers what life was like for him during Sandy. He’d decided to stay put in his home and ride out the storm. He relied upon what he’d already experienced from other storms to survive Sandy.
“I was the only one on my block for Sandy,” he said. “My sister had given me this tip, to place liquid lanterns in as many windows as possible, in certain spots. This was to let people know that someone is there inside the house. The village was able to come assist me because I’d been prepared and they were able to locate me faster.”
County Legislator Denise Ford (D-Long Beach) said that OEM and CERT seminars are always well attended, encouraging more residents to attend the CERT trainings. “It’s always good to learn how to deal with emergency and non-emergency situations,” she said. “From these seminars comes a lot of camaraderie. We all come away with much more knowledge. We all learned a lot from Sandy.”
For more information, contact the OEM at (516) 573-0636 or visit their website at www.nassaucounty.ny.gov/oem. To enroll in a CERT seminar, call (516) 573-9696.