What to Put into an Emergency Kit: PG&E Offers Lifesaving Tips this National Preparedness Month
September 21 2021 - 10:54AM
Business Wire
PG&E
Urges Customers to Prepare an Emergency Kit and Go Bag in Advance
of a Disaster
The fall season begins tomorrow, and bone-dry drought conditions
have made the western United States a tinderbox prime for
wildfires. That, combined with the threat of earthquakes, floods
and landslides, makes it essential for Californians to be prepared
for disasters. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reminds
its customers that the best time to prepare for an emergency or
natural disaster is before it happens. That’s what National
Preparedness Month is all about.
Start by gathering supplies and creating an emergency kit that
will last for several days after a disaster for everyone living in
your home. Be sure to include flashlights, fresh batteries, first
aid supplies and cash. If you already have a kit, make sure it’s up
to date. Customers can get updates on power outages in their
neighborhood using PG&E’s outage information line at
1-800-743-5002 and PG&E’s Electric Outage Map online at
pge.com.
Don’t forget to pack a go-bag, a bag of essential items ready
for use in case you need to evacuate your home. Consider the unique
needs of everyone in your family, including elderly, children and
pets.
It can be hard to imagine what an evacuation might feel like and
what you would grab first, if you had the chance. In a recent video
on PG&E’s Safety Action Center website, you can watch a Sierra
foothills family put through a simulated wildfire evacuation to
demonstrate how being prepared can help bring calm to the
chaos.
Emergency Preparation Tips
- Plan for multiple evacuation routes and discuss them with your
family.
- If you own a generator, make sure it’s ready to operate
safely.
- Make sure you know how to open your garage door manually, as it
may not function if the power is out.
- Have cash on hand and a full tank of gas.
- Keep mobile phones fully charged.
- Identify backup charging methods and keep hard copies of
emergency numbers.
- Plan for medications that require refrigeration or devices that
need power.
- Have masks and hand sanitizer readily available, both at home
and in your car.
Electric Safety Tips
- Treat all low-hanging and downed power lines as if they are
energized and extremely dangerous. Keep yourself and others away
from them. Be aware of trees, pools of water and other objects that
may be in contact with power lines. If you see damaged power lines
and electric equipment, call 911, and then notify PG&E at
1-800-743-5000.
If your vehicle comes in contact with a downed power line:
- Stay inside! The safest place is in your car. The ground around
your car may be energized.
- Honk the horn, roll down your window and yell for help.
- Warn others to stay away. Anyone who touches the equipment or
ground around the vehicle may be injured.
- Use your mobile phone to call 911.
- Fire department, police and PG&E workers will tell you when
it is safe to get out of the vehicle.
If there is a fire and you have to exit a vehicle that has come
in contact with downed power lines:
- Remove loose items of clothing.
- Keep your hands at your sides and jump clear of the vehicle, so
you are not touching the car when your feet hit the ground.
- Keep both feet close together and shuffle away from the vehicle
without picking up your feet.
Gas Safety Tips
- If you are ordered to evacuate, please evacuate as soon as
possible. Do not shut off your gas service just because of the
evacuation order.
- If you smell gas, hear gas escaping, see a broken gas line, or
suspect a gas leak, you can shut off your gas line, but only if it
is safe to do so. Alert others and evacuate the area to an upwind
location if possible.
- If you smell gas, do not use anything that could be a source of
ignition, including candles, cell phones, flashlights, light
switches, matches or vehicles, until you are a safe distance
away.
- Customers who smell gas should vacate the premises immediately,
call 911 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
- For additional information related to your gas service, please
visit our website www.pge.com/gassafety.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric
utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square
miles in Northern and Central California. For more information,
visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.
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