Emergency Kits
Prepare your own kit for an emergency
Emergency kits are an important part of any crisis management strategy. Ideally, you should have separate emergency kits for your home and for your car – some emergencies require you to evacuate your home quickly, and you’ll want to make sure you have what you need in your car. Also, certain natural disasters can strike without warning, and if you should happen to be in your car and unable to get home, you’ll have a much better chance if you have survival products in your vehicle.
The Importance of Survival Kits
Major natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods, blizzards, hurricanes and tornadoes, can knock out electrical service for extended periods of time. If you live in a remote area, or if such an outage occurs during the winter, you’ll need to have alternatives available such as propane heaters, propane stoves, emergency candles and backup generators to you so you can generate heat and light.
Should your running water supply be knocked out and you don’t have reserves on hand, you could quickly be facing a dangerous situation. Dehydration can set in rapidly, and not only does dehydration physically weaken you, it can also cause disorientation and loss of morale. These can be fatal in survival situations, even if you’ve undergone crisis management training.
While you can survive longer without food than you can without water, if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and don’t know how long it’s going to be before help arrives, a lack of food can cause panic to set in. While it is possible to survive on insects, plants and wild berries, it is also just as easy to eat something toxic – and that will only add to your difficulties.
It’s not uncommon to suffer cuts and bruises in the aftermath of a natural disaster, and without a first aid kit, your wounds could become infected. Assuming it won’t be easy to seek medical attention following a disaster, you’ll need to make sure you have, at the very least, basic first aid supplies on hand to prevent infections and the potentially life-threatening complications that go with them.
Emergency preparedness kits don’t just provide peace of mind – they help you keep a level head in case of an emergency. Clear, rational thought free of worry and panic is an important weapon in your fight for survival.
Emergency Survival Kits for Unique Situations
Prescription drugs for medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma should be stashed in emergency survival kits as well. It doesn’t hurt to make a copy of any important prescriptions to keep in the kit, too, in case the original gets lost and you need to get a refill.
Also, don’t discount the importance of emergency pet kits – dogs can be a great help in survival situations, not to mention that having your pets stay safe and sound will also help your peace of mind.
