The residents on Turnford Drive in San Carlos held their fourth disaster preparedness meeting last month.

The families on this street, consisting of 21 homes, are being prepared with their own emergency kits in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or fire.

Present also at the meeting was District 7 council member Raul Campillo (pictured above with neighborhood block captain Howard Bregstein), district representative Anthony Hackett, and Tony Cruz representing SDG&E. Valuable handouts from The Red Cross and SDG&E were distributed.

Residents were made aware again on how to shut off water and gas in the event of an emergency. People need to understand that it could be three to five days or longer without help, so having emergency supplies on hand is essential.

Below are a few bullet points on disaster preparation:

· Keep emergency cash on hand. ATMs and banks might not be functioning. Stores will only accept cash for food, water, gasoline, etc., so small bills, no larger that $20.00 should make up your emergency cash.

· Keep a supply of bottled water on hand and rotate new every 3 months.

· Your BBQ might be your only way of preparing hot food and boiling water. Keep an extra canister of propane on hand.

· Prepare a disaster kit with necessary items including medical supplies. Make sure that any medications that you take are available to take. You never know how long it will take pharmacies to be back up and running. If you have pets, make their food part of your emergency kit, and rotate to keep fresh.

These, and many more helpful suggestions, are available from the San Diego Office of Disaster Preparedness, The American Red Cross and SDG&E.