On the weekend I caught up with a friend who, like me, likes to be prepared for what may come; it stems from the fact we've both seen things go wrong for people who often did not expect it and as most have very little or no preparation in place things have ended badly, or less-optimally than they could have. It's left us both, and most of the people we associate with, with a high regard for self-preparedness.
We were talking about basic preparedness and I thought I'd put together some simple steps that will help just about any family be a little more prepared in the event of an emergency situation like a hurricane, earthquake, cyclone, house or wildfire, flooding and such things...probably civil unrest also as the principles cross over.
There's often little warning prior to a disaster and if a warning does come there's often precious-little time to prepare and react. Basic services can be lost; phones, power, water, gas for example and emergency service responders are often overloaded and may not be at hand when required. Advance planning can mitigate the risk to a family and a few simple steps can leave them feeling a little more protected and safe; after all, don't you want your family to be protected and safe?
Gather information
Find out what disasters are most likely in your location and obtain information on each.
This could be house or wildfire risk, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, civil unrest and so on. Learn about and understand the warning signals like fire sirens and understand where shelters are; like here...we have last-refuge zones to escape to in the advent of wildfires. Understand who and how many you may need to move or protect and if there's any young kids, elderly or disabled and also learn about disaster plans in your workplace, schools and shopping areas where you and your family spend time; that will help with your plan down the track.
Create a plan
Convene as a family and discuss the reasons for preparation, the threats and possibilities and the dangers involved.
Assign responsibilities to each and arrange further learning and training where required especially for the kids who will perform better and more efficiently if they know the reasons and dangers involved. Determine two different rally points - places you'll meet your family if a disaster strikes. There should be at least one outside of your home, an evacuation point like a spot on the street for instance to be used in the advent of a housefire, and one somewhere close but outside of the immediate neighborhood in case you're all coming from different locations or the disaster is widespread and make sure each person knows the address and phone number of the place. Set up an external point of contact, a family member in another state for instance, as they can help coordinate your family to come together should you be separated - If communication is not possible between the family each calls that person to check in and that information can be coordinated to bring you all together. Then bring it all together, discuss what to do, plan how to take care of each other and pets, what to take and what to leave and so on.
The checklist
These are the very basics to be checked off your list:
Each person must know all the emergency numbers and when, how and why to call each of them. Remember, in a disaster the emergency services are under a lot of pressure so they may not be able to respond, calling them for no reason makes things worse.
Show everyone how to turn off the water, power and gas to the house - this single act has saved a great deal of damage to homes and people. Each member must know how to use a fire extinguisher and fire blanket and know where they're kept. Install smoke detectors in the home, mandatory here in Australia, and gas detectors are handy too. Perform a home-hazard assessment and address shortfalls, stock up on emergency supplies, do a first aid course and teach your family the basics, understand escape routes from the house and from your neighbourhood and determine potential safe spots within your home.
Note: The home hazard assessment is looking for things that can move, fall or break, cause a fire, electrical hazard, block ingress and egress points or such things if there was an emergency or disaster; being trapped inside a burning house is no fun.
Practice the plan and maintain it
The plan and reasons for it should be discussed twice a year and evaluated for continued suitability.
This ensures everyone knows the plan and their role and that they'll react a little more instinctively. Two fire and emergency evacuations drills a year are the minimum I think, although I'd do three. Rotate stored water every three months and the food every six months and test and verify fire extinguishers and smoke alarms work properly and are in-date every one to two months. Additionally, all equipment should be checked, batteries changed over and so on.
That's four simple and very basic steps everyone can do to help themselves and family be more prepared. It's not everything of course, but will set one's feet upon the path to better preparation and it often becomes somewhat addictive the more it's delved into.
Remaining calm is a very important part of preparedness as running around like a chicken with its head cut off will help no one - being more prepared helps in this regard and so can working together with neighours as collaborative preparation is often more effective for all. Each may have special skills and working together as a unit means you can cover more areas of expertise and that helps keep everyone safer. It's also good to have trustworthy neighbours there for the children should you not be able to get home to them due to the disaster or emergency event.
Further to this, you will need to think about some supplies, an area most fail miserably in. It's not difficult to gather the required things and I believe the list below is a minimum requirement for all households.
