Natural Disasters

Mother Nature can be the most beautiful sight in the world, but just as everything seems majestic, the ground starts rumbling and rolling. Trees fall, crevices open up, buildings collapse, roads crack and break apart, and dams break. We are talking about an earthquake. Not a tremor, but a real 6.9 on the richter scale. An earthquake that puts you and your family in a sudden survival situation. Were you prepared? What about the thunderous sound of a tornado ripping apart the countryside, heading straight for your house? Were you prepared for that one? No offense, but probably not. Why? Because Mother Nature doesn't normally give you any warning signs of her wrath. Yes, there are warning signs of a hurricane, tropical storms, even blizzards or extreme heat, yet hundreds, sometimes thousands of people die each year from natural disasters. Due to the lack of knowledge, or possibly just the lack of common sense, these people either ignore the warnings, or they are just not prepared, because they probably thought that it will never happen to them. I know that some of these people perished just for the fact they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of them were prepared. But unfortunately, you can prepare for everything.

The best way to prepare for any kind of natural disaster or extreme weather is to have a plan. If you live northeast United States, you more than likely don't need to prepare for a tornado, or plan for a hurricane in Arizona. So plan accordingly. No matter what region you live in, keep your emergency supplies someplace that is easy to access, even if your house collapses. Store it in the garage where there is less debris, or maybe in a tool shed. The last thing you want to do is spend hundreds of dollars on an emergency kit, store it in your basement, then have it buried under 3 floors worth of fallen debris. Have a plan in place, for your entire family, and most importantly, make sure EVERYONE knows what to do when the first sign of an disaster hits. I'd rather be prepared for a 9.8 and it only be a small tremor, then think that it's going to be a small tremor and my family gets killed because it turned out to be a 9.8. In the event of an earthquake, every family member needs to know where to go (door jams or under a good solid desk) and what to do after the first wave of tremors passes. They need to remember where to meet with everybody after everything settles down so you can get a head count and make sure you have your entire family. Maybe you can designate certain members of your family to conduct specific duties, such as, get the emergency kit, pack the blankets in the car, keep the kids calm, or whatever it might be in your plan. You should also have someplace planned on where to go, in case you find yourself without a house after the fact. (Most of this implies to an earthquake, as well as a tornado.) Remember that whatever shelter the Red Cross or the community sets up will probably be over crowded due to the unprepared people. Do you want your young child waiting in line for hours just to get the remnants of a meal that all the other unprepared adults ate? I doubt it. Wouldn't it be better to be able to drive to a relatives house, or even drive a couple hours away to a KOA campground? You also need to protect your family and assets the best you can. Hungry, wet, tired, and desperate people will do desperate things to eat, sleep and be dry. I'm not saying you HAVE to pack a gun and run around shooting anyone that looks like they will mug you for a donut, but you should use your best judgement on how you will protect yourself and your family. Another good idea is to never let you gas tank go below half a tank. What if you end up sitting in stop and go traffic trying to get out of the city and none of the gas stations are open due to power outtages? All in all, make sure you and your family are prepared to live independently for atleast a short amount of time. Here are a few ideas of what you can put in an emergency kit:

*MRE's (enough for everyone to eat atleast two meals a day for 3 days.)

*Blankets (preferably wool)

*Water or water filter/tablets

*First aid kit

*Fire starting material (strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container, dryer lint, steel wool, flint and steel, etc)

*Clean clothes (at a minimum; socks, underwear, jacket, gloves, and a hat)

*Multi-tool (Gerber, Leatherman, etc)

*Toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc)

These are just the basics that I would put in a large Rubbermaid container or something similar. You can add to it to make everyone more comfortable (toys for kids, radio, pillows, etc) as you feel necessary. In my personal opinion, I would stay away from pre-made store bought emergency kits for the simple fact that they will overcharge you and it's not personalized to you and your family. If you need a more in depth idea of what to put in a kit, email me at live2see_tomorrow@yahoo.com or leave a comment and I will get back to you at my earliest convenience. If you don't think you live in a disaster zone, think again. Nature can affect anybody, no matter where you live. So get informed, be prepared, and live to see tomorrow.