What Should You Put Into An Emergency Preparedness Kit For Short-Term Disasters?
There are short-term disasters that last for just that—a short period of time. You may deal with short-term emergencies such as losing power for a day or having a health emergency. These usually pass quickly.
Then there are the more enduring long-term disasters that create more long-lasting havoc. But whether it’s short-term or long-term, unless you’re prepared, you could find yourself in a bind, putting you and your loved ones at risk.
Weather emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards are the top four causes of short-term disasters that people are forced to deal with. Still, they could end up being long-term depending on the impact.
These severe weather disasters create situations where you can end up without any lights, heat or air conditioning. And being deprived of certain essentials can affect a negative impact on your as well as your family’s well-being.
Without electricity, you won’t have a way to keep your food supply from spoiling. If the disaster causes a rush on grocery store supplies, there will be empty shelves, leaving you without a way to get food.
Without electricity, you can lose the ability to call out for help for health reasons or if there’s looting and the battery on your cell phone dies.
Prepare yourself now. But have an emergency preparedness kit.
In that kit, you need…
» water for every member of your family and
» enough food to last everyone for at least a week.
» ability to keep warm – especially if the disaster is during the colder months.
» use thermal blankets and waterproof sleeping bags.
» battery powered or solar powered gadgets that can charge cell phones.
» flashlights
» radios on hand that run on batteries and keep extra batteries ready. Or, invest in the hand crack variety.
» make sure you have a first aid kit that includes face masks and all prescription medications.
» prepare your kit with infant and pet needs, too.
» keep antibacterial wipes with the kit
» Seal your personal ID copies in with the kit. In case your originals are destroyed in the disaster, you’ll have a backup copy that will save you from a future hassle.
» matches
» hand-held can opener and a multi-tool as well as a whistle.
» A whistle can be heard over long distances and will make it easier to locate you.
Keep all of your supplies together in an air-tight waterproof container and store the container in a location where the temperature doesn’t vary.
There are ready-made disaster kits on the market, and some people choose to buy those. If you pick that option, don’t forget to add copies of your important paperwork since a ready-made kit won’t have your information available to include in the emergency kit.