The Will To Survive Is As Important As Any Emergency Preparedness

Emergency preparedness is not the only thing, which will help you survive through a disaster, crises or a calamity. Your survival, as well as your family's survival, relies not only on your emergency plan but also on your ability to think clear during the situation. Your brain and mentality will be your best tool in your fight to survive.

There are a lot books, guides, and websites that provide information on how you can start planning and preparing for emergency situations. There are a lot of survival information and education available in our fingertips. There is no question that we should learn about them. However, preparedness is nothing compared with our state of mind.

We have possibly heard stories about people, prepared or not, with or without survival skill knowledge, who were able to withstand challenges because of their undeniable will to survive.

How Much Do You Want to Live?

Tressel Hawkins, Curtis Hall and Hames Phillips decided to take a 23-foot catamaran to Matagorda Bay, Texas for a sports-fishing trip. They woke-up in the middle of the night in knee-deep water when their pump failed. The catamaran capsized before they were able to make their distress call.

The three men lasted eight days on the sea, on the top of the catamarans hull, exposed to the sun, with minimal food and water. They were only able to salvage two bags of chips, Double-mint gum, crackers and 2 gallons of water contaminated with gasoline when the boat turned-over. They were able to find submerged 30-gallon wash-down tank. The water, which was used to hose-off fish slime, was uncontaminated and were able to save their lives.

The three supported each other during the entire ordeal. They were moments when they would freak out, start hallucinating, but they provided strength to each otherís weaknesses until they were found on their eight day by another fisherman.

These three men were fortunate, they have each other. How far would you go to survive if you don't have anyone with you?

In 2003, Aron Ralston was pinned for four days when a 200 pound boulder fell on him while climbing the Canyon lands National Park. When his water ran out, he knew that he would have to do something to get out of his situation. He cut the pinned arm from below the elbow with a pocketknife. He wrapped it with a bandage and climbed down to the canyons floor. It was the same for Bill Jeracki, when he decided to amputate his own leg when he was trapped by a boulder in the Colorado Rockies in 1993.

The Mental Game

An emergency can happen, anywhere, anytime and to anyone. Whether you are prepared for it or not, it can all boil down to how much you want to survive. Survival is a mental game. It would depend on your body and minds ability to survive the stress of emergency situations.

Strong determination to live is one to proper attitude. You need to have a power desire and will to live. Our commitment to survive another day can drive our body, actions and reasoning to increased chances of living. A person needs to have a positive attitude to motivate the body.

A person will definitely encounter numerous obstacles, but having the right attitude and mental state will help you think clearly to overcome these obstacles. Feeling of loneliness, helplessness, and fear in survival situation are normal. However, don't let these feelings drag you. You have to control them instead of your emotions controlling you.

Panic is another thing that we have to guard against during emergency situations. Panicking can lead to exhaustion, serious injury and sometimes death. A person needs to relax and remain calm in order to think clearly. Panic stems out of the feeling not knowing and helplessness. Which is why we need to prepare or arm ourselves with survival information and knowledge to avoid panic ruling our lives.

Are you emergency prepared?

Being prepared for an emergency situation is essential for every household and does not have to be difficult. Emergency disaster plans generally call for survival kits along with enough food and water for at least 72 hours.

Find all the supplies and tools you'll need to be ready for any emergency situation or natural disaster online at http://EasyEmergencyPreparedness.com.

Hurricane Preparedness: Prepare Your Business in the Event of a Hurricane

When your area is issued a hurricane watch or warning, as a business leader, you often only have a very small amount of time in which to act quickly to protect your employees and your business. Because you do not have long to evacuate your personnel or to protect your company, having and executing a hurricane preparedness plan is imperative to safely recovering from this type of crisis. However, there are numerous aspects to keep in mind when creating, implementing and executing an emergency notification plan in the event of a hurricane - all of which must be considered in order to improve safety levels and communication.

Emergency Notification Plan: When to Act - Watches and Warnings

A hurricane watch is issued 48 hours ahead of the anticipated onset of tropical storm force winds to alert the affected areas to begin following their emergency procedures. A watch is typically issued when the conditions are favorable for a hurricane; therefore, you will want to move quickly to execute your hurricane preparedness plan, as the winds will begin to gather strength within 48 hours, and it will be harder to perform activities (e.g. covering windows, reinforcing structures) if the environment becomes hazardous.

