Crisis Preparedness

No matter what path you are on, crisis preparedness is an excellent way to ensure that you and your family are ready to weather and survive unexpected and potentially horrific situations if they were to arise. Taking into consideration the state of the world’s economy and the array of devastating crises that have happened around the globe in the last few years, preparing for a number of possible situations will put you and your loved ones at an advantage. This removes some of the fear of the unknown and substituting it with piece of mind.

What Should I Be Prepared For?

When it comes to crisis preparedness, the best-laid plans are those that take into account a variety of different potential situations. Having a survival plan laid out for numerous situations will eliminate panic and allow you to stay focused on what you need to do, even in the wake of a disaster.

Flood Preparedness

A result of inclement weather or even of seismic activity, flooding can occur at any time and, if severe enough, water can potentially damage or destroy everything you own. If you are looking to prepare yourself for this situation, you will first want to protect all of the valuables in your home.

Gather all your important paperwork including titles, deeds, wills, etc. along with any stored cash, important jewelry and priceless family photos and store them in Ziploc bags inside airtight containers. If you have a home waterproof/fireproof safe, this is definitely the place to store these items.

You will also want to purchase a backpack for every member of your family, storing at least two days of clothing essentials, a poncho, medications, first aid materials and possibly even several days of non-perishable meal items in case of emergencies. Items should also be stored in waterproof bags and containers if possible.

Fire Preparedness

A devastating and sometimes fatal event, fires can leave families homeless and strip them of all of their worldly possessions in just minutes. While you can take steps to help educate yourself and your family about preventing fire, you may not always be able to keep it from happening. It is important, however, that you and your loved ones have a crisis preparedness plan intact that will help save not only your lives, but also some of the things that you hold dear.

Firstly, you will want to purchase a waterproof/fireproof safe of a reasonable size for storage of important items such as money, bonds, certificates, deeds, titles, wills, valuable jewelry, etc. If you do not want to invest in a home safe, you can also consider a bank deposit box for the same purpose.

In addition, you will want to put together a crisis preparedness emergency pack that has clothing, medication, and emergency supplies for every member of your family. So that it is available and not in danger from a possible fire, store it either in a vehicle or at the home of a neighbor, friend or relative.

Then, in order to protect the safety of your family, have a fire plan in place so that everyone knows not only how to escape from your home in the event of a fire, but where to meet once they get out.

Food Shortage Preparedness

Another crisis preparedness situation that you should be wary of is a possible food shortage. If inclement weather, war or an economic crisis occur and in turn cause a widespread food shortage, you will want to be able to provide sustenance for your family at least until you can begin producing your own food by gardening.

The best way to be ready for this type of situation is to begin storing food away in a pantry or basement area that is temperature controlled. The foods that you select should be either non-perishable or those with an extremely long shelf life. Purchase extra canned foods at the grocery store or big box store, or acquire dried and dehydrated meals from survival or camping stores. You can also purchase from online sites and have the food delivered to your home to add to the stockpile.

Economic Crisis Preparedness

Economic crisis is an event that most adults worry about frequently. It is important that you have a crisis preparedness plan in place so that you and your family can rough out an economic emergency, at least for a while. Sadly, in this day and age, this economic emergency has already happened, and sadly too many were not prepared.

Experts recommend that you take several steps to ensure the financial stability of your family in such an event.

• Save as much money as possible and place it in a secure savings account. Come up with a figure that will fully support your family for up to six months and set a goal to put that much aside.
• Get out of debt by paying down your debts as much as possible.
• Stock up on food and other emergency supplies, because if your choices come down to buying food for the kids or putting gas in the car to go job hunting, the kids will come first. If you have food on hand, that is one worry that will be eliminated.

Taking action to create crisis preparedness plans for these types of emergency situations can prevent your family from suffering crippling loss as a result of catastrophic events such as fire, food shortage or economic hardship. While some may consider these preparedness measures to be paranoia or overkill, having a firm plan in place can help alleviate fear of the unknown and protect your family when nothing else can.

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