Natural Disasters and Emergencies

Depending upon where you live, you could be subject to any number of disasters that Mother Nature may decide to unleash.  The damage that your home and your region may experience could be relatively minor, such as a few downed power lines, or it can mean a total disruption of normal life.  Assess the possibilities for disaster in your immediate area and start drawing up plans of how to deal with them now, while it is still possible.

Wildfires can occur anywhere there are trees, brush, or grass and the weather has been hot and dry.  These fires can be ignited by careless or malicious humans, lightning, or even spontaneous combustion of tinder dry materials.  One way a wildfire can start regardless of the weather conditions is if a burning coal seam erupts suddenly. 
Wildfires can run along the ground, burn through the lower levels of vegetation, or flare up into a crown fire.  This last is the most dangerous and destructive, and these fires can easily jump fire breaks or even rivers.  Often, the only thing that can be done is to evacuate.  However, if the wildfire occurs near your home, but then veers away, you might be able to remain, but services such as electricity may be burned out.  Having a 72 Kit on hand will help you whether you are able to stay, or whether you must leave.

Tornadoes are among the most destructive and frightening of storms.  They can often strike with little or no warning, and while most are only on the ground for a short time, they are capable of doing an incredible amount of damage.  Some tornadoes, however, can remain on the ground for hours and travel hundreds of miles, leaving a trail of misery behind them.  Homes can be lightly damaged, have their roofs torn off, or be swept away completely, depending on the power of the storm and how direct a hit your home may take.  Taking shelter is the only option here, and having some emergency survival supplies either in a convenient spot to grab as you go to your safe room, basement, or internal safe spot, will enable you to wait out the storm in some measure of comfort.  Having your 72 Kit will also help you get through the first unsettled days if the damage from the tornado has been widespread.

Earthquakes and Tsunamis often go hand-in-hand if the quake occurs in a coastal region.  Regardless of where the quake occurs, however, there is definitely the potential for profound damage.  Most structures are simply not designed to withstand the sudden and violent lateral shifting that occurs when an earthquake strikes.  If you are inside when the ground begins to move, try to get outside as quickly as possible – it is not uncommon for homes to completely collapse during an earthquake.  When you are unable to get outside, take shelter in the triangle of life.  This is the space formed next to a heavy piece of furniture, such as a sofa, armchair, or bed.  If the ceiling does come down, the debris will generally catch on the furniture, leaving a safe area immediately adjacent.  Do not get under a table; after all do you think your kitchen table can support several tons of weight?

Tsunamis are the waves formed by the earthquake, and the recent events in Japan have illustrated exactly how deadly these waves can be.  Water is very heavy, and when you are looking at a wave that can be over twenty feet high, you are looking at a very monumental force.  In the case of a tsunami, basically the only thing to do is to try to get to higher ground where you will be safe.  As you herd your family out the door, be sure to take your 72 Kit along with you, it can be days until clean water and food is available again, and this will provide you with enough to be getting on with.

Hurricanes are tropical storms that develop over the Atlantic Ocean during the summer.  The heat and moisture combine, with the Coriolis Effect adding in the earth’s rotation to form the hurricane system.  Hurricanes build up force and gather more moisture into themselves as they travel over the water, and can attain wind speeds of up to 200 mph, although most of them come nowhere near that number.  Although hurricanes will slow down when they make landfall, they are still extremely destructive to those living along the coast.  The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts are the ones that will be affected by a hurricane, although inland areas can also suffer.  Hurricanes bring high winds and heavy rain, and generally a storm surge, which can be 20 feet high or more, will precede the storm as it makes landfall, and a line of tornadoes will sometimes front the hurricane, too.

If you live in an area where hurricanes are possible, it only makes sense to make preparations to not only ensure your survival during and after a hurricane, but also to make your home less likely to be damaged.  Many people who live in areas prone to hurricanes fit their houses up with storm shutters or other window protection.  These shutters can be installed permanently and are generally designed to add a decorative as well as practical function to the house.  However, you can make perfectly adequate window protection out of plywood, also.  Unless flooding occurs, it will be likely that you will be able to stay where you are, especially if you have survival supplies on hand to see you through at least seventy-two hours.

Blizzards and other winter storms, including ice storms, snow storms, and nor’easters, can cause a good deal of trouble themselves, although they are not generally as immediately catastrophic as the above.  Blizzards bring in heavy snow accompanied by strong winds and extremely cold temperatures.  The big danger here is hypothermia, commonly known as freezing to death in its later stages.  Getting caught on the road, and being unable to continue to shelter is one of the greatest hazards associated with blizzards, and having a 72 Kit in the car can keep a serious situation from becoming deadly.  This kit can be very valuable at home, as well, as these winter storms often bring down the electric lines.

Flooding can occur from a hurricane, but it also happens with some frequency when a river overflows its banks.  Sandbagging and other emergency measures can sometimes keep the water back, but sometimes it will be necessary to evacuate.  Orders for evacuation can be given at a moment’s notice, too, if the situation changes quickly.  In this case, you should definitely have some survival supplies ready in a kit to take along with you.  You could easily be on the road for hours, and having some water and food to take care of your immediate needs will take the rough edges off the journey.   If you are going camping or hiking in a wilderness area, take care not to get caught in a flash flood.  These occur when heavy rainfall or dam failure upstream from where you are causes a sudden torrent.   It is quite possible for the sky to be blue where you are and for a flash flood to hit.  Stay away from stream beds when setting up camp, and be sure to keep current on weather reports.