A hurricane warning is issued 36 hours ahead of the expected onset of tropical storm force winds. Unlike a watch, a warning is issued because a hurricane has already been spotted and will affect the relevant areas. During this time, extreme caution must be taken, and it is imperative to act immediately, whether this means evacuating personnel, initiating emergency notifications, or following your hurricane preparedness plan. Even if you are only in the surrounding areas of the storm, you should still be prepared to execute your emergency notification plan, as you may face strong winds, potential flooding (which can occur ahead of or during the storm) and isolated tornadoes.

Why Do I Need a Hurricane Preparedness Plan?

As a business leader, you have a responsibility to protect your employees and your company from disaster. Your employees look to you for direction and need to know how to act in a crisis; having an extensive emergency notification plan in place will help employees learn who to contact, where to go and what to do in the event of a disaster.

Additionally, your plans will help you prepare for contingencies that you otherwise may not be able to cope with, including helping employees evacuate the area safely, even in the event of flooding of roads or of the building itself; loss of utilities and water for protracted periods of time; loss of communication in the event that cell phone towers go down due to strong winds; and loss of transportation routes. Your business will also be impacted by this disaster, including loss of inventory; loss of customers, as they may have migrated away from your company for extended periods of time during the crisis; loss of communication with suppliers, as they may not be able to get through due to flooding or they may be suffering damages of their own; loss of data; loss of equipment; a damaged facility and more.

The financial damages caused by hurricanes can be extensive. In 2011, the estimated cost of damages caused by Hurricane Irene was $7 billion to $10 billion. Unfortunately, insurance covered approximately less than 40 percent of the losses due to extensive flooding, as flood insurance is not generally covered under regular insurance plans.

Without a strong plan in place, in the worst case scenarios, your business could suffer irreparably and/or your employees could suffer serious injuries or death. As a business leader, you are responsible for creating an emergency notification plan to give your business a structure to follow in the event of a crisis.

Creating an Emergency Preparedness Plan for Your Business

Your hurricane preparedness plan should be created based on the size of your company - if you have a large company, then you have the human resources already in place (e.g. facilities management or otherwise) to handle the task of creating this plan; however, if you have a smaller company, then you need to designate the appropriate personnel for your crisis team to begin crafting your plans.

Your business requires a clear, concise, written emergency notification plan that employees can follow in the event of a hurricane - preferably before hurricane season begins. Remember to include all contingencies that must be accounted for, such as unexpected loss of communication, flooding, or data loss. If you are a large company with small subsidiaries in other areas, create a local preparedness plan for that specific subsidiary, as each business will need to be treated uniquely. For instance, a smaller division of your company may be located in a coastal town, and they will need to act more quickly to evacuate the town due to a high risk of flooding.

Practice Your Emergency Plans

You may have extensive plans in place; however, they mean nothing without practice. Create your emergency notification plan and then practice it - not once, but several times, so that it becomes second nature for employees to learn how to respond and use a notification system, and it becomes easier to evacuate the building or to take the steps necessary to secure data. In the event of a hurricane, you may have several days of warning before the disaster strikes, so it's up to you, as a business leader, to take immediate action.

Testing your plans can be challenging logistically, but there are many ways to practice your strategies. You can perform a tabletop drill (there are companies, including Preparis, that provide strategic crisis management drills) of your emergency notification plan with your crisis team, which will allow members to perform virtual exercises of decisions you may have to make during a hurricane. This will allow you to see if your plans and protocols need improvement, and will enable you to practice the procedures that are imperative to company safety.

Additionally, it is very important to have access to your plans at any time. Many companies create these plans and leave them in binders at the office, which are ultimately useless during the event of an evacuation or when personnel are located elsewhere. Try to put your emergency notification plan online or anywhere that can be accessed through a document management system, or, more importantly, a mobile device, as you may have to evacuate from home and you'll need to follow the steps of the plan without a computer nearby. Being able to access your hurricane contingency plans, data and emergency contact lists is very important.

Employee Notification Systems

Every business should have an emergency notification system with which to alert employees in the event of a disaster, through multiple channels if necessary, such as email, voice, text and more. You should always test this system at least twice a year, with every branch of your office. It's also important to ensure that employees can not only receive notifications, but that they can respond to them, because when a hurricane is spotted, employers do not have time to deal with a malfunctioning, overly-complicated messaging system.

