Outdoor Survival | Survival Kits | Disaster Preparedness Planning

Your Disaster Preparedness Plan

911 Taught Us That We Need a Disaster Preparedness Plan

The evidence is overwhelming: natural disasters throughout the U.S. negatively affect millions and millions of people every year. Indeed, millions of people the past few years have experienced an increasing number of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, electrical storms, winter storms, and wildfires.

This past September marked the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The terrorist attacks that happened on September 11, 2001 should be a constant reminder of the man-made disasters that can happen but also the natural disasters that also can occur.

In short, 911 teaches us all to use common sense and develop a disaster preparedness plan for both natural disasters as well as man-made disasters.

In response to the increase in natural disasters, the Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the American Red Cross, is letting people know that the best way they can be safe and stay out of harm’s way is to be prepared before an emergency happens. Similar information is included on the FEMA website and can be called “FEMA disaster preparedness planning.”

Clearly, we may not have much, if any control over the disasters and emergencies that befall us but we do, however, have control over how we plan and prepare for disasters as well as how we react and respond to them. In short, we need to be “Red Cross Ready” for any disasters that may occur.

Let’s Get Red Cross Ready

There are three steps that need to be taken before we are “Red Cross Ready.”

Step One: Your Emergency Survival Kit

The first step in getting “Red Cross Ready” is constructing or purchasing an emergency survival kit. Also known as disaster kits, disaster preparedness kits, emergency kits, and disaster survival kits, emergency survival kits are critically important components of your disaster preparedness plan because of two key reasons.

1). When a widespread disaster occurs, the first responders may not get to your residence for several days due to the fact that they are swamped helping other people. As a result, you and your family may need to survive on your own for a number of days before you are given assistance by the first responders. At the very least, then, you and your family will need a 3-day emergency supplies kit.

2). If the disaster has been fairly extensive, it may take a number of days before power outages are restored, flood waters recede, and wind damage can be repaired.

Items in Your Emergency Survival Kit

Once you have your emergency survival kit, make sure every family member knows precisely where this disaster preparedness kit is located. Disaster survival kits should contain at least a 3-day supply of the following items:

Drinking water (one gallon of drinking water per person per day)
Non perishable food (such as canned foods, granola bars, nuts, crackers, beef jerky, pastas, dried fruits, dried meat, dry cereal, peanut butter, electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade, MREs, fruit juice, and energy bars)
First aid kit (including a fist aid manual)
Cell phone (with a charger)
Shelter (for example, sleeping bags and a tent)
Tools (such as a manual can opener, hammer, multi-purpose knife, pliers, multi-tool with saw, small shovel, 6 in 1 screw driver, socket set, and a large adjustable wrench for shutting off utilities)
Prescription medications
Prescription glasses
Matches (waterproof and windproof in a waterproof container)
Cigarette lighter
Blankets (use wool blankets rather than those made out of cotton)
Extra clothes
Sewing kit
Compass and local map (just in case you have to evacuate your apartment or house)
Toiletry items (don’t forget the toilet paper)
Cash
Eating utensils (or a camping “mess kit”)
Plates and bowls
Metal containers (for cooking and for boiling water)
Radio (hand cranked or battery or solar powered)
Whistle
Fire extinguisher
Flashlight (with extra batteries)
Extra duffel bags, gym bags, or backpacks in case you have to put the contents of your emergency survival kit into a number of portable, “get-out-of-town” bags.
Other supplies that you and your family will need to make it on your own during a disaster

How to Keep the Items in Your Emergency Survival Kit Up-To-Date

It is certainly important to have a well-stocked emergency survival kit as part of your disaster preparedness plan, but in order to always keep your disaster survival kit ready for the next disaster, you will need to periodically check virtually everything in your kit to make sure that your clothes still fit, and that your food, water, and other supplies have not expired.

The optimal way to maintain the items in your emergency survival kit is to check each item at the start of each of the four seasons. This way, all of the items in your survival kit, including your clothes and shelter items, will be up-to-date and appropriate for the weather changes that each new season brings.

