Weve been getting a good share of walking in the last couple days, there has been a driving ban in Gowanda. Roads are still blocked and totally gone so getting around is quite difficult anyways. Road crews are working 24/7 to replace roads that have been completely wiped out, roads that are still there but crumbled, sunken, and dislocated are not top priority right now. People are hauling mud covered belongings to the curbs, shoveling ,plowing,and hauling the foot thick sticky, stinky mud that is covering everything from the creek to perrysburg hill and jubilee to broadway road. The whole summer has been on the cool side ,until now , were getting high 80s and 90s with extremely high humidity, really difficult for the heavy labor that needs to be done around here in the next few weeks. Gowandas water supply and containment was completely wiped out and it will take at least a year to restore it, and there is only enough emergency water for 2 more days, so water is being hauled in and i can imagine water usage has been extremely high by people trying to clean the mud. J, I havent seen any calles for volunteers, but the RedCross does have an emergency shelter set up in the school by our house, the salvation army is here, and there is no lack of mud to be shoveled. I imagine in a few weeks when people find places to relocate there will be a need for material items and clothes, but right now they dont even have places to live. I know this kind of stuff happens all the time, but its so different actually seeing it in your own neighborhood instead of on tv. Weve never seen anything like it.
It just impresses on me the need for emergency preparations that should be in place in our homes. Last year I was working on emegency bags that had some clothes , blanket, flashlight , small amount of food and water, copies of important papers like ss#, birth cert, insurance...and phone numbers and adddresses of friends and family, a couple personal items like kids toys,games,notepads, books..., and a list of other essentials, each person should have their own bag (like a book bag) with this stuff in it and in a certain place in your house so that if there is a fire or if you have to evacuate for any reason you grab those bags, then at least you have some clothes, important information, and some personal items even if you lose everything else. I have to get back to getting these things together. Also if you dont get evacuated you should have a store of water, food that doesnt need to be cooked , medicines, and toilet paper, so if your electric is out for days or stores are closed, or water is contaminated, or roads are impassible you will have what you need for a number of days. There is no way you can be prepared for everything but a little planning can make things alittle more comfortable. Take Care
love Sandi