As recent events have made us aware, things can get very bad, very quickly. There was a presentation on two campuses this October to tell us about what to do should the next major storm, flood, earthquake, pandemic, or whatever else strikes us. Since I was the only person there who appeared to be below the age of thirty, I expect that most of you don’t fully know what was said there. So I’ll tell you since you missed it.

The ultimate message of this event was that to truly be prepared for a disaster, you have to be ready for things to go from perfectly fine to apocalyptic at a moment’s notice. This sounds difficult, but really, it’s just a matter of having a bag of useful supplies lying around.

These supplies are made up of 12 groups of things: Water, Communications, Food, Temperature Control, Power, Light, First Aid, Sanitation, Important Papers, Tools, Cooking Supplies, and Shelter. You may be wondering how you’d get shelter in a bag; the answer is a tent.

After Barb Elliot, the host, had finished her presentation, I asked her what the most and least important things to bring. She said that water was the most important, for obvious reasons, and tools were the least important, because ultimately, you can make new tools.

The presenters also said that if a disaster forces you to leave your home, there are a few things that you should do before leaving. They are: shut off your electrical breaker, shut off the gas, grab all cell phones and chargers, take a bag of supplies and check your list of items (make sure everything’s there), board windows (to keep looters out), take important papers (deeds, marriage license, other things that prove you are who you are and you own what you own) and medicines, and lock the doors.

If you want to see it for yourself, there are two more Emergency Preparedness Workshops scheduled for November.

Thurs., Nov. 2, at 4 p.m. at Maricopa Campus, A102

Thurs., Nov. 16, at 4 p.m. at Aravaipa Campus, E 102