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Organize Your Emergency Preparedness

urban damage

Most seem to agree that people in urban areas are more vulnerable in post-disaster conditions and fail to organize their emergency preparedness compared to their rural counterparts that are more self-sufficient.

Far too many complacent Americans take for granted the resources available to them and rarely consider what their lives would be like without those amenities.

Coping with Post-Disaster Conditions

As you organize your emergency preparedness it’s helpful to prioritize the resources you may need. While there are things in common you’ll need regardless of the emergency, each of the different emergency situations may also require some different resources.

checklist

So, after you’ve prioritized what likely emergencies you might experience you’ll want to put together your disaster resources based on that list. I hope the following details will help clear up any confusion you may be feeling at this time.

clean water

Water
Water is one of the basic needs and among the most important elements of life. Water is vital to a human body.  It is needed for hydration in order to survive. Quite simply, without water… you will die a slow and painful death. Water can come from rain, stream or through other sources. Although water is one of the first survival supplies brought in to a disaster area by emergency crews, it’s vitally important that you have an alternative source of this life preserving substance.

hunger

Food
While many have stored canned food, dehydrated food supplies are an important part of the food storage supplies for people who are preparing for disasters and calamities.  Hunger is a bigger issue for survival than many think. Not only does hunger cloud your thinking, but it also makes you clumsy and slow, which can result in an injury. This is why learning more about survival food supplies is a crucial part of your prepping.

tornado damage

Shelter
Numerous catastrophes could cause you to become dislocated from your home.  It might be an evacuation order ahead of a hurricane or wildfire.  Or, your home might be destroyed by a tornado.  In the case of societal collapse, you may find it imperative that you bug out of your current location to find safety elsewhere.

first aid

First Aid
This is one of those items everybody should have available to them.  Your first aid kit will be different for your home as the one you keep in your car or your go bag. Every person should have a go bag that you grab on your way out the door that will help keep you safe and comfortable for a period of time. Stopping to hunt for your medications or other important needs can cost you critical seconds in an evacuation.

Communications
While cell phones and social media are great for communicating with friends and family, in an emergency situation they may not work out for you.  Cell towers could be overloaded or completely fail.  Power outages could shut down the Internet. Battery or solar powered radios for listening to NOAA weather and AM/FM are really cheap and are all a lot of people will need. For the more advanced prepper, shortwave and ham radio could prove to be beneficial in communicating with the outside world as well as important intelligence gathering.

Finances
Like many, you may find you have more week left than cash. There is a way out of that dilemma.  You don’t have to build your emergency reserves all at one time… instead, build it steadily over the coming months and years.  It only has to be done a little at a time and you’ll discover after a period of time how much you’ve got set aside for emergencies.

Building Your Emergency Kit

Everyone should have a basic emergency preparedness kit in place with what you’ll need in case of emergency.  You’ll want to include food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, safety and communications.

There are hundreds of preparedness lists available to you on the Internet and can usually be downloaded free. They will provide advice on what to put inside your survival kit that you carry with you should you need to bug out. Others will feature survival gear like knives and other tools together with advice on which ones are the most practical and efficient.


Legacy Food Storage