Act Quickly - Before Hurricane Season

Now is the time to create response plans to prepare for financial and physical losses, flooding, damages due to wind and more. In addition to an emergency notification plan, it is also important to implement a recovery plan, because it will take time to recover from losses due to damaged/lost inventory, employees or consumers who have migrated to safer places and who may not be able to return quickly, or suppliers who are unable to fill your requests. However, market studies have shown that in the second year after a hurricane occurs, you may be able to sell more of your commodity, as consumers who are rebuilding or replacing stock are now able to do so; therefore, this type of disaster may sometimes increase sales. No matter what happens, you should have a recovery plan for your business, as you will need to make plans for potential repairs, utilities, data loss or labor supply. With this plan in place, you will begin to see an increase in your markets over time and you will begin to recover.

Act quickly and create a plan for your business before a disaster occurs - you cannot prevent a hurricane, but you can ensure that your employees and your business are as safe as possible in the event of a crisis.

Nate Kristy is the Marketing and Sales Operations Director at Preparis, Inc., with over fifteen years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing. At Preparis, Inc., Kristy is responsible for providing strategic direction and tactical execution to market the company's innovative emergency preparedness platform, comprised of an emergency notification system, expert information, response protocols and crisis training. A graduate of Emory University and Georgia State University, Kristy promotes Preparis, Inc.'s business preparedness solutions for a variety of applications, including the legal, commercial real estate, corporate and financial industries. For more information on Preparis, Inc. or to learn more about its crisis management and disaster preparedness solutions, please call (877) 544-5845 or visit www.preparis.com.

Emergency Managers Deal With Global Warming

For Seattle residents, rain - and lots of it - is a fact of life. But they'd never seen a month quite like November 2006. With 15.59 inches of rain - including snowfall and hail - it set the record for wettest month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center. It was the most rain the Emerald City had ever seen in a one-month span, in 115 years of record keeping.

If that weren't enough, mid-December brought supercharged winds of 60 to 90 mph that cut power to about 1 million people, some of whom lived in the dark for prolonged periods.

"It wasn't just for a couple of hours, a couple of days," said Eric Holdeman, former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management. "There were folks without power for 10 days in isolated areas, or even longer than that."

That same month, drought plagued parts of Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma; thunderstorms and tornadoes whipped through the South; a cyclone lashed the Eastern coastline from South Carolina to Virginia; and the earliest snowfall on record fell on Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., according to the National Climatic Data Center.

Worldwide patterns show an increase in heavy precipitation and intense droughts caused by a warmer atmosphere, increases in water vapor and a rising sea-surface temperature - all results of global warming.

Holdeman, now principal at ICF International's Emergency Management and Homeland Security team, holds last winter's unusually hazardous weather events as anecdotal evidence that our weather reality is shifting.

"Whatever the cause is, the weather is changing," Holdeman said. "There's been any number of extreme weather events happening."

Scientists may not agree on some of the possible effects of global warming, but most do agree that it's happening, said Gabriel Vecchi, research scientist at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J.

According to a February report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the nation is already seeing warming effects in the Western mountains and melting of the snow pack; with increased winter flooding and summer warming; through pests and wildfires plaguing forest environments; with the intensifying of heat waves; and in hurricanes pounding coastal cities.

Unfortunately any changes related to the planet's increased temperature will be magnified in developing countries, where resources won't be available to delay or minimize effects. But in richer nations, like the United States, where the resources are forthcoming, it's time to adapt and plan for changes we might see, or are seeing now.

Lemming-Like March

The most egregious global warming effects will occur on global warming's frontlines - at the poles, where there's damage to ecosystems and thawing of glaciers and ice sheets, and on small islands, where beach erosion and storm surges are expected to further deteriorate coastlines, according to the IPCC.

Though most scientists agree that global warming is happening, the question of how exactly it will manifest remains. Many believe, however, that warming oceans may be contributing to more devastating hurricane seasons.

The 2004-2005 period was one of the most active 24 months ever witnessed in the Atlantic basin, setting records for number of hurricanes and tying the 1950-1951 record for most major hurricanes with 13.

But hurricanes don't just endanger lives; they also threaten people's livelihoods, businesses and homes, and cities' economies. And because tropical storms tend to hit the United States in its sweet spot - expensive and growing coastal stretches from Texas to Maine - they represent one of the country's gravest storm challenges.

Hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast region during the 2004 and 2005 storm seasons produced seven of the 13 costliest hurricanes to hit the United States since 1900 (after adjusting for inflation), according to an April 2007 report by the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

This year's hurricane season, from June 1 to Nov. 30, already looks grim. Experts at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center project a 75 percent chance the season will be above normal. They predict a strong La Niña - which favors more Atlantic hurricanes, while El Niño favors fewer hurricanes - will cause three to five major hurricanes.

