The “Get Ready; Stay Ready” campaign focus for the month of June is on duplicating keys, storing cash and securing personal documents/records. These three items are oftentimes overlooked in disaster preparedness and are rarely a priority. However, all of these areas can contribute significantly to one’s ability to respond to and recover efficiently from disasters and should be given serious consideration.
Regardless of the nature of the disaster, you may find yourself without keys to your home, vehicle or anything else to which you require access. They may be lost, destroyed or in a location that you cannot access in the aftermath of an event. Therefore, it’s important to duplicate important sets of keys and carefully select where or with whom additional copies will be kept. Some keys, such as those requiring batteries or with built in alarms, keyless entry and other features can get pricy so be sure to budget accordingly.
Unexpected events scaling from brown/black outs to large scale natural disasters can render access to ATMs and the ability to use credit cards useless. This can, in turn, result in being unable to purchase something you need in a time that you need it. This risk can be mitigated by storing cashing in small bills and change in your emergency supply kit or “go bag.” Ensuring that the cash is in small increments is critical as the vendor from whom you are purchasing may not be able to provide you with change. How much is enough? That is entirely up to you and the amount that is affordable in your budget. If you can afford $50.00, great! If you can do more, even better!
Making copies of your personal documents/records and ensuring that you have access to these copies is an essential “best practice” in personal preparedness. If you can obtain duplicate official copies of some of these such as your birth certificate, social security card, etc. even better. The best location for which to store these documents is still up for debate. Some encourage these items to be placed in a disaster kit or “go bag.” Others favor keeping them with a trusted family member or friend. A safety deposit box and electronic downloading has also been recommended. All of these locations have their pros and cons but you should select the one that makes the most sense to you. If you can acquire multiple copies and use a combination of these locations options this may perhaps be your best bet. The following items are some examples of documents/records you may choose to secure, however, this list is not comprehensive and each individual must examine what’s important to them:
• Birth Certificate
• Marriage Certificate
• Driver’s license/Govt. ID
• Social Security Card
• Passports
• Wills/Deeds
• Pink slips to vehicles
• Right to work documents
• Immigration paperwork
• Military discharge paperwork
• Inventory of household goods
• Family photos/sentimental pictures
• Insurance paperwork
• Medical & Immunization records
• Prescription medication for people & pets
• Bank and credit card account information
• Stocks & Bonds
• Emergency contact list and phone numbers
• Map of area
• Proof of address (copy of utility bill)
• Legal custody, visitation, guardianship or adoption paperwork
We encourage the community to partner with the UC Irvine Police Department to prevent or report crime by calling (949) 824-5223. If you wish to remain Anonymous, call “OC Crime Stoppers” by dialing 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227), text "OCCS" plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or use the website http://occrimestoppers.org/
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