Supplies - The minimum for any household
- Three days of water for for the family, at least four litres per person per day - Rotate three-monthly
- Three days of non-perishable food that doesn't require cooking - Rotate six-monthly
- A change of clothing and shoes/boots and a blanket or sleeping bag per person (Season specific)
- A first aid kit you know how to use - Must be kept in-date as things lose their effectiveness
- Prescription medications your family may need such as insulin, asthma inhalers and so on
- Tools, batteries, flashlights, radio, duct tape, zip-ties, matches and flint and steel
- Cash, extra car keys and emergency credit card/debit card
- Sanitation, toiletries and personal hygiene supplies
- Equipment and items for those with special needs like infants, elderly and disabled
- A means to tell the time, spare vision/reading glasses and important family documents (in a waterproof container)
I don't think any of these things are too difficult or out of the ability of pretty much anyone to get and I know preparation like this can help people avert personal disaster. It may not mean your home is safe and sound, it might not stop injuries or death but it will make your family a little safer and the most important thing is the family right? Doesn't it make sense to care for them?
There's hundreds more things one can do to prepare from self-training, equipment and communication, self-defense and foraging, to reducing hazards, wilderness survival and shelter-building, water filtration, power generating and collecting, general awareness and increasing the ability to think quickly and effectively in the face of emergency situations plus many other things but the things above are a good start I think.
We like to think we are kept safe by our governments but the reality is that's just not true; it doesn't mean they don't want to keep us safe per se, but sometimes it's just not possible. Some attention and care before a disaster happens can mitigate a lot of the risk or effect when they do happen and I think those with a family who are not doing these things are acting irresponsibly.
I do a lot more than the above and have a nice feeling of security, in certain aspects, because of it. There's a feeling of confidence that comes from being prepared and I like the thought of being able to take care of my people.
I wonder what you've got in place for your family and which elements you feel you have under control and which need work. Do you even have a level of preparedness? Feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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Image(s) in this post are my own
Great guide! My family and I have an earthquake kit with most of those things you mention. There is a major earthquake that is about 50 years overdue for this area. According to the government, it's expected to be even worse than the 9.1 Fukuoka quake that hit 10 years ago and is expected to pretty much destroy most of central Japan. Happy thoughts.
Of course in the event of a major earthquake, the house could collapse and catch fire, and all the supplies in our emergency kit with it, but it's better than nothing. We also keep a second emergency kit at my school, so that is something. We are far enough inland that even a giant tsunami wouldn't reach us, but flooding from rivers could be an issue.
May neither of us ever have need of these emergency supplies, but as you say, it's good to be prepared.
Yep, Japan is certainly an area in which these principles should be applied for sure so it's good to hear you've got it it sorted.
I agree, the disaster could be so catastrophic that any level of preparation could be rendered useless but if one survives that initial event then some preparation will go a long way. The other thing is that an ethos of preparation and readiness can help mitigate the effects of normal everyday emergencies like cuts, falls, cooking fires and so on that happen every day in homes around the world.
It's good that you are onto it.
The kit I will grab if I ever have to flee contains homeopathic remedies, cash, gold, and my hardware wallets. I know a bit about medicinal and edible plants. Hoping I can stay in my home, I keep spring water in jugs at all times, and have lots of non-perishable foods in my pantry, a whole house generator (and a wood burning stove just in case), lots of coats, blankets, candles, lamps and lamp oil. I know a few tricks to make heaters and candles and can grow my own food.
My biggest worry is not being able to contact my daughters to see where they are. O e of them has instructions to drive to our lake house if shtf, and I will meet her there, but what if she doesn't have enough gas in her car? How will I contact her? I'm thinking of getting long range walkie talkies for that event, but I don't know anything about them. Ham radios seem attractive to me, maybe I'll look into that.
May none of this come to pass, but it's best to be ready anyway.
It seems you're prepared and well-more prepared than most people. It's not difficult to do right? I think it also becomes more of a focus once one starts the process.
Communication is a difficult thing and most consumer-available comms devices will not span distances. Ham radio will be your best bet but training and licensing is required; for sure it's a good option though. People seem to think their mobile phone is enough but that's not true. A Satellite phone is a good option, one at your end and one at hers, but even then that relies on a satellite and they can be costly.
May it never come to pass, but may you continue to be prepared for when/if it does.
What is this satellite phone? Gonna look into that, thanks.
