The La Plata County Office of Emergency Management sent out two text messages early Thursday afternoon. They were excellent reminders of things we should all be doing.
The first text told of “multiple watches and warnings in the area ... for snowy weather” and cautioned that avalanche danger will be increasing with each storm.
The second led with a question: “Could you stay in your car overnight if you must?” It followed that with a hyperlink, https://t.co/JXJugfS8t5/s/1vJd, which in turn leads to website www.readycolorado.com. It is worth a visit.
But first, if you are not signed up to get texts from the county OEM, do so – and sign up for the Herald text messages as well. Both are quick and easy and in an emergency can offer important and timely information.
For Herald texts, send dhnews to 99000. For the county’s OEM, send a text to 40404 with the message: follow lpc_oem.
County residents can also go to the county’s website – co.laplata.co.us – and click on “Departments & Elected Officials,” then on “County A to Z” and scroll down through the alphabet to “Office of Emergency Management” and follow the instructions to sign up for Reverse 911 messaging to cellphones or Internet phones and to follow on Twitter. (Land lines are already signed up.)
Thus connected, residents should take the LPCOEM’s text message advice and check out Ready Colorado, which describes itself as “Colorado’s official source for homeland security and all-hazards preparedness information.” Begun with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it is managed by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
The website offers tips on preparing for emergencies. That starts by recognizing what type of problems are likely where residents live and work and planning accordingly. Depending on their exact location, La Plata County residents might be at risk for wildfire, flooding, power outages and, of course, winter storms. The latter explains the question about being prepared to spend the night in a car.
Folks in Southwest Colorado do not need to worry too much about tsunamis, but man-made tragedies can happen anywhere and we do get weather. And in many respects, the preparation is the same. As Ready Colorado points out, the key is thinking, planning and acting before an emergency occurs to have on hand the essentials.
That means providing for food, water, shelter and the means to stay warm and dry. It also means having appropriate tools and knowledge, for example, to turn off the water in a house to keep pipes from freezing. Keeping vehicles fueled and in good condition can be crucial, as well. And a plan for communication is important, as is one for meeting if it all comes down when the family is dispersed at jobs and school.
Ready Colorado offers detailed and complete instructions as to how to prepare for a variety of emergencies. In the actual event, however, responding begins with knowing what is happening. And for that, nothing beats timely information such as texts from the Durango Herald and the La County Office of Emergency Management.
