My mom use to always tell me, “Always be prepared.” These are good words to live by because you never know what is around the next corner. I want you to be prepared.
The truth is it doesn’t matter where you live, chances are that sooner or later you’ll face some sort of a natural disaster that will leave you without power, water, or access to buy supplies. It could be a natural disaster like a hurricane, snowstorm, flood, tornado, or earthquake. It could also be a manmade disaster that has the power grid failing or requires you to stay put in your home for a few days or even weeks. Having a natural disaster or similar emergency plan ready will help you and your family be ready if and when you need to jump into action to stay safe. Here are three basic questions that you should ask yourself to formulate an emergency preparedness plan for your family.
Where Will You Go?
The first question you need to ask yourself is where you will go when an emergency arises. Will you stay at home and shelter in place? Will you head out of town or evacuate? If you are heading out, where will you go and where will you stay?
These are important questions and you don’t want to make those decisions when you are in the middle of a disaster. Those are stressful times and it can be hard to make smart decisions quickly in those situations. A big part of your emergency preparedness plan should be to think through possible scenarios and then get the information you need ahead of time. For example, figure out what routes you can take to get out of the area, determine where you want to go if possible, and then get the contact information for a hotel or the people you’ll be staying with.
How Will You Stay In Touch?
There is nothing scarier than not being able to get in touch with loved ones during a disaster or emergency event. Just as important is being able to get news and emergency alerts or announcements. Think about how you will accomplish this both while you’re on the road and when you’re staying in your home or emergency shelter.
Making sure everyone has a mobile phone is a great start. Don’t forget that these devices need to be charged. Having chargers, including car chargers with you is a must. An additional battery or a backup power supply will come in very handy as well.
Be conservative with your device usage to make the battery power last as long as possible. It’s important to talk to your kids about this ahead of a disaster and remind them regularly.
Don’t rely on just your smartphone for news and communication. A backup plan will come in handy when you can’t get a good connection or run out of power on your device.
Designate a meeting point or a person that everyone contacts when you can’t get a hold of each other. Have a backup solution for finding out what’s going on, like a weather radio.
You should also keep a list of emergency contacts including addresses and phone numbers with some old-fashioned maps. They could come in handy when your phone dies.
What Must-Have Supplies Should You Always Have On Hand?
No matter where you live, what your personal situation is, or what type of disasters you may be facing, there are some basic supplies everyone should have on hand “just in case”. Here are five things that you should stock and store at all times to make sure you can make it no matter what life throws at you.
Water
Let’s start with the most important and most urgent item on the list – water. You can make it a surprisingly long time without food, power, and all sorts of other stuff. You can’t make it very long without a reliable source of drinking water.
We’ve become so reliant on our faucets that it’s easy to forget that we should have water stored for a few days whenever prepping for an imminent emergency. Buy a few bottles or gallons at the store, or fill up containers at home. Keep a water filter or water purification treatment tablets on hand to keep drinkable water for longer time periods. A water filter straw is lightweight and easy to store or travel with and some can filter up to 1,000 gallons of water per filter straw. These are great to have on hand just in case.
Non-Perishable, Ready-To-Eat Food
While human beings can go a surprisingly long period of time without food, involuntary fasting isn’t particularly pleasant. Keep a few ready-to-eat foods in your pantry at all times including peanut butter, crackers, protein bars, and canned foods that you can eat without heating. It helps to stick with items that you eat on a regular basis, so you can rotate this food item and not risk having it go bad.
In addition, start to stock up if the time of year approaches when natural disasters can occur. Don’t forget to bring some of this emergency food supply with you when you need to evacuate. You can’t always rely on others to provide you with food. Stores and restaurants may be closed along the way.
Weather Radio
The next important item that makes it on the list is a small battery-operated weather radio. Keep a set of spare batteries with it as well. This is important because you will need the latest weather and government updates as well as news. Don’t rely on your phone and the internet as your only source for information. The network could go down or overload. This makes an important backup.
Flash Light And Batteries
Things always seem worse in the dark, don’t they? And not just that. It can be downright dangerous to move around outside, or even inside your home without a reliable source of light. Candles will work in a pinch, but they also bring the risk of setting your surroundings on fire. Instead, make sure your kit includes several flashlights and spare batteries. Headlamps are particularly helpful when you’re trying to move around and get stuff done.
Having glow sticks in your emergency kit can be a great option for kids. They are cheap to buy, you can get them at the Dollar Tree, and it lets kids have a sense of control over their situation when they get to have their own glow stick. It also prevents them from shining a flashlight in someone’s eyes in the dark or running out the batteries in a flashlight.
First Aid Kit
Last but not least, let’s talk about a first aid kit. The size of your kit will depend on the size of your family. Start with a standard kit available at your local store and then add any medications you and your loved ones take and need. Check your kit and the rest of your disaster supplies regularly to make sure you’re prepared when you need to grab your supplies and leave quickly.
Part of my personal First Aid Kit also includes a few extra items that most people might not think about. I use essential oils every day so of course, they are part of my kit for emergencies. Here are my must-haves and why I keep them in my First Aid Kit.
1. Tea Tree for disinfecting surfaces and/or any wounds that someone might get.
2. Lavender for any skin abrasions, irritations, or burns. This can also be used to help calm down anyone that needs calming or help with sleep issues that might arise from the stressful situation you have been put in.
3. Copaiba for pain and discomfort. You can apply it to the affected area and/or take a drop under the tongue. This is usually in my bag every time I go anywhere.
4. Slim & Sassy essential oil or Slim and Sassy gum for regulating blood sugar.
5. Helichrusum for shock, wounds, and to help stop bleeding.
6. Frankincense is another good one to have on hand but PURE frankincense can be quite costly. If money is tight, stick to the first 5 on this list. If you have it, you can use it for SO MANY THINGS. Several ways are for bruises, wounds, pain, inflammation if you have a wound or sprain, anxiety or depression that might arise from the situation, and so many other ways.
I want you and your family to be prepared for whatever life throws at you. Make a family plan, make sure that everyone knows the plan, have ways to communicate with the ones you love, and have supplies on hand. You never know when you will need them.
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