Hiking Backpack Zone

Posts Tagged ‘hurricane’

72 hour survival kits could make the difference between life and death of you and your family in an emergency. There are many types of disasters and emergencies: fires, hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and tornadoes. The government action plan for a major disaster estimates three to seven days to begin providing workers to the zone. 72 hours is three days - it would be even better to plan on having a survival kit that would support you for ten to twelve days.

Instead of dismissing this kind of planning out of hand; remember the types of disasters that happened in the past 15 years. Imagine what one of these would be like if you had nothing with you but what you were wearing. Even worse, consider the elderly or children that are in your care and how they would cope. To ease your mind, start creating your survival bags immediately.

Before you start packing or purchasing anything, consider what the most likely situation is based on where you are. This will help you plan on what to do in the case of an emergency. For example, if your house is close by the coast and the most probable problem is a hurricane, then your plan should involve packing your vehicle with what you need and driving to a safe place. If you live in a city then it is most likely that you will be walking to a safe place either because you have no vehicle or the streets will be so jammed that walking is the only choice. If you live in a relatively protected area inland, then your plan will be to be safe in your home.

Even though you should get ready for the most likely event, you should also have a backup plan. There may come a time in your life when you have to get out of town as fast as possible, and you will be unsure as to what help and support you will get while on the way. That is when you need to have one of these kits ready to go.

Prepare 72 hour kits for every person in your family. Start by getting a rucksack that is a size and capacity that the person can carry all day. You do not have to buy the bag to start putting together the items of the kit, however. Set aside two complete sets of rugged clothes that you no longer wear, but would serve well in an emergency. Then plan on what you are going to need for food, water, and shelter, and get it. Pack light so you can take it all.

Start preparing immediately, and be ready for when disaster strikes.

Prepare survival kits for everyone in your family. Look at the list of what goes into 72 hour survival kits.

Reflect back across the last 10 years and about disasters that caused disruption of the fragile food supply chain that delivers all our food to the supermarkets. What if you were in the Gulf Coast vicinity when Hurricane Katrina rumbled through? What about within a few hundred miles of Mount Saint Helens and the ash fall zone? Then ask yourself if you are a place that could be affected by a natural disaster like an earthquake, hurricane, flooding or anything else that can disrupt the food supply chain.

Do you have people in your family that trust on you to provide for them? How would you feel if you are not able to take care of your family and children? Picture what it would be like day after day looking at your hungry and thirsty children and not being able to do anything about it. The time to keep something like that from taking place is right now.

Here are three guidelines to assist you to get started on making a plan.

Make sure you have a safe place that everybody knows to come to. For many people this will be their house, but it also could be a cabin up in the woods, or a relative’s house. It is best to have a place that is accessible and won’t have hordes of people that will take your supplies.

Have a source of water, a way to store it, and a way to get potable water. A good way to do this is to have a well drilled on your property. Another is to identify a river or pond close by and make sure you have water filtration equipment on hand.

Have a reserve of food on hand. You can start by picking up some cases of soup and spaghetti locally, but to do this properly you should plan out the correct amount that you would need based on the number of people that are dependent on you and how long you think food will be unavailable. Furthermore, make sure that food does not spoil by rotating it periodically or getting food designed for long-term storage.

The time to prepare for an emergency so you can ensure the survival of your family is before the disaster hits. Make a plan and take action now.

Find out more about disaster preparedness supplies so you can properly prepare your family for an emergency at http://disasterpreparednesssupplies.org