Preparation Phase: Building Community & Gathering Resources

STEP 1: Identify the stakeholders in your strategy.

Who will be impacted? Who is invested or could be interested in investing in your plan? It may be useful to use the zone concept from Permaculture Design to map your stakeholders from Zone 0 (yourself) to Zone 5 (the whole city or country) relative to use and proximity.

STEP 2: Gather your stakeholders to learn and take direct action together.

A. Gather a circle for a Community Mapping Exercise with your reachable stakeholders where everyone shares their Needs and Assets out loud, or document these on on a physical or digital community board. It can be as easy as a shared Google Doc, a Facebook group, and a Whats App or Telegram group chat.

B. Host a community workshop to build your own Home Preparedness Kit.

C. Get clear on your Emergency Plan by understanding your plan for shutters, being clear on your flood zone, evacuation routes and shelter options, and safer parking spaces.

D. Decide Headquarters during the storm and where the Resilience Hub can set up in the Aftermath.

E. Assess who can volunteer to lead certain initiatives in the Resilience Hub.

F. Set up a Mutual Aid Fund and identify grants for community support to develop the Resilience Hub and help community members impacted by disaster.

BONUS STRATEGY: Shift lifestyles to reduce the impact of Climate Change.

Implement ways to offset your carbon footprint by either cutting out excess consumption (less plastic, less gasoline, etc.) and/or paying organizations to offset your carbon footprint by planting trees, replenishing coral, etc. (e.g. only.one). Through your choices you can spread climate change awareness to motivate others to take action with sustainable lifestyle shifts.

GOING BEYOND: Volunteer to programs or DIY initiatives that create solutions to take care of the most vulnerable in times of crisis like stray animals and homeless people.

HOME RUN: Organize civic engagement through voting and protests that support meaningful long-term changes in climate resiliency policy.

STEP 3: Identify your strengths and weaknesses to get clear on which tools to invest in to cover basic needs for your Community Resilience Hub. Remember that you are problem-solving for providing Basic Needs in case of grid failure anywhere from 1 day to 1 week. You could encounter flooding and property damage from a hurricane. Here are some potential elements to guide you as you develop your resources.

A. ENERGY:

1. Invest in a backup generator.

2. Consider investing in solar panels if they are a good fit for you. Here is an accessible solar panel company for your roof.

3. Buy backup solar batteries in case the electricity goes out for days.

4. Invest solar lamps and solar electronics chargers.

B. TRANSPORATION

1. Fill up gas tank before the disaster and store backup fuel for the car in a separate container.

2. Invest in some kind of water vehicle like a kayak or boat in case of high flood risk in your zone.

C. WATER:

1. Design the Drainage: can you create a way to direct the water flow away from your property? This could look like digging ditches or putting up sandbags.

2. Set up a Rain Water Catchment System.

3. Invest in a filter for your own drinking water.

4. Check if you have a septic tank on your property, and switch it out with government support.

D. FOOD:

1. Stock up on food for 1 day to 1 week.

2. If possible, grow your own food in a private or community garden you can access during the aftermath. Take measures to protect crops during storm. Consider DIY or Hiring for Garden Installations for your own backyard if you don’t already have a raised bed garden.

3. Identify kitchen supplies in your network that could be accessed to set up a pop-up community kitchen during the crisis. Identify where that kitchen would be and who would be some potential volunteers.

E. HEALTHCARE

1. Build your own herbal first aid kit.

2. Take immunity boosting measures throughout with healthy food & exercise, and herbal tea recipes.

3. Make sure your insurance and paperwork is up to date.

Endurance Phase: Sheltering for Safety

STEP 4: Survive the storm

A. Check in on your stakeholders to clarify where you can support one another.

B. Get clear on individual plan to evacuate based on your flood zone or decide on a location to spend the hurricane together including emergency safety zones within your home.

C. Make sure your Home Preparedness Kit is fully stocked and you’ve set up measures to protect your house (shutters) and your car (safe parking spot).

D. Find fun ways to entertain one another during the storm. Host a Party in the classic Miami tradition of a Hurricane Getty.

E. Organize and prepare resources to be used in the aftermath to set up a working Climate Disaster Community Resilience Hub. Clarify roles for volunteers and working shifts.

Aftermath Phase: Community Steps Up

STEP 5: Activate the Resilience Hub you planned for in the Preparation Phase:

A. Set up Pop-Up Community Kitchen and distribute shifts

B. Set up Solar Recharge Station for electronics

C. Stay up to date on the digital Community Mapping Board that you set up in the Preparation Phase where people can post needs and assets in real time.

D. As need arises, develop a Neighborhood Tool Share to keep track of folks who borrow tools, and recruit volunteers to help the neighborhood as needed.

E. Provide guidance to community on how to apply for your Mutual Aid funds, set up GoFundMe fundraisers, or apply for government disaster relief options.

F. Designate a person to manage online presence advertising and communications to advertise access as well as stay on top of help requests from community.

GOING BEYOND: Gather a Volunteer Corps for Action Days

A. Clean up the neighborhood

B. Aid the vulnerable like animal strays and homeless folks by providing meals and listening for whatever needs they may have

C. Clean up nature spaces that may not have any immediate caretakers like lakes or beaches or nearby patches of wilderness.