Disaster Preparedness

Kevin Coolidge

They laughed. I smiled. They said this day would never come. I knew. They said I was wasting my time and money. I prepared. Yes, the world was safe when I installed a standby generator. The situation was stable when I stockpiled ammunition. People went on vacation while I bought up the canned bacon. I waited. I was right…

Why prepare at all? It’s calm. The skies are clear, and life is good. Wouldn’t your resources best be used for what you know is coming? Life is unpredictable. Fires burn, storms rage, and enemies attack. No one is ever completely safe. What do you do? Should you get ready for Armageddon or put your trust in the government when disaster strikes?

There is an alternative. You don’t have to become a hardcore survivalist, or a trusting fool. Don’t let disaster preparedness distract you from meeting life’s other needs. Don’t spend five times your salary on a water filtration system. Arthur T. Bradley’s motto is “prepare for what makes sense.”

The world probably isn’t going to end tomorrow, and if it were, that assault rifle with optional grenade launcher won’t ensure your survival. According to The Disaster Preparedness Handbook, by Arthur T. Bradley, you should prepare for challenges you might actually face—power outages, inclement weather, and being stranded on the road.

His book is designed to help your family for more common, yet still potentially deadly, disasters--hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blackouts and more. Bradley’s hopes to accomplish three things: 1. Motivate you to become better prepared 2. Illustrate how to prepare effectively and 3. Help you realize your place in a larger movement.

This isn’t book on how to live off the land, become self-sufficient. This isn’t practical for most people. It’s also not list driven with examples of tools, clothing, and food supplies to hoard. This book is designed to help identify the needs you may experience during hard times.

The book is organized around basic needs that must be met in order to survive. At the beginning of each chapter is a scenario designed to help the reader access the current level of readiness—for example, a powerful storms rolls through your community overnight, causing a loss of electrical power, or your county health department issues a boil order for all tap water.

The ends of the chapters have short summaries of the important points for future reference—for example, carbon monoxide poisoning and fire are dangers associated with backup heaters. Also a brief list of recommended supplies limited to actual needs, focusing more on general need than specific items—such as having fuel for your emergency heater.

You can’t prepare for everything. Know your capabilities, but more importantly, know your limitations. Unless all civilization breaks down, you don’t need to be self-sufficient to be prepared. Focus on your family’s needs and know that being prepared is a part of being responsible. The goal is be more confident, better-prepared and secure in an unpredictable world…

Prepared? Or Scared? Email me at from_my_shelf@yahoo.com and let me know. Miss a past column? Visit http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com and stock up now. Hobo the cat is prepared. You might call him fat; he calls it insurance, because the hardest thing about the zombie apocalypse should be the waiting…