Disaster Preparedness: Top 5 Priorities With all the natural disasters and unexpected emergencies, many people are realizing the pressing need for preparing for the worst. However, there is more than just one way to go about disaster preparedness. Each household’s needs are different; each person is going to be concerned about a different aspect of readying for disaster. But there are a few priorities in disaster preparedness that should remain the same. 1. Safety The first and most important of these is safety. Emergency preparedness is about keeping people safe; therefore, people should be taking their own safety, and the safety of family members very seriously. People should find out what natural disasters are likely to happen in their area, and what other emergencies they could be at risk for. Once they find these out, they should talk to local authorities in order to find out what they should do in each emergency, and what alarms will be sounded to warn them. This doesn’t have to be an hours-long, deep conversation; just a brief call over the phone should work fine. Many of the casualties in natural disasters happen because people don’t take warnings seriously. In order to avoid unnecessary deaths and injuries, people need to listen to authorities. When told to evacuate, they need to leave as soon as possible. When they are told to quarantine themselves or a member of their family, they should comply. This is for the health and safety of them, and those surrounding them; in order to minimize the damage disasters do, people must be wary of alarms and listen to warnings. Finally, before they begin any other sort of preparations, people should examine their unique needs, plus those of their family. Does anyone have allergies, particularly food allergies that will need to be addressed in food storage? What about any sort of disability-physical or otherwise? And if there’s anyone who has a chronic illness or depends on medication o keep them alive, then those needs must be addressed as well. 2. Make a Plan Another priority in emergency preparedness is an emergency plan for every household. Every family member or other members of the household should know an evacuation plan, as well as a plan to regroup after a disaster. There should be at least two places everyone can meet, one inside and one outside of the neighborhood. If a large area--such as an entire neighborhood or section of town--is affected by the disaster, then it would be unsafe to meet there. Families should also include contact information in their emergency plan. Having an out-ofstate contact is crucial for family members to stay in contact with--since any disaster powerful enough to scatter a family is likely powerful enough to knock electricity and phone service. Having a contact who is well outside of the disaster zone could mean the difference between remaining with family during an emergency, or trying to get through it as isolated units. In adaptation to making a plan, it’s also vital that people stay informed. Know when disasters are most likely to strike, and where. Listen for emergency broadcasts; in some areas, people can even submit their phone number to receive emergency texts. And this goes for during an emergency as well as before. People should have some sort of alternative power radio or television so they can keep themselves informed about the disaster, and so they can know when authorities have declared it safe. 3. Food Storage After the basics, another important emergency preparedness priority is food storage. After all, people can’t do much until they have fed themselves, and keeping a good stock of nonperishable, varied food storage will keep the death and injury toll down in any emergency. It’s also vital to store a good deal of water (even more than food, since water might be even more scarce). Food storage, unfortunately, doesn’t just mean buying huge bags of wheat that sit in the cellar until they go bad--which, by the way, won’t be long if they’re left in their original sacks. Buying staples like wheat, honey, dehydrated milk, and sugar is a great place to
start, but in order to have effective food storage, people must have a variety of nonperishable foods that they understand and have practice cooking. With just the four staples mentioned above, people will not be able to “cook” much more than gruel. People should also consider including ingredients like baking powder/soda, cooking oil, and other baking necessities in order to supplement their wheat. Another necessity of food storage is having variety. With the growth of many companies like The Ready Store, people have a myriad of options they can explore for creative food storage. There are things like freeze-dried fruits that don’t lose their flavor or texture, or desserts, or even breakfast foods. With so many options, food storage doesn’t have to be a boring chore. It can be interesting to discover what each family prefers to eat. This variety is not just about nutrition, although that is a big part of it. It’s also important so people don’t get so tired of the food they’d rather not eat at all. Even when people are hungry, if the food is unappealing enough, they won’t eat it. And people should also consider the amount of stress they will likely be under. No matter if the disaster is something like an earthquake, or getting laid off at work, if the emergency is bad enough that people have to resort to food storage, then it is probably bad enough to stress everyone out. Having instant meals like MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) or dehydrated foods means less cooking and more time to focus on other crucial things. And having little candies or things like cups of pudding around will help relieve the psychological stress everyone will be under. Basically, when it comes to food storage, people should explore their options. With other priorities like making a plan or staying safe, those step are fairly generic. There isn’t much of a difference from one family to the next. But with food storage, people can shop around until they find something that can suit their family’s needs and tastes; food storage can be as individual or generic as one wants to make it. 4. Other Supplies After they’ve looked into food storage, families should also start considering the other supplies they’ll potentially need during a disaster. The first of these is a good first-aid kit. In a real disaster, it could be hours, days, or even weeks until help arrives. So in order to ensure that everyone stays as healthy as possible, it’s important to have a comprehensive first aid kit handy. First aid kits should include the following in order to be complete: sterile gloves, a variety of Band-Aids and bandages, sterile dressings, antibiotic and burn ointment, eyewash solution, a thermometer, and any prescription medications. And even then, this is just the beginning of first aid. People must decide for themselves what supplies they and their family needs. After taking care of food, water, and medical needs, people should last consider other supplies like alternative light sources, shelters, and other tools. Again, this can be tailored to meet the needs of each household. For example, a family in North Dakota is going to be more concerned about having warmth and shelter than a family from southern California. Carefully assess all of the possible needs, and then choose which supplies seem most important. 5. Pets One important aspect (but one many people often overlook) is emergency preparedness for pets. The first thing that people should know is that it is not okay to lock pets in the house with a lot of food, thinking that they’ll be back in a few hours or a few days. That is how so many pets die during disasters. The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) recommends that people should arrange a safe haven for their pets-since only service animals are welcome at shelters. Arrangements can easily be made for pets to stay in kennels, and some hotels even allow animals. But people must check before there is actually a disaster, or their pets could be at risk. Getting prepared for an emergency doesn’t have to be a complicated ordeal--if people will keep their priorities in mind, they won’t have to get tangled in a messy web of food storage, evacuation kits, making plans and calling friends, and all the other things that must be done. It’s actually very simple: when it comes to emergency preparedness, safety always
comes first. If people will keep their safety and that of their family in mind, then they will have no problem following the rest of these steps; and in doing so, will likely be able to avoid becoming casualties in an emergency.