Every year, we hear of extreme weather emergencies…hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, earthquakes…the list goes on. Are you prepared to survive an emergency? Will you have enough food? Will you have enough water? Can you and your family survive on your own for a few days if you have to? Can you protect your home and your family?
Regardless of where you live, how many people in your immediate family, what kind of home that you live in, or what type of extreme weather you might have to endure, there may come a time when you have to manage a few hours or even a few days without access to the basic necessities to sustain human life. Are you prepared?
- First, and foremost, start with basic survival needs. One of the best ways to ensure this is to either assemble and/or purchase one or more survival kits. Normally, these kits provide three days worth of food, water, and other items designed to help you and your loved ones through the most difficult period.
- Second, make sure that you have adequate cash on hand for emergency use. These days, no one carries much cash, especially in smaller dominations, but imagine a situation where power is out for days or even weeks at a time. Without power, you may be unable to access your local ATM and/or your credit cards may be useless. Your local merchants may be open, but you can be certain they’ll only accept cash for groceries and other necessities until power and/or the ability to process credit and debit cards is restored.
- Third, know where the water, gas, and electricity shutoffs are in your home. Should you have a pipe burst, or a short circuit, or even a flood, you’ll need to know how to turn your utilities off to minimize damage to your home.
- Next, keep the gas tanks on all your vehicles filled. Whenever there is a hurricane, or other weather emergency, as soon as the National Weather Service posts the forecast, gasoline quickly becomes scarce as people fill up their tanks, stations close, and power fails. Even after the storm has passed, gas will likely be in short supply for days or even weeks as deliveries are often temporarily halted due to the storm. Expect long lines if and when you do find gas. Many people keep a supply of gasoline on hand at home during hurricane season expressly for this reason.
- And, finally, what about food, drinking water, and medicines? Have you stored enough water and canned goods to keep you and your loved ones going for several days? Weather emergencies nearly always mean a disruption of minimum necessities, and thus having enough food and water is of the utmost importantance in any disaster planning. Above all, if you are taking certain medicines, keep your prescriptions filled, and maintain an extra supply of essential medicines, as your neighborhood pharmacy may be closed for some time.
With adequate planning, surviving a hurricane or other disaster need not be nearly as hard as being caught completely unaware.