Why Emergency Preparedness?
Utah, especially Draper Utah, is a wonderful place to live. Unfortunately, we also live in an area that is subject to several types of natural disasters.
Fire: each summer residents hope that they won’t see that tell-tale dark smoke in the sky, and yet each summer fires happen. Some are minor, and others (like the Camp Williams fire last year) burn homes and threaten lives.
Floods: As dry as Utah is, you wouldn’t think we’d have much of a problem with water, and yet every year some unfortunate home (or group of homes) have their basements filled with mud and debris from a sudden rain storm, irrigation pipe rupture, etc. Some mud slides have been large enough to move homes off their foundations.
Earthquake: It’s been a while since Utah has felt a major earthquake, and yet large fault lines run throughout the Salt Lake Valley. We are told it’s not “if,” but a question of “when” we are hit.
Winter/Snow/Cold: With Little and Big Cottonwood canyons averaging over 500 inches of snow (that’s over 41 feet of snow) a year, it’s only natural the valleys get some too. While all that snow can be fun, it can also be a pain-in-the-neck (and back) and even life threatening under certain circumstances. We shouldn’t expect there to not be snow – this is Utah after all (not Florida), but we can be prepared.
What can we do? While we cannot prevent all natural problems, we can prepare as best as we can. This website is devoted to that preparation.