Disaster

On the weekend I caught up with a friend who, like me, likes to be prepared for what may come; it stems from the fact we've both seen things go wrong for people who often did not expect it and as most have very little or no preparation in place things have ended badly, or less-optimally than they could have. It's left us both, and most of the people we associate with, with a high regard for self-preparedness.

We were talking about basic preparedness and I thought I'd put together some simple steps that will help just about any family be a little more prepared in the event of an emergency situation like a hurricane, earthquake, cyclone, house or wildfire, flooding and such things...probably civil unrest also as the principles cross over.

There's often little warning prior to a disaster and if a warning does come there's often precious-little time to prepare and react. Basic services can be lost; phones, power, water, gas for example and emergency service responders are often overloaded and may not be at hand when required. Advance planning can mitigate the risk to a family and a few simple steps can leave them feeling a little more protected and safe; after all, don't you want your family to be protected and safe?

Gather information

Find out what disasters are most likely in your location and obtain information on each.

This could be house or wildfire risk, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, civil unrest and so on. Learn about and understand the warning signals like fire sirens and understand where shelters are; like here...we have last-refuge zones to escape to in the advent of wildfires. Understand who and how many you may need to move or protect and if there's any young kids, elderly or disabled and also learn about disaster plans in your workplace, schools and shopping areas where you and your family spend time; that will help with your plan down the track.

Create a plan

Convene as a family and discuss the reasons for preparation, the threats and possibilities and the dangers involved.

Assign responsibilities to each and arrange further learning and training where required especially for the kids who will perform better and more efficiently if they know the reasons and dangers involved. Determine two different rally points - places you'll meet your family if a disaster strikes. There should be at least one outside of your home, an evacuation point like a spot on the street for instance to be used in the advent of a housefire, and one somewhere close but outside of the immediate neighborhood in case you're all coming from different locations or the disaster is widespread and make sure each person knows the address and phone number of the place. Set up an external point of contact, a family member in another state for instance, as they can help coordinate your family to come together should you be separated - If communication is not possible between the family each calls that person to check in and that information can be coordinated to bring you all together. Then bring it all together, discuss what to do, plan how to take care of each other and pets, what to take and what to leave and so on.

The checklist

These are the very basics to be checked off your list:

Each person must know all the emergency numbers and when, how and why to call each of them. Remember, in a disaster the emergency services are under a lot of pressure so they may not be able to respond, calling them for no reason makes things worse.

Show everyone how to turn off the water, power and gas to the house - this single act has saved a great deal of damage to homes and people. Each member must know how to use a fire extinguisher and fire blanket and know where they're kept. Install smoke detectors in the home, mandatory here in Australia, and gas detectors are handy too. Perform a home-hazard assessment and address shortfalls, stock up on emergency supplies, do a first aid course and teach your family the basics, understand escape routes from the house and from your neighbourhood and determine potential safe spots within your home.

Note: The home hazard assessment is looking for things that can move, fall or break, cause a fire, electrical hazard, block ingress and egress points or such things if there was an emergency or disaster; being trapped inside a burning house is no fun.

Practice the plan and maintain it

The plan and reasons for it should be discussed twice a year and evaluated for continued suitability.

This ensures everyone knows the plan and their role and that they'll react a little more instinctively. Two fire and emergency evacuations drills a year are the minimum I think, although I'd do three. Rotate stored water every three months and the food every six months and test and verify fire extinguishers and smoke alarms work properly and are in-date every one to two months. Additionally, all equipment should be checked, batteries changed over and so on.

That's four simple and very basic steps everyone can do to help themselves and family be more prepared. It's not everything of course, but will set one's feet upon the path to better preparation and it often becomes somewhat addictive the more it's delved into.

Remaining calm is a very important part of preparedness as running around like a chicken with its head cut off will help no one - being more prepared helps in this regard and so can working together with neighours as collaborative preparation is often more effective for all. Each may have special skills and working together as a unit means you can cover more areas of expertise and that helps keep everyone safer. It's also good to have trustworthy neighbours there for the children should you not be able to get home to them due to the disaster or emergency event.

Further to this, you will need to think about some supplies, an area most fail miserably in. It's not difficult to gather the required things and I believe the list below is a minimum requirement for all households.

Supplies - The minimum for any household

• Three days of water for for the family, at least four litres per person per day - Rotate three-monthly
• Three days of non-perishable food that doesn't require cooking - Rotate six-monthly
• A change of clothing and shoes/boots and a blanket or sleeping bag per person (Season specific)
• A first aid kit you know how to use - Must be kept in-date as things lose their effectiveness
• Prescription medications your family may need such as insulin, asthma inhalers and so on
• Tools, batteries, flashlights, radio, duct tape, zip-ties, matches and flint and steel
• Cash, extra car keys and emergency credit card/debit card
• Sanitation, toiletries and personal hygiene supplies
• Equipment and items for those with special needs like infants, elderly and disabled
• A means to tell the time, spare vision/reading glasses and important family documents (in a waterproof container)

I don't think any of these things are too difficult or out of the ability of pretty much anyone to get and I know preparation like this can help people avert personal disaster. It may not mean your home is safe and sound, it might not stop injuries or death but it will make your family a little safer and the most important thing is the family right? Doesn't it make sense to care for them?

There's hundreds more things one can do to prepare from self-training, equipment and communication, self-defense and foraging, to reducing hazards, wilderness survival and shelter-building, water filtration, power generating and collecting, general awareness and increasing the ability to think quickly and effectively in the face of emergency situations plus many other things but the things above are a good start I think.

We like to think we are kept safe by our governments but the reality is that's just not true; it doesn't mean they don't want to keep us safe per se, but sometimes it's just not possible. Some attention and care before a disaster happens can mitigate a lot of the risk or effect when they do happen and I think those with a family who are not doing these things are acting irresponsibly.

I do a lot more than the above and have a nice feeling of security, in certain aspects, because of it. There's a feeling of confidence that comes from being prepared and I like the thought of being able to take care of my people.

I wonder what you've got in place for your family and which elements you feel you have under control and which need work. Do you even have a level of preparedness? Feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts.