Introduction:  Information found below represents current best thinking on satisfying the nutrition needs for survivors following some emergency event that will likely require a minimal stay of 72 hours at some location that is deemed as being safe.  Several individuals will need to be identified who have an interest in and a willingness to take on the responsibility of assisting in this important area.  

Assess nutrition needs of all survivors.  Determine names of all survivors who have a go-bag with them that contains food for three days, and also determine if survivors who are local have a supply of food that can be accessed when it is safe to return to residences following the event.  Food resources for each of the sheds should be made available to everyone regardless of whether they have their own go-bag or have access to a food cache at their residence.  

• The food storage in each of the sheds is located in tins inside of labeled boxes. A can opener is available in each shed.

• Each family unit as well as all visitors to the community are encouraged to have, at the minimum, a three-day supply of food (approximately 2-3,000 calories per day per person).  A documentation system will be used to track food distribution. 

• Each home is encouraged to have a cache of supplies sufficient for up to two months for all individuals who are residents.  

• Each family unit is encouraged to have a fuel source, means of cooking/preparing food, and utensils.

Any member of our community that is adept at hunting and fishing will be in a good leadership position to teach members who are not as skilled.  Some fishing supplies are available in each shed. 

Scenarios for food distribution following earthquake/tsunami event

Short-term Following Event.  The first roughly 72 hours following an earthquake/tsunami event are likely to be very unsettling and disorganized.  This is also the period when there is a high likelihood of aftershocks occurring.  All community residents will flee to assembly points at the time of the quake and remain there during this period.  Each resident is asked to have a go-bag available that contains a minimum three-day food supply for the person.  The food stored in the go-bags should be easy to prepare since everyone will be in a survival mode and not thinking about anything of a longer-term nature.  Foods like MREs make an excellent food to have in the go-bags and should be a part of the food assets available at each of the sheds.  Survivors without a go bag will have immediate use of shed storage food.

Medium-Term Following Event (More than three days).  All survivors of major earthquake events that also include a tsunami are likely to remain in a safe location above the inundation zone during at least 72 hours post event due to the possibility of aftershocks.   The rate of aftershocks following a major earthquake decreases with time, such that the earthquake rate is roughly inversely proportional to the time since the mainshock. E.g., there are about 10 times as many aftershocks on the first day as on the tenth day. The magnitudes of the aftershocks do not get smaller with time, only their rate changes.  About four days following a major event, residents are likely to venture from their safe zone back to their residence to assess property damage. They should be vigilant for aftershocks that might trigger a tsunami.  If safe access is possible residents who have visited their property may wish to retrieve items, including food, from their survival cache that could be returned to a safer location above the inundation zone if serious aftershocks continue.  

Cooking stations will be set up at each shed site.  We have one rocket stove at the 3rd Street shed at this time (3/2024) The amount of food prepared per gathered group will be calculated by the number of servings per survivor.  Cooking for the gathered survivors will be at the tent locations. Survivors may choose to return to their homes when it is safe to do so. They may gather supplies and return to the tent location or stay in their structures depending on the safety of the remaining structures.  Food in the sheds will be given to the people leaving the gathering site and is calculated by supply divided by the number of survivors.   Zip lock bags are in the sheds to distribute individual portions. A list of food cans and available servings per can are available in each shed.  Example: one can, 20 servings per can divided by 20 survivors is one serving per person per can.   There are currently (3/2024) cookpots in 2 sheds, bowls, silverware, paper plates, a ladle, and metal cups available.

Emergency food supplies from go-bags may become exhausted following the initial 72 hours post event so it is likely there may be a need to use food supplies that are stored in the emergency sheds.  An assessment needs to occur at this stage to get a good estimate of the number of residents who will need food supplies from the sheds.  

As soon as it is safe as many residents as possible should return to their homes to shelter in place and use emergency supplies stored there in a cache that should have food supplies for up to two months.  If residents have homes in the inundation zone that did not survive the earthquake and tsunami they will need to locate a safe shelter or return to one of the assembly points or emergency sheds.  Ideally there will be temporary shelters available following earthquake and tsunami like disasters.  

Each of the assembly points should have a stove or some other means to heat up meals that could be shared.  Canned meats and vegetables and soups would make good foods that could be shared among those gathered at the survival location.  The medium-term period could be one to last 7-14 days.  

Longer-Term Following Event.  The longer-term survival following an earthquake event involves as many as possible residents returning to their homes.  If their residence has survived there should be a cache of supplies available there.  Supplies should include a tent if the residence is so badly damaged that it is not possible to use as a shelter.  The earthquake might totally destroy some homes.  For any individuals where this is the case other solutions need to be sought for safety from the elements.  The food supply for the sheds may be exhausted by this stage and there may be a need for some supplies to be airlifted to our location.  Also, there may be a need for hunting and fishing activities to procure food for the survivors.  The longer-term period is from two weeks post event to a month.  

Two plans have been formulated regarding the sharing of the food items stored in the emergency sheds: 

1. Dry food will be distributed from the shed with the calculation being supply divided by number of people. Dry food may be taken to family unit shelters to be used independently. Food will be distributed per can or per plastic bags.
2. Food preparation may be organized for group distribution. A common area may be designated for meal preparation and distribution. Meal size is calculated by number of people and portion size.  Cooking pots, cooking devices, utensils, cups, paper plates, are located in each shed. A canopy or shelter site may be available for meal distribution.