Even though Dr. Ira Diamond’s professional specialty is the south end of people’s bodies, their feet, the other end of his body is his most valuable gift – his keen eyes for potential trouble.
Disaster preparedness long has been a cornerstone of a life dedicated to helping those less fortunate and less aware.
Last seen providing shoes for the homeless, Dr. Diamond, DPM, is co-chair of the Lindberg Park Disaster Preparedness program.
Water First is his newest brainchild.
Along with Christine Parra, disaster coordinator for the Fire Dept., Dr. Diamond recently launched the Culver City Water First for Disaster Preparedness program.
This is a community distribution strategy that may be repeated later this year. (To order a water barrel container, see www.moreprepared.com/culver-city-residents.html)
“Many people are somewhat prepared for a disaster,” Dr. Diamond said, emphasizing the fourth word.
“They have food. They have clothing. They have medicine. “But the one element many seem to be lacking is water, water that you can drink.”
Dr. Diamond says that experts maintain people can survive a relatively long period without food.
Water, though, is far more crucial.
“You need one gallon of water per day,” he says. That is the advice of disaster specialists. “They say you can survive for weeks without food, only for days, though, without water.”
Further, “the minimum recommended amount of stored water needed for disaster preparedness is one gallon per day per person.”
If you are saving water, where do you keep it?
“One efficient way to store water,” Dr. Diamond says, “is in the 55-gallon water containers.”
Searching his animated mind, the podiatrist concluded that “we need to create a program that would encourage people in Culver City to become prepared for the water side of disaster preparedness.”
(To be continued)
Dr. Diamond may be contacted at diamondline@earthlink.net
Ms. Parra may be contacted at Christine.Parra@culvercity.org
