No 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 more.
It could be a natural disaster like a hurricane, snow storm, flood, tornado, or earthquake. Or it could 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. The world can be a harsh place, but there’s something we can do. The current health scare (2020 and beyond) has also shown us that supply chain issues can happen at any time.
Taking some time to be prepared for the disasters most likely to occur in our area is key.
Your first step in your own disaster preparedness should be to find out what types of emergency situations you need to get ready for. Take a few minutes to review the types of disasters your area is prone to.
This is particularly important for natural disaster.
- Florida or the Southeastern US coast, you should prepare for hurricane season.
- Northeast or south of the Great Lakes, you should get ready for big snow storms.
- Mid-West, or South West, chances are you’ll come across a tornado or two.
- California, you may prepare for earthquakes and wildfires.
In Northern Nevada we prepare for a mixture of things. Wildfires have become a normal summer occurrence, snow storms can also bring mudslides and we are on or near some major fault lines for earthquakes.
Next, think about possible man-made disasters. If you live near a dam, you may need a plan of action for flooding. If you live near a nuclear plant, you should think about a way to get out quickly if something were to happen at the plant. You get the idea. What disasters we prepare for will be different for a lot of us and what sort of emergency plan you have will depend on those variables.
Once you have your list of disasters that you need to prepare for, it may be a good idea to consider if and when you would try to prepare to stay at your home and ride it out, and when it may be time to evacuate. Obviously, those decisions may be outside of your control, such as in the event of a mandatory evacuation, but there will also be plenty of times when the decision is up to you.
Think about what makes the most sense to you and your family. If you are able to stay put, you can take care of issues as they pop up and prevent further damage. If a storm blows out a window, you can board it up and prevent water from coming in for example.
At other times, it may be safer and more convenient to get out of the disaster’s way. For those cases as well as mandatory evacuation, think about where you would go. Do you have family or friends you can stay with? If that’s not an option, find an area you may want to travel to and get the numbers of a few hotels.
Things move fast when a storm hits and evacuations are ordered. You don’t want to waste time trying to make those decisions then and lose out on a hotel room for yourself and your loved ones. Consider creating a binder or checklist that has all your pertinent information for quick action. Shelters should always be a last resort. Trust me, it’s not the most comfortable place to make it through a disaster.
Mother nature has been showing us that even though we have many modern conveniences she is still in control. Make sure your family is prepared with basic necessities and you can weather any situation.