After you have checked all of the items in your disaster survival kit, it would be a good idea to keep a log of the dates that items were replaced and to make sure that everything is ready for an emergency or a disaster.

Step Two: Your Personal Disaster Preparedness Plan

The second step in getting “Red Cross Ready” is constructing a disaster preparedness plan. Go through various disaster scenarios and plan what you and your family will do during an emergency. This is also called emergency preparedness planning and disaster preparedness planning.

Moreover, when this plan involves your residence, it is usually called your home disaster preparedness plan and when it pertains to you family, it is called a family emergency plan. This information is stated here so that you become more conversant with the disaster preparedness terminology.

Perhaps your emergency preparedness plan can start with an “emergency fire plan” that outlines where the fire extinguishers are, hands-on training for all family members in the safe operation of fire extinguisher, sever weather evacuation plans, and a safe meeting place outside the home in case you have to evacuate your residence.

Emergency Preparedness: A Bug Out Bag

From there, your can put together a “bug out bag” in case you and your family need to abruptly leave your house. To cover all bases and for optimal outdoor survival, you should have a bug out bag for every vehicle and for your place of work. Think through several outdoor survival and disaster scenarios and develop action steps for all family members so they know exactly what to do during a specific emergency.

Home Disaster Preparedness: Your Contact List

Establish a place where everyone can meet in case a disaster happens when you are not home. It’s also important to create a “contact list” of trusted family members and friends who live outside your geographic area who can be the “contact persons” in case your family members get separated, or in case you need to evacuate your residence and stay with one of your contact persons. All family members need to have this “contact list” on their person whenever they are away from home.

Rehearse the Steps of Your Disaster Preparedness Plan

After you construct your disaster preparedness plan, rehearse all of the steps, a process that is similar to what we all did in elementary school during the fire drills.

Make sure everyone in your family knows the disaster preparedness plan and how to implement it. If you have pets, make sure you include them in your disaster preparedness plans. The same goes for elderly or disabled people in your household.

Step Three: Stay Informed

The third step in getting “Red Cross Ready is staying informed. Be aware of the types of disasters that typically happen in your geographic area. Find out what emergency response resources exist in your local community. Call your city hall and find out what type of alarm systems are in place, what they sound like, and how you should respond to them. Put together an emergency phone list of community resources and first responders.

Long Term Disaster Preparedness: Create Your Emergency Survival Kit For Long Term Survival

Given the increasing number of natural disasters that have been bombarding our country, it makes a lot of sense to have an emergency survival kit that will help keep you and your family safe and self reliant for significantly longer than 3 days.

Think about this for a moment. Many of the items you need for a 3-day survival kit will last far longer than a few day and include the following items: a manual can opener, flashlight, radio, batteries, tools, fire extinguisher, extra clothing, and shelter items.

In short, transforming a 3-day emergency survival kit to one that will last several months usually means getting additional prescription medications, drinking water, non-perishable food items, toiletry items, and extra clothes. Indeed, these “extra” emergency supplies will form a critically important part of your long term disaster preparedness plan.

Fortifying Your House or Apartment for Long Term Survival

Instead of running to the mountains or to the woods to “live off the land” after a disaster, most people who are concerned with long term survival would probably be better off fortifying their present residence. This means having a longer term disaster preparedness plan and doing the following:

Stockpiling a several month’s supply of non-perishable foods, water, first aid supplies, extra clothes, and toiletry items.
Getting and learning how to use basic tools such as a wrench, socket set, shovel, a hammer, various saws, pliers, and a screw driver.
Building a small greenhouse so you can grow plants, fruits, and vegetables year-round.
Using some form of alternative energy such as battery or solar power in case the utility companies are not functioning..
Learning basic first aid so that you and your family can adequately deal with most basic medical situations.
Making your house safer and more burglar-proof. Make sure all of your windows lock and get heavy duty, fire-resistant doors.
Consider taking some classes on gun shooting and cleaning and then legally purchase one or more weapons.