Also a factor is a phenomenon called "the tropical multidecadal signal" - the notion that two or three decades of lessened storm activity are followed by two or three decades of increased activity. The period since 1995 has wreaked conditions for more hurricanes.

Yet despite signs of a rough hurricane season ahead, a surprising phenomenon is occurring: People are increasingly moving to the Atlantic coast. Census Bureau data shows that in 1950, 10.2 million people were threatened by Atlantic hurricanes; today more than 34.9 million are threatened, according to USA Today.

"The areas along the United States Gulf and Atlantic coasts where most of this country's hurricane-related fatalities have occurred are also experiencing the country's most significant growth in population," the National Hurricane Center report confirmed.

But since coastal communities won't stop corralling newcomers, the report concluded that communities themselves should take action.

Jim O'Brien, professor emeritus of meteorology and oceanography at Florida State University, said emergency managers and policymakers should address the hurricane issue by enforcing stricter building codes, readdressing evacuation strategies and educating people about the imminent problem.

However, more drastic action must be taken to stop people's risky behavior, according to Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

The coastal migration is made possible, he said, through an unwise mix of state and federal policies, like government regulation of property and flood insurance (which covers storm surges), and federal disaster relief given to flooded regions. While such policies help people in the short term, Emmanuel explained, they also enable the risky behavior to continue.

Scientists have long feared America's vulnerability to hurricanes because its shores are lined with some of the nation's wealthiest residents. Emanuel, in conjunction with nine scientists, released a July 2006 statement about the U.S. hurricane problem: "We are optimistic that continued research will eventually resolve much of the current debate over the effect of climate change on hurricanes. But the more urgent problem of our lemming-like march to the sea requires immediate and sustained attention."

Preparedness Challenge

Paul Milelli, director of public safety for Palm Beach County, Fla., contends that global warming's effects may inherently force people to change their ways.

"If we start having to build homes to meet a 200 mph wind, the cost would probably stifle some growth," he said, "and then [there's] the fear factor of people moving in."

Because the county uses an all-hazards approach, emergency planning won't change much with global warming in the equation, he said.

"The economy is just going to be affected tremendously, and that, to me, is going to be the biggest concern. Because we can prepare our people for a hurricane, whether it's a Category 1 or a Category 5, and how we prepare the people really doesn't change - except that as the categories get higher, we start asking people to make their plans earlier and earlier."

For a statewide evacuation, Floridians would have to begin leaving days before the hurricane hit - a logistic impracticality.

"It's bigger than me. It's bigger than what I can plan for as a planner of the county," said Milelli, whose 31-year emergency management career ends in January when he plans to retire in Wisconsin - far away from hurricanes.

To help combat storm destruction, the Gulf Regional Planning Commission in Mississippi focuses on hurricane preparation as well as planning and redevelopment.

"We're certainly well aware of the dramatic impacts of climate change and also the need for looking outside of our localized area when we're starting to talk about the impacts of climate change," said Elaine Wilkinson, the commission's executive director.

The commission is working to build bridges that withstand high winds (similar to the effects of an earthquake), and building up seawalls to match the roadbed.

After Hurricane Katrina, the commission took an extra year to engineer its long-range transportation to plan for major storms. Transportation planning is important to ensure safe evacuation, she said.

Wilkinson was also involved in a U.S. government study on how global warming could affect the nation's coastal transportation systems. The study, which just released its first phase for scientific review, concluded that with climate change, the sea level is rising and the land is sinking, according to a National Public Radio news report.

Listening to scientists provided a good opportunity for Wilkinson, who said scientists must share global warming findings with people who can effect change.

"We need to find a way to bring the scientific data into the planning process," Wilkinson said. "That's something that'll challenge us. But we're very much in need of information to make some good decisions."

Ask the Question

Working with science, King County integrated global warming policies into its government. In October 2005, the county sponsored a conference to understand Washington's climate changes in the coming 20, 50 and 100 years, and identify approaches to adapt to climate change predictions.

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG), along with King County, developed conference materials, including Pacific Northwest climate change scenarios. CIG, which is funded by Washington University's Center for Science in the Earth System in Seattle and by NOAA, explores climate science with an eye to the public interest in the region. The group is one of eight NOAA teams that assess regional climate change in the United States.

From the conference, the CIG and King County established a relationship and jointly wrote Adapting to Global Warming - a Guidebook, to be released this November following a peer review process.

