Are You Prepared?

If a disaster came to you and your community how well would you be able to deal with the aftermath? Have you taken time to plan ahead and think about the things you would need in case of emergency?

The videos of chaos at Costco and Publix in Florida makes me think we should all take time to put together a plan just in case something bad comes our way with little notice. Hurricanes like Irma and Harvey give a few days of notice before their fury rolls up to rip communities apart but other disasters like tornados and flash floods can come upon us much faster.

I have come up with some things that I think everyone should have tucked away just in case the power is out for a couple of hours or even a few days.

Water is number one on my list and as you can tell from the two big hurricanes it is number one on everyone’s list too. Look at the shelves that empty out first in all those pictures. How hard would it be to buy two or three flats of water and stash them in the back of your closet? This seems like the easiest and cheapest thing to do to make sure you have a source of fresh water for at least a few days. There is absolutely no need to panic if you plan ahead.

Second of course would be at least a small food supply of non-perishable items. Maybe some energy bars or prepackaged things to eat that will certainly last for a good period of time. Of course you could get all fancy and throw some freeze dried staples in the closet too. If you do that go ahead and get yourself a small two burner propane camping stove with a half dozen one pound bottles of fuel and a couple old pots and pans for good measure. Now you are set up to wait it out for a while.

Depending on where you live you may want to dedicate one shelf or one drawer or one tote to putting some emergency clothing in like a rain jacket, an extra pair of jeans and a couple other shirts of various weight.

The more time you take and the better you can prep the better off you will likely be if things get ugly.

If you own a car then it is always a good idea to have a couple full gas cans in the garage. Ten gallons of extra gas can be enough to get you well out of town if the local gas station is shut down for any reason. Of course keeping your car above a half tank at all times is another rule of thumb to live by.

If you are a gun owner then you already know what you want in that department but you should keep some extra ammunition on hand just in case you have to hunker down or bug out. It is always nice to have options.

I am sure if you sit down and write a list you can put together a few things that will be incredibly important if it ever hits the fan around here.