I've been working on all this for a few years now, starting with learning how to grow my own food. While it is all quite simple to do, the desire to do it in the first place requires a sea change in one's thinking.
Next up is firearms. I took a pistol permit course mostly to learn about guns, but think a shotgun is more suitable to the protection I think I might need - in my home.
Satellite phones connect to a satellite in orbit and beam the signal back down to anywhere on the planet...a good and secure means of communication...if the satellite is still in orbit. Check it out, it may be a good option.
As for the firearms thing...you know I have them and that I endorse having them for various reasons. It's something to consider and if done right can add a solid level of preparation in many different aspects.
That is a really good set of advice. There is expected to be a big earthquake in the Philippines that should happen soon, so being prepared is definitely important. There have been recommendations of having a Go bag, where in an emergency the necessities are there. Doing those additional things, and routines would certainly help as well.
A go bag is a great idea...I have one in each of my cars and another in my house and one in each of my sheds/workshops. Each contains the same stuff and some have more depending on their purpose and location.
It makes a lot of sense to be prepared and literally zero sense to have no preparation. Preparation may not preclude damage to property, injury or even death...but a lack of preparation increases the chance of all of those.
It's easy enough to get some preparation done and there's loads of resources to help if one wasn't to know quote what to do. This post is merely to introduce the concept and I hope a few people take it on board and get something done about it.
Thanks for commenting.
Hi Galen, I certainly don't have that many things on my mind in anticipation of some disaster. But I share the absolute distrust in the rulers. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and in anticipation of shortages of some products at home there is always bottled water, a good stock of olive oil, canned food and kilos of legumes. Best regards
Having some preparation is far more than most have so that's a good start. Disaster can strike anytime, history shows us that, so it's best to think about what could help us when it does. Nice work, well done for having thought about it.
I think this is a good idea no matter the time of year or situation, but I think I’m going to really work with my son on this. I think it would be good to get him in the routine of practicing these basic skills and help in planning. He’s a bit of a worry-er so I know talking about it and doing some prep will go a ways with him. I know we keep a lot of these supplies around the house in various places but it would be a good activity to get this more formalized. We certainly keep good supplies and stuff on hand, it’s just getting organized with it.
I hadn’t really thought about the gas and water lines but that makes total sense! The emergency folks will also certainly appreciate it if the need arises to enter the place.
Overall solid advice and topic here man!
I could write many thousands of words on this topic and others like it but no one would read it. I hope, by writing these things, to inspire people to take a more active role in their own safety, as you have been inspired to do, and build that desire into their children as we will have a much safer world if that happened. Imagine not-so-little-E applying skills you've taught him later in life to save himself or someone else...that would make me a proud parent as I assume you would be.
It's really so easy to do these things as outlined above, and it will almost certainly cause a person to have a greater awareness and probably want to do more.
Also, on the turn off the utilities thing...That's one of the first things a firefighter will do when attending a fire...makes sense for us to do it first.
This is one of those instances where I am really happy I have a travel trailer. That puts a lot of the things needed right at our fingertips. Of course you still have to plan ahead a bit, but it makes things a bit easier. Great post. I'd definitely need to be relying on some of my friends for certain things. Being the computer guy won't help too much when everything goes to crap!
Yep, I agree and have one too so understand what you're getting at. I keep mine stocked, charged and ready to go at all times, have go-bags and all so in only a short period of time, 45-60 minutes can be hooked up and on the road.
I think the friends aspect is something many fail to work on; maybe because people are afraid as being seen as a prepper...the TV show has a lot to answer for - depicting preppers as weirdos - but there's some solid benefits to finding some like-minded and safety conscious people to work with even if it's just for information...like with my insect/foraging post a little while ago.
By having self-reliance and disaster-preparation in mind a person is more inclined to look for hazards at home or in the workplace and general society and ways to mitigate them. I can't see that as a bad thing.
I think a lot of people are going to be in a world of hurt because they forgot what a true community feels like. Old time towns were an intricate balance of individuals who all had specific skills that worked together for the benefit of everyone. The problem over here is the fact that so many people have travel trailers and I think everyone would have the same idea, so actually moving it anywhere would be difficult. You'd be pretty much stranded.
You said it well about the breakdown of true community and I agree, it'll not go so well at some point.
Hi @galenkp look so sad 😢 thank you for your sharing and guide us.