In sum, hunkering down and fortifying your present house or apartment is far more doable, less expensive, and more reasonable than living totally off the land in case of a widespread disaster. And in most instance, this long term emergency preparedness plan will give you and you family more peace of mind knowing that you will be able to survive most disasters in your own residence.

An Emergency Survival Kit For Your Vehicle

In case a disaster strikes while you and your family are away from home, it’s also advisable to have an emergency survival kit for your vehicle. An emergency survival kit for your vehicle is also an important aspect of your disaster preparedness plan and needs to contain the following:

Cell phone and charger
Tool kit (make sure to include one or more manual can openers)
Blankets
Water (at least one gallon of water per person per day)
Snack foods or non-perishable foods such as crackers, dried meats, fruit juice, nuts, granola bars, peanut butter, canned goods, beef jerky, dried fruit, military ready to eat meals, pastas, and energy bars
Extra clothing
Flashlight (with extra batteries)
Snow shovel
Windshield scraper
Gloves and hats
Sand or kitty litter (in case your vehicle gets stuck in the snow)
First aid kit

A Demand For Non-Perishable Food With a Long Shelf Life

One final note. The “survival movement” and the emphasis on having a long term disaster preparedness plan have created a considerable demand for non-perishable food items that have a many-year shelf life. In fact, there’s a number of offline and especially online companies that specialize in freeze-dried and dehydrated foods that have at least a 5-year shelf life that can be purchased in single packets as well as in canisters and cases that will last a family several months or years.

Going this route is definitely thinking in terms of long term emergency preparedness or disaster preparedness and quite possibly may be the target for most people in our country regarding their long term survival.

In Case You Need to Evacuate Your City or Town

Clearly it is more efficient and productive to fortify your house or apartment for natural or man-made disasters but what should you do in case you have to leave your home or apartment? For example, people who live in a “hurricane zone” may be ordered by the local authorities to evacuate their residence and to get out of town–and to do this almost immediately.

Here’s where your detailed disaster preparedness plan comes into focus. As mentioned above, get in contact with trusted relatives or friends in different geographic locations who can be “contact persons” in case your family gets separated due to an emergency. In addition, make sure you discus the possibility of moving in with them for a short while in case you are forced to evacuate your town or city. And to make things “fair,” return the favor. In other words, be there for your relatives and friends in case they need to leave their apartment or home due to a disaster.

If you have to evacuate your house or apartment, you should already have your bug out bags ready to go. And if you have enough time, since your emergency supplies are already gathered, you can upgrade your bug out bags to include “extra” emergency supplies.

Outdoor Survival Skills

There’s always the option of taking your family to a camp site for a number of days in case you have to leave your home due to a disaster. Honestly, did you ever think that your camping skills from your earlier years might become important for your outdoor survival in case of a disaster?

In any event, if you have constructed a well-equipped emergency survival kit, you will have virtually everything you need to “make it” in the wild. For instance, your extra clothes, extra wool blankets, sleeping bags, and your tent will definitely come in handy for use as the primary components of your “shelter.”

And if your emergency supplies are centrally located, and if you have purchased extra backpacks, gym bags, or duffel bags (as outlined above), you will be able to significantly upgrade your “bug out bag” so that you have enough items from your emergency survival kit to survive for several days in the great outdoors.

What is more, the prescription medications, first aid kit, tools, and toiletries in your emergency survival kit will definitely be items that you will want to take with you if you are forced to leave your city or town.

Disaster Preparedness Planning: Conclusion

As you can see, constructing a detailed short term AND long tern disaster preparedness plan includes a lot of thinking, planning, and preparation and tons of time and effort and in most instance, a significant amount of money.

Unfortunately, in an age of terrorist threats and increasing natural disasters, our long term survival will greatly depend upon how detailed and comprehensive our disaster preparedness plans are and how able we are to implement our disaster preparedness plan when a disaster strikes.