9 simple ways to prepare for an emergency
7 comments so far
Severe flooding in the Midwest, earthquakes in Japan, fatal tornadoes in the southern states…maybe it’s me, but it seems that these disasters are happening more often and in more diverse places than ever before. That makes it all the more important to be prepared for an emergency because in all reality an emergency in your area is a matter of “when”, not “if”.
Here are some simple steps you can take to prepare for an emergency.
1. 72 hour kit. My wife and I each have a backpack with the basic supplies we’d need if we had to leave our house for three days. It includes highly concentrated food (e.g. Powerbars, soup, etc.), medical supplies (band-aids, gauze, Tylenol, antiseptic), water and water purification tablets, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, a change of clothes, a hand-crank flashlight/radio and cash.
These backpacks are kept in a closet near our front door so in case of a fire or other emergency, they’re easy to grab and go. We replace the perishable items in them about once a year, or based on their expiration date.
2. Meeting location. In an unexpected event like a fire or earthquake, have a safe place for your family to meet that’s outside your home. Growing up, it was by our mailbox. This is to make sure everyone knows to go to the same place so people can quickly be accounted for. It’s extremely important to know if everyone is out of the home because you don’t want to risk the lives of emergency response personnel by sending them into a burning or unstable building looking for someone who has already gotten out safely.
3. Build up a supply of supplies. We’ve grown accustomed to driving down to the local market on a whim to pick up anything we need. But as we’ve seen in the news, it doesn’t take much time for grocery store shelves to be picked clean during emergencies.
Start to slowly build up a store of food and other supplies. In the event of a food shortage (for whatever reason), you’ll have enough to subsist on. So the next time something you eat regularly is on sale, buy a few extra and put them in boxes under the bed. Same thing goes for canned fruits and vegetables, pastas, fruit roll-ups and other items that aren’t immediately perishable.
4. Learn from cartoons . How many times have we seen cartoons of someone stranded on a desert island with cans, and no can opener? (Or maybe I’m the only one.) All your canned goods you have aren’t going to do you much good if you have an electric can opener with no power. Keep a manual can opener in your 72 hour kit as well.
5. Just add water. Freeze-dried food is great for emergency preparedness because it’s lightweight and has a long shelf life. However, it won’t do you much good if you don’t have water. Each time my wife and I go to Costco we pick up a big box of bottled water. This has been a good method for us as it spreads out the cost and also makes it easier to rotate through (water does go bad you know). Imagine having a month’s worth of bottled water all expiring at the same time!
Water, of course, is also beneficial in case supplies become tainted or cut off all together.
6. Out-of-state contact. If there’s a major disaster in your area, say an earthquake, there’s a good chance phone lines and cell towers may be overrun with people calling each other and emergency services (“All circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later”).
Sometimes when local calls can’t get through, long-distance calls will. Have a designated contact person out of state (for my wife and I, it’s my parents in Oregon) who you can call and check in with. Even if my wife is just 10 miles away from me at work, I can call my folks 750 miles away and we can all coordinate through them. Plus it allows my parents to know that we’re OK as well.
7. Keep emergency numbers handy. Put local numbers for emergency services, poison control, the Red Cross, your gas, electric and water companies, your state health department, etc. in your 72 hour kit or another easy-to-access place.
8. Master your utilities . Know where the shut-off valves for your utilities are, and know how to shut each off. Even if your home seems to be in good condition after an earthquake or other disaster, a hidden water or gas pipe with a crack could cause significant damage over time if left unattended.
9. Prepare your car. If you’re like me, you probably spend a good chunk of my day away from your home. Keep your car stocked with some water, blankets, snacks, flares, jumper cables, flashlight with batteries (ever tried changing a tire on the side of a road at night?) a cell phone charger, some backup cash and walking shoes and socks.
Listed here it seems like a lot, but it will all fit neatly in a gym bag in your trunk.
Also, it’s a good idea not to let your gas tank get too low. My wife has started filling up at about half a tank and it’s been reassuring to know that the car is always available and ready to go.
In conclusion
These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how to prepare you, your family and your home for an emergency. And keep in mind that these things won’t just be useful in the case of natural disaster. What if you get laid-off or have some kind of medical emergency that diverts your income? In that case, wouldn’t it be amazing if you didn’t have to buy food for a couple of months because you already had it stored?
These are practical things you can start doing right away to build up resources against a time of need.
Like I said, this certainly isn’t comprehensive. What do you think should have been on the list? Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Family, Food, Home, Organization, Perspective, Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Great suggestions – thanks. I also think it’s a good idea to have a financial reserve. Having enough money saved up to provide for your family for a few of months provides a lot of peace of mind.
After 911, our school district had each school prepare an evacuation plan to get the kids picked up at fast as possible. After I heard the plan which had teachers manning certain doors in the school passing out different grade levels of kids, not being able to leave until the last child was gone, I said this sounds great on paper but it won’t happen this way. My principal asked why not. I told him most all of his teachers were moms with kids in other schools and daycares. If he thought that these moms were going to sacrifice the safely of their own children to wait until someone else’s kid was picked up, he had another thing coming. My principal said well its your job. I told him he would had a ton of resignations on the spot. Mommas aren’t going to let their own children be sacrificed.
My family has a meeting place about 50 miles north of here in the even of an evacuation. With the way of the world these days, a plan is always a good thing. I have let ours slide in my false feeling of comfort. I need to get back into being prepared. Great post.
Good call on the topic. I definitely could do more here. I’d also recommend keeping copies of important papers in a Ziploc somewhere accessible, on a thumb drive kept in the backpacks, or in a safety deposit box. And pet owners need to consider what our furry kids will need to survive: food, water, maybe a leash, and any medications.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Sara – Good call on the documents and medication (for pets and people).
Great tips. The key is to always be prepared. At all times you should have enough supplies stocked to last you at least a week.
Great post. Makes me think of all that is left undone. I also have supplies in my car.
Speaking of can openers, I always knew electric ones were useless! (I have a spare, if you need it.)
Great ideas. Some I hadn’t thought of. Years ago we built 72 hour kits as a family project. When we were all done and feeling satisfaction for our efforts. Our youngest daughter exclaimed, “Doesn’t it kind of make you hope we have an emergency”. Because we were prepared she wasn’t afraid to face an emergency. It was a great lesson about the peace of mind we have when we are prepared.