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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Weather Emergencies - Five Things You Need to Survive

Weather Emergencies - Five Things You Need to Survive


Hurricane Season is just nearby the corner, Tornado Season is already here, we have seen the spring flooding in the Midwest, and the ice storms and blizzards of this past winter are swiftly becoming a memory. In the event of a weather-related emergency, are you prepared? Could you live without convenient passage to food, water, electricity, gasoline, and other necessities for a few days?

Regardless of where you live, what type of weather you have, or how populated your local area happens to be, the time can, and most likely will, come when you are without basic services. Contrary to popular belief, it is not nearly as easy as you may think to manage for a merge of days, or even a week or more, without a confident amount of develop preparation.

While there are some exquisite "survival kits" ready at many online (and offline) retail outlets, there are also some other preparations you should make in order to survive both safely and comfortably:

Do you have an urgency cash fund? Is it safely tucked away, yet where you can passage it swiftly should the need arise? In a world where most of us don't even carry cash anymore, having an urgency stash of actual cash (in smaller bills) somewhere in your home may seem unnecessary, however, in the event that your local area is without power for any length of time, this urgency cash will be your only way to buy any type of goods or services. Without power, there will be no way to passage credit card processors, financial institutions, or your local Atm machine, and while your local grocery or gas station may have a generator, and reopen fairly quickly, cash will most likely be the only form of cost that is appropriate until full power is restored.

Do you know where to turn off the electricity, the water, the gas, etc. For your home or apartment? If not, you should immediately locate and learn to control any and all shutoffs for your dwelling. In any type of weather-related (or other) emergency, you may find that a pipe bursts, and you need to shut off the water, or you have an electrical short and need to shut down the circuit, or worse. Knowing where these shutoff valves and boxes are settled and how to control them can mean the divergence between minimalizing damage and losing your whole home.

How much gasoline is in your car? Do you regularly run on fumes? If so, you may not be able to leave your immediate area, should the need arise. In the event of a power failure, many gas stations will be closed, or even if open, there will be either long lines or shortages will occur quickly, as others who also have empty tanks are trying to fill up their vehicles. Even though it requires a bit more concentration on your part, it is far better to keep at least a half a tank of gas in your vehicle all the time, than to not have any at a time when you no ifs ands or buts need it.

How much bottled water do you have on hand? How many canned goods are in your pantry? Even with your survival kit, you should all the time have at least a case or two of bottled water, and a few days worth of food stored in your home, more if there are some habitancy in your family. Especially while weather linked emergencies, when basic utility service is disrupted, having ample food and water on hand is no ifs ands or buts vital to your survival.

Do you take prescription medicines that are vital to your survival? And, if so, do you refill a week in develop or wait until the final day's dosage until you make a trip to your local pharmacy? What would happen if your pharmacy was accomplished for a few days, and you had no way to get those medications? If your retort to that question means serious illness or even death, then you need to rethink your prescription refilling habits, and have that week's worth of pills on hand at all times.

While there are no ifs ands or buts dozens of things that every individual, every family, needs to think in the event of an emergency, these are five of the most basic needs that you will encounter while a short or long term disruption of services, and you should be prepared for these five regardless of the season, the locale, or living arrangements. Emergencies can and do happen every day, and unless you have made some provisions for dealing with those emergencies, you may swiftly find yourself in the dark, out in the cold, or worse.




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