After the Disaster I

I plan on sharing excerpts from an outstanding article I found online. I hope you find it informing and helpful. I adore the motto of the BSA, Be Pre*ared.

After the Disaster: Now What? by Ashley Evanson Tuesday, from LDSLiving, online magazine, full article found at http://www.ldslivingmagazine.com/articles/show/1615
There’s a lot to be done and a lot to cope with after a natural disaster has hit. It’s a stressful time, and a lot of people don’t even know where to start. If you ever find yourself in a traumatic situation like this, let the following be a guide to help you deal with the disaster.

Drink Clean Water:
This is by far the most important thing. Access to clean drinking water after a natural disaster is critical to survival, but water can be a challenge to get a hold of. Different disasters affect water sources differently; however, in all cases, consider water from wells, cisterns, and any other delivery systems contaminated until tested and proved safe for drinking.
In an emergency, it’s best to use bottled water if at all possible. If it is not available, it’s safe to use water from neighboring municipalities that weren’t affected by the disaster. Also, if plumbing fixtures in your house weren’t damaged, you can get water from your water heater or water pressure tank. Make sure to boil water that could possibly be contaminated in order to get rid of microorganisms and bacteria. However, make sure your local water supplier or health department has given an official boil order before doing so. Otherwise, the water could still contain harmful substances that boiling doesn’t get rid of.