September is National Preparedness Month. So even without Hurricane Dorian, people are thinking about surviving a disaster or terrorist attack.
At the Alexandria Emergency Operations Center, people are brainstorming about the best tip to give about surviving an emergency. Perhaps the most important tip is one few people have thought about.
“Cash. Cash is king,”says Kevin Peach, chairman of the Alexandria Local Emergency Planning Committee.
He learned about the importance of cash doing disaster recovery in Puerto Rico. “Those bodegas had water and food, but they couldn’t process the transactions because people didn’t have cash. If they would have had cash things would have been a lot different.”
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He suggests having $2,000. But very few people carry around that much cash.
Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne counts out what's in his wallet. “Twenty, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30. Thirty-five dollars, so I’m a little short.”
A lot short of that $2,000 recommendation. “It’s a good thought. It’s a good tip to have," Lawhorne says. "I don’t disagree with him. But also not everybody has a generator. Not everybody has access to their own vehicle.”
Another suggestion from emergency response official here — keep your important documents on a flash drive or in the cloud. And maybe even carry an actual hard copy.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