As a resource for regional leaders, the guidebook outlines King County's global warming approach, addressing its water supply, wastewater and floodplain management, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity. The county approved an aggressive levee improvement plan and adopted a climate plan in February that includes a two-page outline for the King County Office of Emergency Management to revise its strategies given projected climate changes.

In the guidebook, the CIG tells how scientists can communicate climate change information to emergency managers and policy leaders. But government officials are also responsible for opening the dialog.

Elizabeth Willmott, global warming coordinator for King County, stepped into her position upon its creation in January 2007, and works to coordinate projects, ideas and information related to the county's climate change mitigation and preparedness plans.

"What we suggest simply," Willmott said, "is that regional leaders ask the climate question, 'How is climate change going to affect my region?'"

Just asking, she said, can plant the issue in people's minds.

Though weather seems to be telling us something about how climate change will impact our future, there's uncertainty in many circles about what to do to prepare and how to mitigate its consequences.

ICF's Holdeman said we must focus on finding global warming's regional effects and work to lessen them now.

"We end up being so reactive as a society, and certainly the United States is," he said. "We don't address issues - like Social Security or Medicaid. Everybody knows it's a problem, but we're not going to do anything about it until it's staring us in the face, and there's a trillion dollar deficit."

It's up to emergency managers, he said, to spread the word and ensure global warming consequences are known.

"For emergency managers themselves," Holdeman said, "if we're not talking about it generally and trying to educate elected officials about it and the hazards, then you're counting on them to stumble on it as an issue."

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RELATED STORY: The Scientific Community Has Yet to Agree on How Climate Change Really Impacts Tropical Storms [http://www.govtech.com/em/133367?utm_source=ezine&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=em]

MORE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STORIES: Emergency Management magazine

Emergency operations, whether they are for natural disasters or terrorist incidents, require all stakeholders: elected officials; police, fire, EMS, volunteers and others to go beyond their every day responsibilities and work together to save lives.

Emergency Management magazine is there to help. Designed to meet the unique information needs of the entire emergency management community, Emergency Management provides all the key leaders new insights and understandings about their critical role in joint operations and planning.

Emergency Food Rations - A Review of Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit

Years ago Mom and or Grandma had a food cellar where they stocked up on food just in case of an emergency. This custom has virtually disappeared from the American lifestyle. Thus the advent of emergency food rations, freeze dried foods. You never know when you might experience an emergency. With the recent horrendous snow storms on the east coast, and the severe weather on the west coast, it is smart to be prepared. The Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit is the perfect answer with meals for three days for one adult, and you will rest easy knowing you or your family are ready in case of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other events. Some people also take these delicious foods camping and backpacking as they are easy to pack and easy to enjoy. They are ideal when there is a power outage, as you only have to add water. The Mountain House Company cooks fresh or frozen foods and then freeze dries them so the flavor and goodness are locked in. Backpackers have said these are the best-tasting freeze dried food they have ever had. You don't have to add anything or cook anything to get a complete meal.

This Mountain House meal kit includes three breakfasts, three side vegetables, and six 10 ounce packets of lunch or dinner entrees, food enough for an adult for three days. Included are granola with blueberries and milk, scrambled eggs with bacon, scrambled eggs with ham and pepper, garden green peas, whole kernel corn, cut green beans, beef stroganoff, chicken teriyaki, chili mac with beef, rice and chicken, pasta primavera, and sweet and sour pork with rice. All this emergency survival food can be prepared easily in challenging circumstances by adding water, and have a seven year shelf life. Satisfied customer Christopher Coakley of Santa Barbara, California said, "Mountain House meals typically taste better than many of the freeze-dried alternatives." My son agrees with Mr. Coakley, and takes them on motorcycle trips because they are also so easy to pack.

The Mountain House food for emergencies are preserved because greatly reduced amount of water halts microorganisms and enzymes that would result in spoiling the food. That allows the food to be stored without refrigeration. Satisfied customer M.O. Gomez of Northern California said, "The food is amazingly good. We purchased this to add to our earthquake preparedness kit, but we tasted the stroganoff before we filed the rest away. It was surprisingly yummy." The chili mac with beef is a favorite of my daughter's. Mountain House has put a lot of thought and care into their food preparation, and customers appreciate the taste of these hearty, well-balanced meals. I know when camping my family appreciates a hot meal, and during an ice storm Maine had the Mountain House foods we had collected were doubly appreciated. In my opinion the foods taste as good as if I had cooked them myself from scratch. I find also that they are very easy to store as they take up little room.

