If you're like me, you've probably heard about the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane caused massive destruction and loss of life. It also caused many people to be without power for up to two weeks. If you live in the United States or any other country where hurricanes occur, you need to consider the possibility of a hurricane affecting your area. You should have a plan in place that can help you survive a hurricane.
A hurricane is a dangerous situation. The storm surge from a hurricane can cause flooding and even destroy buildings. You can protect yourself by taking steps to prepare for a hurricane. You may not be able to prevent a hurricane from happening, but you can make sure you and your family are prepared if one does happen.
One way to prepare for a hurricane is to have a hurricane kit. You should include a flashlight with extra batteries, candles, water, canned food, a first aid kit, and a radio. Having a kit ready before a hurricane hits can give you the opportunity to stay safe during the storm.
You should also know how to take care of yourself in the event of a hurricane. Make sure you know what you'll do if the electricity goes out. Will you be able to cook? What will you do if there's no running water? What will you do if the gas is shut off? These are just some of the things you should know. You can also learn about ways to prepare for a hurricane by watching TV news reports.
Hurricane Katrina was a terrible disaster. However, it could have been much worse. Many people were unprepared for the hurricane. They didn't have a hurricane kit, and they weren't prepared to take care of themselves in the event of a hurricane.
In this article we will be discussing the topic of emergency preparedness and survival. With all that is going on in the world right now, it is prudent that we consider a preparedness and survival plan.
When you think of survival, what comes to mind?
Most people think of the movie “The Road Warrior” where they imagine themselves surviving in the wild with nothing but their wits and whatever they can find. In reality, survival is not about being able to fend off wild animals or being able to outrun a hungry grizzly bear. Survival is actually about being able to cope with anything life throws at you. Whether you encounter a natural disaster, global pandemic, or financial collapse – you need to be able to survive.
There are many different types of disasters that can occur, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and even nuclear meltdowns. The list is endless which makes planning and preparedness very important. Don’t let a disaster situation catch you without a plan.
Many people have a very poor understanding of how long they would be able to survive in the event of an emergency. There are many factors that come into play when determining how long you can survive in an emergency situation. For example, if you live in a hurricane zone, you may have to prepare for a minimum of three days before you can expect help to arrive. However, if you live in a tornado zone, you may only have to prepare for a day or two.
If you have a family, it is very important that you determine what type of disaster your family will be able to survive. If you have children, you will want to make sure that you know how long it will take to get help. You will also want to consider how far away your family members are from each other. If you live in a large city, you may be able to walk there in a short amount of time. However, if you live outside of town, you may have to wait hours or even days for help to arrive.
You will also need to determine what supplies you need to have on hand. This will depend on the type of disaster you will be facing. Some people think that they will just have to pack up their bags and go. However, you may need to make sure that you have enough food, water, and clothing to last you until help arrives.
In addition, you will want to consider what type of shelter you will need. If you live in an area that has frequent earthquakes, you may want to consider building a shelter on top of your home. If you live in a tornado zone and are not in a basement, you may want to consider a tent. If you live in a flood zone, you may want to consider buying a boat or renting a cabin on a lake.
If you are not sure what type of disaster you will be faced with, you may want to consider taking a class on survival skills. You will learn the basics of what you will need to survive and you will be able to determine how long you can survive without help.
Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
It sure seems like we can’t get enough of the news of pending disasters. You would think we were passing a car-wreck on the highway and frantically turning our heads to see what we might view in the carnage. Are we so fixated on disaster and chaos that we get drawn-in by the very possibility that we just might be involved in some tragedy of massive proportions?
When you really think about it, our culture has been well-conditioned to expect and react to fear and tragedy. In fact, our society feeds on disaster and pays handsomely to be entertained with gore, horror, and violence. Hollywood knows our nature, and continues to crank-out disturbing films because they profit from our appetite for being frightened and disgusted with images of pain and suffering.
I certainly don’t believe that everyone has a desire to dwell on the sufferings of others, but we can’t ignore that marketing research shows that tragedy increases viewership. With that being the case, it certainly stands to reason that media outlets have a major opportunity to ramp-up the fear tones and cash-in on the gloom reports and conspiracies.
A while back I wrote an article called “Doomsday Survival, or Preparation Call“. The gist of that article is generally about the reaction (and over-reaction) of fear that has driven the preparedness movement. I know I get on a soapbox, but I just get so disappointed in seeing and hearing about so many families rushing-about preparing for the pending doomsday scenario. People are hoarding food and supplies, booby-trapping their land, buying every weapon they can find, and even purchasing underground bunkers to survive-in when this cataclysmic disaster occurs.
Now, certainly I believe we need to be in preparation. I don’t need to watch the news to know that there are difficulties ahead that we need to prepare for. I can’t even get a weather forecast that is accurate, why should I expect for a minute that CNN will give me any reasonable information to help me prepare my family?
