EMERGENCY ACTION PLANNING > Blog > Special Considerations > Word of the Week – Other

Word of the Week – Other

Author: danielkilburn 2022-04-04 0 Comments

Special Considerations, Word of the Week

20220404 Word of the Week – Other

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/other

What exactly is the other?

The word other can encompass many, many different things. It can be something different than what’s expected, separate from what is expected, or opposite of what is expected,

The word “other” can cover many different things. When I think about others, I usually think about what other things I should be thinking about that I probably am not thinking about.

Let me tell you a little story many years ago, when I was in the military, I would regularly travel across the country the state monthly, and I knew I would have to pack my things.

After arriving at where I was going, I would discover that I had forgotten something, or I would find that there was something I needed that I probably did not even think about in the first place.

That forced me to create packing checklists. Although I recognized several things that I took all the time, they were placed on the list, and I also discovered that the checklist would change because of things like weather, where I was going, and mission requirements.

Through the process also discovered that I often forgot something. That forced me to create a new category on my checklist. It is called OTHER. This made me think about what was the other thing I needed to be concerned with?

We can think of others as an extra can opener in our disaster management planning. Others can be the individuals needing specific assistance for help in the evacuation or response process.

Others can be finding out what other things can bite us.

When searching for information for your emergency action plan, contact your local emergency management office (OEM) and ask them for their Threat Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment guide (THIRA).

The THIRA outlines all of the other things that the local OEM thinks might happen that need to be prepared for.

We don’t think about some things because they are not at the top of our minds. And that’s normal. We are human. If we don’t have it in front of us we will not be thinking about it.

When making or creating your emergency action plan or working on any other type of project, it’s always good to have a little checkbox with the word other next to it.

Remember, somebody else in your family or your work group may have an answer to a solution that you do not see. I know this because it has happened to me. Somebody else came up with an answer that was a solution to whatever the particular problem was.

Always remember there is an “other.” Although we may not always think, understand or recognize what the “other” might be. Taking the time to figure it out is always productive in one way or another.