Are you ready for El Niño?

Abstract

I live outside the city limits of Woodland and Davis, California, on a small family farm with our six horses. In January of 1997, the largest evacuation of people in the recent history of California took place 20 miles north of my house when a levee broke on the Feather River. Sixty thousand people underwent immediate evacuation and were unable to return to their property for three to 14 days, some even longer. Many horse owners were unprepared to load their horses within the short time available and were forced to leave without their livestock. Unfortunately, many animals, including horses, died as a result of drowning, being trapped in submerged objects, and due to pneumonia, wounds, hypothermia and shock. I had no disaster plan for my home or my animals. Fortunately, we were unaffected by the floods. However, the experience of entering the flood zone, seeing the plight of the animals left behind and treating and caring for the animal victims, was a wake-up call to me as a veterinarian and a horse owner. I have written some suggestions and comments to help horse owners be more prepared for a similar situation this winter. Each owner's situation will vary and these suggestions should not be the limit of preparedness or considAuthor's address: Dept of Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 or omer alsaster, m an emergency, you may find there is no one to help you. You may not be able to find anything you need, what you have is broken or inadequate and you may not have access to needed supplies for you or your horses.