Disaster is the dangerous in the world like no one's can defense.
In my country, in the Philippines I'd more experience in my country, like flooding, typhoon, earthquake and also landslide.
We can defenseit in ourself to the risk and we must prepared all time, in time of disaster. Pray for God 🙏.
I wonder how you prepare for those things in your country and are most people prepared or are most people not prepared?
Hi thanks for your wonderful message, In my experience, all are prepared.
It makes sense to be prepared, and no sense at all not to be so well done to all you folks who have taken the initiative.
Yeahhh!!!! that is true,for our salvation.
Natural disasters are scary, and just like you've said, being calm must be the number one thing to do because without calmness comes more disaster, which may be very lethal.
I do agree on the basic first aid training and changing of foods, toiletries, and all in some fixed month. It is an important way to prepare oneself and family when things happen.
How have you prepared for possible eventualities in your area and do you feel you're well prepared or is there room for improvement?
There's surely room for improvement, but I have gotten better with having a place to keep things instead of roaming around the house looking for it.
... regarding first aid, I am good to go on that. Foods also, and numbers to go.
Still, I know there's still some things worth preparing for if any possibility of disaster may occur.
It's good to hear that you've got a good handle on some of the elements and with that you should allow momentum to build to even greater levels of readiness; you'll be glad you did if a situation occurs.
Yes, I will do that... nah, I am already doing that. Thanks for the tips 😀.
Present tense is better than future tense. Well done.
It sure is!
The points you mention about preparation, organisation and also being calm are excellent, because in moments of nerves you don't think well at all.
In this post I remembered what happened in the city where I was born a few weeks ago, it was chaos, many people lost everything and many disappeared because of the tornado.
It is normal to have storms there, but not like the one that happened and a proper preparation would have prevented greater evils.
In my case I always like to have the supplies you mention, in fact I have almost all the points up to date, but that is already a habit of mine, I don't know if I do it in case of emergency or because by nature I like to be prepared.
Two months ago there was a fire in the building. In the courtyard on the first floor, but we thought it was in the building itself. My mother got so scared that she couldn't think but I kept calm, reasoned and acted very well calling the fire brigade and so on. Everything turned out well.
All this is very important to keep in mind. Thank you very much!
Have you put any thought or effort into building personal skills like first aid? It's amazing how many people don't understand the concepts and so are ull-prepared when things go wrong. There's other aspects also and a few skills and some understanding can go a long way towards keeping a person safe or helping others.
Knowing what you know and don't know is important, as is building on existing skills.
That is something I have yet to learn, it is true. In case someone needs me to know what to do.
At the Red Cross they teach, I'll find out where it is and go and find out.
Here in the Philippines, we are not a stranger with calamities and disaster. I remember my worst experience with a typhoon last Dec 2021 that left us with no electricity for months. All of us werent prepared. We thought it would just be a 1-2 day affair. 3 at most. So we didnt prepare solar lights, power banks, water, and food. Some of us even spent Christmas and new year in the dark. And yes, youre right, calmness really plays a big role in situations like this.
That's interesting...and in light of what happened in Dec 2021 howe have you prepared since and are you totally prepared for the next time it happens?
We now have a lot of solar lights kept in the drawer and power banks. For the food, we decided that we should at least stock some canned goods and noodles at home every time there's a typhoon announcement. We also now have a deep well in our house for water supply😊
Well done, I was worried for a minute there you'd say, we have nothing prepared.
Good work.
Hahaha. We sure did learned our lesson. Basic necessities that time was so expensive.
I know finding additional funds for emergency supplies and equipment can be difficult at times but the alternative, not having them, can be devastating. It's a balance I guess.
Useful. And timely given all the crazy weather we've had here in Aus. Thank you. Hope you are doing well down there.
It's really easy to put these things out of mind and just get on with life but in reality disasters happen all the time, cyclones, droughts, flooding and wildfires especially here in Australia but other things too. Around the world there's any number of things that could happen at any stage and it doesn't make any sense (to me) to fail to be prepared especially considering it's often so easy to be prepared.
Anyway, some have to learn the hard way and then stick their hand out to others for assistance...but when that assistance isn't there...well...enough said I guess.
It's all good here...I'm back to work tomorrow unless I can make up a reason good enough not to be; I've tried, believe me. I hope you're well in banana bender land.
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