The concern I have is, there are a lot of people yelling “fire” in a crowded area. People are being trampled and hurt because some over-dramatic people are screaming fear and pain. It’s fueling the panic, and people are being hurt.
I’ve been preaching the need for preparedness for a long time. In fact, I felt a “call” to prepare over 25 years ago. The preparedness call I felt, was not about fear and suffering. It was not about huddling in my lookout tower and waiting with my gun to shoot my neighbor who was coming to me for help. The preparation call I received was about getting my family ready, so we would not be in panic when things get a bit difficult – and will be able to help others. My preparation call was about getting ready, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically. Getting prepared was never a reaction to fear, but being ready so we could react with calm.
Here is the thing for me… a few years back we stored a lot of supplies and thought we were ready for the big catastrophic doomsday show. I mean, I thought… bring it on, because we have extra pop-tarts if the grid goes down. How naive, and silly to assume we were “prepared” for disaster because we had a few hundred pounds of dry goods. Granted we were better prepared than most, but emotionally… I imagine if the power was off for two days there would have been intense wailing and gnashing of teeth!
The fact is, many people today are storing some food and water, and have candles at-the-ready. They assume they are well-prepared because they have a month’s supply of food in the basement.
Even the most avid “prepper” assumes they are ready. They may have six-months of supplies, and can shoot a deer at 150 yards, but… I really wonder if they are truly prepared. Are they ready to really endure the disruption of life as we know it?
I’ve thought often about this and wonder how we might all react to overwhelming tragedy. Will we bond together and help each other overcome the difficulty, or will we do like many preppers are planning – hide in the hills and expect to shoot the first person who crosses our aim.
How will our families survive, if a spouse is overwhelmed with the intense shock of the situation and just can not cope with the situation? Are we so tough that we assume our family will all just hold hands and laugh while eating our ready meals? A lot of the families I know can’t even sit together for thirty minutes, so I doubt they will be ready to huddle around a candle and tell stories.
So, are we preparing for the emotional shock that might come from a massive catastrophe? Are we preparing to turn family and friends away because we don’t have enough food for our long-term survival, if we feed them?
If my heart becomes so hardened during perilous times that I am capable of turning-away families who need food or help, then I really don’t want to prepare. What kind of life is left for us, if we ignore the hurting people inside our community simply because they were too naive or lazy to get ready?
I realize many will disagree, and that’s fine. I certainly do not have a moral badge that gives me any authority to pass judgement. The point I’m trying to make is… today (before a tragedy hits) I can not see me turning away someone who comes to me for help.
So, unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before we are truly prepared. In my humble view, there is far too much emphasis on loading guns and stashing grub. For s0me, that’s their ultimate strategy – survival at all cost. That’s fine, and certainly important. But… if we lose our moral values and conscience in being open to helping our neighbors – what will our society look like post-doomsday?
Bottom line in my rant ….
Get Prepared – but do not prepare because you are afraid. Prepare emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Prepare now to answer the question… what will I do when my neighbor comes to me for help?
Seek God, and His peace. One of my favorite passages of Scripture says:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The Preparation Call is about getting prepared for potential difficulties ahead. It’s not a response or reaction to fear, but a call to get ready so that you can protect your family and others. Making preparation plans and learning skills should help you to remain more calm during adversities that may impact your area.
Remember, disasters can strike quickly and without warning. A natural disaster can force you to evacuate your neighborhood, work environment or school or can confine you to your house for an extended period of time. You will need adequate provisions, and a plan to deal with the difficulties that may impact your life. Look now at disaster and preparedness supplies that could benefit you during times of chaos.
What would you do if standard services-water, gas, electricity or telephones-were cut off? Regional authorities and first responders will be on the scene after a disaster, but they can not reach everybody right away. As a result, the best means to make you and your family more secure is to be prepared before disaster strikes.
Below are some suggestions for preparing for natural catastrophes:.
* Get to understand the kinds of catastrophes that can take place in your community.
* Make a household communications prepare that consists of an evacuation plan and coordinates with your school, work and community interaction strategies. Practice this strategy with your whole household.
* Create a disaster supplies kit that consists of enough supplies for each relative for at least 3 days. Keep in mind to examine your kit every 6 months.
* See to it your child understands what smoke detector, fire alarms and local neighborhood cautioning systems (horns, sirens) sound like and ways to react.
* Instruct your kid how and, equally vital, when to call for help. Even relatively children can be instructed how and when to call for emergency assistance.
* Children ought to memorize their family name, address and contact number. They should likewise understand where to satisfy in case of an emergency. Some children may not be old sufficient to memorize the details. They could hold a little index card that details emergency info to give to a grownup or baby sitter.
* If you commute to work, see to it you understand alternative routes and hold suitable supplies, such as a disaster supplies kit in your vehicle and a compact kit with bare necessary products such as a flashlight and whistle on mass transit.