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Are you and your family prepared for emergencies like the recent horrendous snowstorms? It is important to plan ahead so you have enough food on hand. If you want to start a collection of food for an emergency kit, go now to Mountain House Emergency Meal Kit

Disaster Preparation - Be Ready Now and Make a Plan

Disaster preparation is key to surviving on your own after an emergency. It is well worth setting aside a weekend to put together a plan and an emergency survival kit for your family. The bare minimum needed would be at least 3 days worth of food, water, clothing, shelter and other supplies. Be prepared to be on your own for a few days, because relief may not come immediately. If you are lucky help may come within a few hours, but don't count on that. Utility services, such as electricity, gas and water may be unavailable for hours, days or a week or more.

To assure your family's safety after a disaster, here is an emergency preparedness guide to follow when putting together your emergency supply kit:

You will need enough water for everyone in your family, the recommended amount is one gallon of water per person a day for at least three days. Store in 2 liter soda bottles, because they are easily carried and convenient to store. Water for bathing and sanitation is less important when it comes to survival, so use baby wipes and use disposable utensils, plates, paper cups, paper towels, toilet paper, personal hygiene items, etc. Include a few small and large garbage bags to collect all the used disposable items. A gallon of unscented bleach to make safe drinking water. Just add 15-20 drops of bleach for each gallon of water.

As with water, you will need at least a three day supply of food for the entire family. Don't forget your pets' food! Non-perishable food such as canned meats, fruit, vegetables are good if you are able to stay in the home, but don't forget a can opener. A better alternative would be dehydrated food or freeze dried meals that are in small, lightweight packages. A long term supply of these can be stored or transported very easily. Dried fruit, energy bars and nuts should also be part of your food for emergency kit.

A basic first aid kit which includes prescription medication your family members are currently taking, pain relievers and anti-nausea medicine. A basic first aid manual is a must, because you may not be able to seek medical attention right away and might be able to aid an injured person immediately.

A basic tool kit is also recommend when putting a disaster preparation plan together. It should include pliers, wrench, hammer, nails, duct tape, and matches in a water tight plastic container. A large roll of thick plastic can be useful to temporarily repair a damaged structure, for shelter or to sleep on. Pack a complete set of clothing for everyone, including a warm jacket and blankets or sleeping bags. A tent that accommodates your whole family is also a good idea in the event your house is uninhabitable.In a waterproof plastic container, put a copy of all your family's important documents, like insurance policies, personal identification and some cash.

Each member of your family should have a flashlight. To stay informed in the crisis, having a hand crank or battery radio is essential. A battery lantern is also a good idea. Be sure to have a large supply of new batteries for the flashlights and radio. Communication after a disaster can be challenging, so invest in a solar charger for your cell phone.

No one ever thinks that they are going to be the victim of a natural disaster or emergency situation, but why risk your family's safety? Take a weekend to put a plan in place, your peace of mind is worth it!

Check out http://www.SurvivalFoodPro.com - Your partner in disaster preparation offers quality, affordable gourmet food for emergency situations.

Emergency Preparedness Month

I'll bet not too many of you knew that September 2010 (last month) was National Preparedness Month.

You're probably thinking, "prepared for what?" When it comes to emergency preparedness, we're all too complacent and think that it probably won't happen to us.

Well, I beg to differ with you! Considering all that has been happening in the world today, and right in our own backyard, it just might be something we should all get serious about. Emergencies such as:

* Tornadoes!

* Blizzards!

* Floods!

* Earthquakes!

* Hurricanes!

* Power Outages!

* And More!

Here are some suggestions to start you on the right track:

Get A Kit - You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days, preferably five days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. Help may come in hours, or it might take days! Also, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, a week or even longer.

Make A Plan - Make sure you have a family emergency plan. This is something that should be planned in advance, because your family may not be together when a disaster strikes. Think about: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations.

Be Informed - Find out about the different types of emergencies that could happen where you live and how to respond to them. This helps you make decisions about the actions you should take. Also, learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your state and local government.

Get Involved - After preparing yourself and your family for possible emergencies by getting a kit, making a plan and being informed, take the next step and get involved in helping your community prepare.

Emergency preparedness cannot be ignored.

Arlene Bridwell is passionate about preparing for emergencies and wants to make others more aware of possible disasters, which seem to be happening more frequently.

If you have any questions, please e-mail her at: abridwell@wi.rr.com

Her website is: http://www.emergency-preparedness-site.com