FREE Disaster Preparedness Book

If thou art prepared, thou shalt not fear and if you are already Red Cross Certified you can get through the police cordon around a disaster area to search for the rest of your ward family trapped inside.
Most of us are seldom ready for these sudden storms of winter. Yet. it does make sense to prepare a plan of action guarding against disasters as best you can with places of refuge, insurance, fire drills, and emergency kits all ready to use.More important than a plan of action to take when a disaster strikes is a plan of action for dealing with the aftermath.

For example, suppose members of the family are scattered away from home when a disaster surges through. How do they get hold of each other? As the big tornado in Oklahoma taught us, it is easier to call out of state than it is to call next door. The little tornado in Big Fork yesterday proved it again. The McKees had to call Mountain Home Arkansas and ask THEM to call us, even though we were just a few miles down the road from them.

Do you have your essential documents (like birth certificates and renter's insurance papers) in a fireproof and waterproof container, ready to go with you when an emergency happens? The container should be conveniently kept where it is easily grabbed for quick removal.

Perhaps the safest place to store those important documents which must be kept at home is inside your freezer which is already insulated. A good Baggie should keep the other odors out.
If your family has a friend or family member in another state then members in the disaster area can plan to call them in order to learn about each other. Have your youth memorize those numbers.

When disaster does strike,
Food might be unobtainable.
Water might be nonexistent -- or worse.
Medical help might be reduced to what Granny remembers from the good old days.
An emergency kit can tide your family over until outside help can get organized and arrive.

Here are some of the essentials you might want to include in your kit:
A battery powered radio, Flashlight and extra batteries, An instructional manual on Emergency Preparedness, a Fire Extinguisher, water to drink, chlorine bleach, sleeping bags and blankets with pillows if you like that sort of thing, moisture proof matches or butane lighters. Candles are a good source of light and you can cook over them if need be. Have a fresh supply of any daily medications your doctor deems essential to your good health.

Food, for those who want to keep eating until help arrives: Take your choice of tuna, sardines (yuk) corned beef, Spam, K-rations, C-rations, peanut butter, lots of canned juices and the more juice the merrier, raisins, prunes, dried fruits (being sure to eat slowly and consume water heartily) crackers, fruit cocktail, powdered milk, self-rising flour which has been stored more than 24 hours in a freezer to kill those pesky weevil eggs, and any other canned item you love.
How much food should you have in your kit? Put in as much food as you believe you will need for three days, then double it. One family in Oklahoma had a good storm shelter, but were trapped inside it for 5 days because a tree fell against the door.

Don't forget your need for a mechanical can opener.A Swiss Army Knife can provide many tools.
Stress Foods to include: Sugar cookies, sweetened cereals, good old hard candy like stores put on sale after the Christmas season is over.

Stress Busters you can use:

For the children: Coloring book and crayons. A spare Palm Game with extra batteries wouldn’t hurt. A children's song book might save the day.

For adults: books & needlework, cards?

Your SANITATION KIT should consist of a plastic bucket, soap, plastic bags and ties, Toilet paper & paper towels, disinfectant and an improvised toilet seat, feminine hygienic needs, paper cups, plates, plastic utensils, can opener & utility knife, stick deodorant.

That deodorant stick can do wonders at keeping pesky mosquitoes at bay, and doctoring up scratches. Nor is other makeup a luxury in your emergency kit. Lipstick can protect lips, rouge can protect the skin. Fingernail polish can do wonders at keeping fingernails intact. Besides all that, let a woman keep up her good looks and she ready to face any emergency.

Put everything together in one box or package so you will know where it is. Make sure your family knows where to find it if an emergency should ever happen. Many families I know put the whole kit into a rolling trash can, which is conveniently placed where it will only be grabbed in an emergency.

Put a standard first aid kit in the kit at home. Keep another one in your vehicle, along with an extra blanket preferably wool or one of those space blankets, one or more flashlights and batteries. Having reflectors and/or flares wouldn’t hurt a bit. Your first aid kit should consist of a first aid manual or a scout handbook. Aromatic spirits of ammonia and water purification tablets, table salt, baking soda, matches or butane lighter, aspirin, eye drops, safety pins, adhesive or paper tape.

Bandage materials should include Telfa pads 4" X 4" – Triangle bandage 37" X 37" X52". Splint aids can include popsicle sticks, shingles or thin board. If you run out when you need it, use a heavy newspaper and strong string.

Updated information is essential because much of what we learned just a few years ago just ain't so no mo. For example, not so long ago motorists were advised to get under an overpass when tornadoes approach. That haven of safety has proven to be the unsafest place to be hiding. So, seek out the latest information available.

Please note: I was warned against including matches in a first aid kit because of broken gas lines, etc. Well, that is true enough right after disruptive forces of nature have made hash out of your world, and keep the matches and lighters handy in case you are ISOLATED for any indefinite period of time, using them only after the hazard of gas explosions has passed.

A lighter note: You know as well as I do that the one thing you don’t put in your emergency Kit is the very first thing you will need out of it. Plan ahead; put that item right on top!

Be sure to get the complete, free book, DISASTER PLANNING available for immediate download.