Being ready helps you and your family reduce the impact of a disaster such as a cyclone or earthquake or an emergency such as a fire or a busted leg.
The Red Cross has ideas and techniques to help you prepare. The time to obtain ready for unforeseen situations is now-while you have time to strategy.
Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
It sure seems like we can’t get enough of the news of pending disasters. You would think we were passing a car-wreck on the highway and frantically turning our heads to see what we might view in the carnage. Are we so fixated on disaster and chaos that we get drawn-in by the very possibility that we just might be involved in some tragedy of massive proportions?
When you really think about it, our culture has been well-conditioned to expect and react to fear and tragedy. In fact, our society feeds on disaster and pays handsomely to be entertained with gore, horror, and violence. Hollywood knows our nature, and continues to crank-out disturbing films because they profit from our appetite for being frightened and disgusted with images of pain and suffering.
I certainly don’t believe that everyone has a desire to dwell on the sufferings of others, but we can’t ignore that marketing research shows that tragedy increases viewership. With that being the case, it certainly stands to reason that media outlets have a major opportunity to ramp-up the fear tones and cash-in on the gloom reports and conspiracies.
A while back I wrote an article called “Doomsday Survival, or Preparation Call”. The gist of that article is generally about the reaction (and over-reaction) of fear that has driven the preparedness movement. I know I get on a soapbox, but I just get so disappointed in seeing and hearing about so many families rushing-about preparing for the pending doomsday scenario. People are hoarding food and supplies, booby-trapping their land, buying every weapon they can find, and even purchasing underground bunkers to survive-in when this cataclysmic disaster occurs.
Now, certainly I believe we need to be in preparation. I don’t need to watch the news to know that there are difficulties ahead that we need to prepare for. I can’t even get a weather forecast that is accurate, why should I expect for a minute that CNN will give me any reasonable information to help me prepare my family?
The concern I have is, there are a lot of people yelling “fire” in a crowded area. People are being trampled and hurt because some over-dramatic people are screaming fear and pain. It’s fueling the panic, and people are being hurt.
I’ve been preaching the need for preparedness for a long time. In fact, I felt a “call” to prepare over 25 years ago. The preparedness call I felt, was not about fear and suffering. It was not about huddling in my lookout tower and waiting with my gun to shoot my neighbor who was coming to me for help. The preparation call I received was about getting my family ready, so we would not be in panic when things get a bit difficult – and will be able to help others. My preparation call was about getting ready, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically. Getting prepared was never a reaction to fear, but being ready so we could react with calm.
Here is the thing for me… a few years back we stored a lot of supplies and thought we were ready for the big catastrophic doomsday show. I mean, I thought… bring it on, because we have extra pop-tarts if the grid goes down. How naive, and silly to assume we were “prepared” for disaster because we had a few hundred pounds of dry goods. Granted we were better prepared than most, but emotionally… I imagine if the power was off for two days there would have been intense wailing and gnashing of teeth!
The fact is, many people today are storing some food and water, and have candles at-the-ready. They assume they are well-prepared because they have a month’s supply of food in the basement.
Even the most avid “prepper” assumes they are ready. They may have six-months of supplies, and can shoot a deer at 150 yards, but… I really wonder if they are truly prepared. Are they ready to really endure the disruption of life as we know it?
I’ve thought often about this and wonder how we might all react to overwhelming tragedy. Will we bond together and help each other overcome the difficulty, or will we do like many preppers are planning – hide in the hills and expect to shoot the first person who crosses our aim.
How will our families survive, if a spouse is overwhelmed with the intense shock of the situation and just can not cope with the situation? Are we so tough that we assume our family will all just hold hands and laugh while eating our ready meals? A lot of the families I know can’t even sit together for thirty minutes, so I doubt they will be ready to huddle around a candle and tell stories.
So, are we preparing for the emotional shock that might come from a massive catastrophe? Are we preparing to turn family and friends away because we don’t have enough food for our long-term survival, if we feed them?
If my heart becomes so hardened during perilous times that I am capable of turning-away families who need food or help, then I really don’t want to prepare. What kind of life is left for us, if we ignore the hurting people inside our community simply because they were too naive or lazy to get ready?
I realize many will disagree, and that’s fine. I certainly do not have a moral badge that gives me any authority to pass judgement. The point I’m trying to make is… today (before a tragedy hits) I can not see me turning away someone who comes to me for help.
So, unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before we are truly prepared. In my humble view, there is far too much emphasis on loading guns and stashing grub. For s0me, that’s their ultimate strategy – survival at all cost. That’s fine, and certainly important. But… if we lose our moral values and conscience in being open to helping our neighbors – what will our society look like post-doomsday?
Bottom line in my rant ….
Get Prepared – but do not prepare because you are afraid. Prepare emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Prepare now to answer the question… what will I do when my neighbor comes to me for help?
Seek God, and His peace. One of my favorite passages of Scripture says:
