One of the best rules to live by is “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” This means to prepare for anything, even if it is not likely to happen, such as a severe natural disaster or catastrophe.
While humanity doesn’t like to contemplate bad things and would rather take a positive approach, it is especially important to prepare for any issues that could arise to protect yourself and your family.
Depending on your geographical location, you will need to have a disaster preparedness plan that varies, from tornadoes to hurricanes to earthquakes. Any natural disasters could arise, and preparing for them can mean the difference between life and death.
Here are some great ways to ensure you will be ready should disaster strike.
Preparation Through Education
A great way to start devising your disaster preparedness plan is to read up on some survival guides, depending on your location and what you may encounter. A great resource for survival guides and reviews of survival items is Gear Disciple. A plethora of disaster preparedness information and handy reviews of products and services you may need in a catastrophe; they are leaders in information on disaster readiness.
There are various disasters that you can plan for with the assistance of these survival guides, and it is important to ensure you are preparing correctly. Some preparation tips are more important than others, and you must identify what your immediate needs will be when preparing.
1. Food and Water Stock and Preparation
Food and water will be your first immediate need when preparing for a disaster. You will want to ensure you have enough water to see your family through the immediate loss of services. This can mean stocking enough water for 72 hours to a whole month, depending on what disaster you are preparing for. Even if you have well water, which many people believe is a never-ending source of this life-giving item, wells can be muddied by landslides or contaminated in the case of chemical spills or floods and earthquakes.
Even if you have an onsite well, without stocking the appropriate amount of water, you can find it difficult to stay hydrated and healthy in the case of an emergency that cuts off your water supply.
Food is a necessity of life, and it is important to have access to food, especially food that can be consumed without preparation. Foods that spoil, raw meat, un hydrated vegetables can all spoil and leave you hungry and scavenging. Having a stockpile of dehydrated, canned, or prepackaged food can have a tremendous effect on your ability to survive should a disaster strikes.
Food and water supplies are essential to life, and without these, you could find yourself perishing rather than surviving.
2. Clothing and Heating Concerns
The second most important supply to have is ensuring you are well stocked with warm clothing, blankets, and, if possible, a generator or propane heaters to keep you warm while awaiting rescue from a disaster.
In many parts of the world, the temperature is very low or drops dramatically at night time. If you do not have appropriate clothing to keep yourself heated, you can find yourself freezing before you even have a chance to survive. Appropriate thermal clothing, and a stockpile of warm bedding, can help keep you warm and functioning in the coldest of temperature.
Having a stockpile of propane to heat a propane heater is a great way to prepare. Many gas-powered heaters will allow you to heat a room and ensure you and your family aren’t left out in the cold in the case of power loss and the inability to heat yourselves.
A great option is to have a portable generator available to power the essentials of your home. You can go a step further and ensure a solar-powered system of panels, banks, and generators that can keep your home running and heated in the case of a disaster. Depending on your financial capabilities, there are many options available to ensure you will stay toasty warm in otherwise freezing conditions that are not conducive to human life.
No matter your location, these items can ensure you have the best opportunity to ensure you and your family have the best chance available to survive through immediate danger brought on by the loss of power or the in the case of being stranded without food and water.
Learning about the specific instances that can befall you is a great way to commence your disaster preparedness plan and ensure your survival for another day.
