Emergencies can be classified as either short or long term. You may deal with short-term emergencies – such as losing power for a day or having a health emergency. These usually pass fairly quickly. But when something causes a short term emergency, unless you’re prepared, you could find yourself in a bind, putting yourself and your loved ones at risk. Weather emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards are the top four causes of short term disasters that people are forced to deal with. These disasters create situations where you can end up without any lights, heat or air conditioners.
Without electricity, you won’t have a way to keep your food supply from spoiling. If the disaster causes a rush on grocery store supplies, there will be empty shelves, leaving you without a way to get food.
Without electricity, you can lose the ability to call out for help for health reasons or if there’s looting and the battery on your cell phone dies. The time to plan for a disaster is right now – while you have electricity – while you have the food you need and the means to get ready for what might come your way.
Prepare yourself now, but have an emergency preparedness kit. In that kit, you need water for every member of your family and enough food to last everyone for at least a week.
You’ll need a way to keep warm – especially if the disaster is during the colder months. Use thermal blankets and waterproof sleeping bags. Have battery powered or solar powered gadgets that can charge cell phones.
Have flashlights and radios on hand that run on batteries and keep extra batteries ready. Or, invest in the hand crack variety. Make sure you have a first aid kit that includes face masks and all prescription medications. Prepare your kit with infant and pet needs, too.
Keep antibacterial wipes with the kit and seal your personal ID copies in with the kit. In case your originals are destroyed in the disaster, you’ll have a backup copy that will save you from a future hassle.
You’ll need matches, a hand held can opener and a multi-tool as well as a whistle. A whistle can be heard over long distances and will make it easier to locate you. Keep all of your supplies together in an air-tight waterproof container and store the container somewhere that the temperature doesn’t vary.
There are places that offer readymade disaster kits – and some people choose to buy those. If you pick that option, don’t forget to add copies of your important paperwork since a readymade kit won’t come with that.
Best Survival Gear for a Family to Have
Natural disasters and man-made disasters are occurring with more frequency than ever. So it makes sense to make sure that your family is prepared for any event. Preparation gear should always be in place before any disaster strikes.
You’ll want to gather your items and have them packaged and ready so that when the time comes, you can easily put your hands on what you need. Hopefully, you won’t experience disasters – but being prepared with the right equipment can help your family survive.
The equipment that your family should have can be packed (before it’s needed) into a sturdy backpack. You should make sure that the backpack is waterproof so that it protects the contents from getting damaged by inclement weather.
In the backpack, you should put enough gear to take care of each member of your family. If you have a larger family, you’ll need to prepare more than one backpack.
Inside the backpack, you’ll want to have a change of clothing for each family member. Food should be included in your survival gear. When packing food, obviously, you don’t want to pack foods that will spoil quickly.
Pack things like high protein food bars and other foods that have a lot of calories (minimum 2,000 calories) and can take the place of a meal. Water for every member of the family should be packed and ready.
But since bottled water can take up a lot of space and become heavy and awkward to carry, look for water that’s specifically made for survival gear that’s packaged in lightweight boxes. This purified water is packaged in a way that it can be safely stored in a wide variety of temperatures.
Protection is a must during a survival situation. You may want to arm yourselves with weapons, depending on the situation. For natural protection, you’ll need a solar powered radio so that you can listen to emergency broadcasts. You’ll want protection from the elements and protection against extreme weather.
You’ll need thermal blankets. Some survival experts suggest buying thermal blankets in packets of several at a time, and adding ponchos and emergency or tube tents. You’ll also want light sticks in the event that electricity isn’t available. You’ll need a functional knife such as a multi-tool Army knife on hand in case you need to cut rope for a tent or for other purposes.
Family members that take prescription medication should have their medication included in your survival gear backpack. You should have at least a two-week supply of any prescription medication put aside for survival situations. A first aid kit with medication such as medicine for headaches, bug bites and supplies for treating and bandaging cuts and wounds should also be included in your backpack.