Back Omar Ruiz says he is not trying to frighten people, but wants them to get ready for when bad things happen.   The supervisor of the American Red Cross Jefferson County Service Center office (in Arnold) gives talks on disaster preparedness, focusing on what individuals can do to protect themselves.   “What we try and do is get people to understand that disaster response, in large part, falls to them for the first 72 hours.”   “I would like to see people step forward to get themselves prepared.”   Ruiz noted that, due to disasters, it can take emergency response personnel a long time to reach those in need. For instance, if roadways are closed due to earthquakes or floods, ambulances cannot get to all homes.   Jefferson County, when compared to St. Louis County, has far fewer tools to use in times of emergencies, but both have had similar numbers of disasters in recent years, Ruiz said.   “St. Louis County and Jefferson County have been relatively equal in numbers of disasters since 1993,” he said. “I’m going to guess that both St. Louis County and Jefferson County have had around 15 declared disasters since 1993.”   “But, St. Louis County appears to be more prepared for disaster than Jefferson County. St. Louis County has more resources and bigger resources than Jefferson County. They have an Emergency Management Department out of the St. Louis County Police Department. They have about six people specifically working on emergency management. We have two.”   Ruiz said there are many types of disasters to have in mind while planning ahead.   “They’re looking at big things-floods, tornadoes, hazardous materials releases and, if there were an earthquake, that would be included. But luckily, we haven’t had one.”   “Mudslides and wild fires are more in other parts of the country, along with hurricanes.”   The American Red Cross suggests five ways to prepare for disaster. They are: make a plan, build a disaster preparedness kit, get trained, volunteer and give blood.   “You need to make a plan for all different types of disasters,” Ruiz said. “You need to know how to get out of your house and where your safe spot is in your house. Along with that, have a communications plan with a local contact and a long distance contact. You need to have a relative or friend as an emergency contact. It is also important to have a friend or family member in another city who probably is not being affected.”   “The most important part of having a plan is establishing a meeting place for everyone to gather and make sure everyone is fine.”   After the plans are made, the next step is gathering the items needed for survival, Ruiz said.   “Next, you build a disaster preparedness kit,” he said. “You need to have nonperishable food, a first aid kit, a flashlight, a battery-operated radio, and toilet paper. Maybe you have medicines you take every day. You put in a three-day supply, as long as it doesn’t have to be refrigerated.”   First aid training is important, Ruiz continued.   “Once you have your kit together, another important part is getting trained in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and first aid,” he said. “During a big disaster, emergency response personnel may not be able to get to you for several hours or days.”   “If you think about it, if you can’t get out, we can’t get in.” Becoming a volunteer and giving blood are ways to help the community prepare for disaster, Ruiz said.   “These are the initial three steps we need to focus on,” he said. “After that, there are the additional components of volunteering and giving blood.”   Statistically speaking, not many Americans are ready to handle disasters, Ruiz said.   “Only two of 10 Americans are prepared for a disaster,” he said.   He said he would like to help spread the word by speaking to different groups.   “If people want us to come out and give a talk, contact us at 636.464.9150,” Ruiz said. “We do it for anybody as long as there are six or more people, we’ll come talk.” ### This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

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