Disaster Planning

HARRISVILLE -- If you're like many Utahns, you've probably started a personal food and water storage program, but are you really prepared if a disaster strikes? It could take days for emergency personnel to arrive with helpful supplies in the event of a disaster. That's why it's important to prepare yourself as much as possible for such an event, said Deloris Stinson, owner and manager of Survival Solutions in Layton.

Stinson, speaking at an emergency preparedness fair Saturday in Harrisville, said while many people think to store food, water and even a first aid kit, they don't consider other things, such as a portable toilet, cash, important documents and clothing.

OGDEN -- Wet weather should not add to the area's flooding problems.

Weber County Emergency Management Director Lance Peterson said the scattered rain showers are not enough to add significantly more water to the overflowing rivers and reservoirs.

"Right now, there is nothing really to say other than we're doing OK, knock on wood," Peterson said Wednesday.

OGDEN -- Jeri Frost was shivering, she couldn't walk and she was having trouble breathing.

WASHINGTON -- Most Americans doubt the U.S. government is prepared to respond to a nuclear emergency like the one in Japan, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows. But it also shows few Americans believe such an emergency would occur.

Nevertheless, the disaster has turned more Americans against new nuclear power plants. The poll found that 60 percent of Americans oppose building more nuclear power plants. That's up from 48 percent who opposed it in an AP-Stanford University Poll in November 2009.

The Associated Press-GfK poll comes as Japan continues to struggle with a nuclear crisis caused by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has leaked radiation into the environment and radioactive water gushed into the Pacific Ocean. Japan was rattled by a strong aftershock and tsunami warning Thursday, but officials reported no immediate sign of new problems.