What do You Need in a Disaster? Family Emergency Survival Kits
Tornadoes are coming more frequently
The Best Thing You Can Do Is Be Prepared
We may ask ourselves sometimes: What do I need for my family in case of a disaster? This is something that we don't talk enough about-Emergency Survival Kits for the Family. With record breaking disasters happening daily around our globe, it's more imperative than ever to make sure that we have an emergency survival kit for our family- preferably one for home, one in our car and one at our place of business. There is no better way to be prepared then to take your survival into your own hands and prepare yourself ahead of time in the case of a natural or man made disaster.
One of the most realistic quotes I have read says this: " When the time for action comes, the time for preparation has passed ".
Why Prepare For A Disaster?
In the event of a disaster, whether man-made or natural, it is up to us to prepare ourselves ahead of time. Chances are that we will face some type of emergency situation in our life - at some point - which will require us to think on our feet, and having pre-prepared supplies ahead of time can help us get through the disaster more smoothly. If we have children it's especially important for us to prepare ahead of time so that we can help provide for our family.
In the event of a disaster our water, electricity, gas, telephone access and living situations can change in the blink of an eye, and chances are that we may not be able to rely on the government to respond quickly enough to be able to help us. (Remember Katrina?)
Survival kits
You Can Buy A Kit or Make Your Own
Whether you buy an emergency survival kit for your family or make one up yourself, it's important to make sure that the things your family needs are included in your kit. Listed in the link below are the government recommendations for some of the basic things you should have in your emergency survival kit. If you do buy one from EBay or another site, make sure that you add the things that your family needs to survive.
If you have pets factor them in, and also prepare yourself for the fact that you may not be able to get medical attention right away after a disaster - so make sure you have the medicine that you need on a daily basis also packed in your emergency survival kits. The same goes for your children. If they take medicine that is critical to survival such as an inhaler for asthma - make sure that you have inhalers packed in there too. My oldest son has asthma, and as most of you with asthma know, it can be a very frightening thing. On top of being stressed out on top of a disaster situation you don't need to be worrying about being able to breath at that time too..
Most emergency survival kits that you buy come with a backpack which is very handy for grabbing but make sure you keep your emergency survival kit somewhere handy that you can easily access it when you need it. A survival kit is not going to do you any good if it's kept in the attic or locked away where you can't get at it.
One of my friends who is a CERT responder also carries a smaller emergency survival kit in the trunk of his car, with a pair of old running shoes in it. We live in earthquake country so the theory behind that is in case of an earthquake, roads may be impassable, and he may need to walk along ways on foot. Could you imagine having high heels on and trying to navigate treacherous roads? Worse yet, having to take those shoes off and walk barefoot? Keep this in mind when preparing your emergency survival kit. The things you wear everyday may not be suitable to wear in an emergency or a disaster.
Another idea is to keep an old bike with air in the tires on your property. In case of a disaster on land you may be able to get around much easier with wheels instead of feet. Of course in the case of flooding a bike won't do you alot of good but there again, if you live in possible flood zones having a small boat or raft handy is a good idea too.
Also assess the area that you live in and the kinds of possible disasters that could befall your area when preparing your disaster kits. If you live in flood zones then you will want to make sure your emergency survival kit is in something waterproof. If you live in tornado or hurricane areas then you will want to have bungees cords and things like that to secure things down that could go flying around.
Write down your families key information, and your family contacts, laminate that and put it in your survival kit.
Phones may not work in a disaster and you may need to refer to that laminated copy often, Also put in there any family allergies in case of emergency. The more information the better so medical personnel can help you in case of illness or sickness.
Making sure you have an emergency survival kit for your family is one of the best and most responsible things you can do for yourself and your family. In case of a disaster having a survival kitfor your family may save your life and theirs.
(If you have found this article helpful please feel free to send this article along to other family members so they can prepare for surviving through a disaster too)
