How to prepare yourself to survive a hurricane

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What is life without our Smartphone and internet connection? An average person spends around 1/4th of his day using his Smartphone. Or what is life without frozen food, heating and a continuous dependable energy supply?

Since 1980, eight of the world’s most harmful natural disasters have occurred post-2000.
Imagine being caught in a catastrophe, a natural disaster, a storm or a hurricane which disrupts the power supply to our houses, and halts us from performing our daily activities, and most of all disconnects us from the rest of the world, by disrupting our communication lines. You will be shunned from the outside world and living like captives in your own houses, having travelled back to the stone ages in the twenty-first century.

With no signs of rescue help any time soon, or access to the nearest grocery store due to flooded roads, you will need emergency supplies to help your family and you to survive and stay safe. Your priority should be your safety, survival and then the safety of your property. Evacuate for personal protection, reinforce for wind, elevate for water for property protection and insurance for risk management.

Focusing on short-term planning, map out your evacuation routes in advance, board up your windows, seal all openings to keep the water out of your house, secure outdoor objects which can be blown out by wind, shut your garage properly, and post emergency contacts where they are visible to all members of the family and lastly gather your personal documentation, like state identity, driving license, property documentation, and medical documents for insurance purposes, in plastic sealable bags, in extreme cases where your property is destroyed and you have to evacuate. Keep all family members together and away from windows. Manage your water supply, by storing water in bathtubs, sinks, bottles, jugs and containers. Keep your cell phone charged at all times and keep it safe from water damage by sealing it in a zip lock bag, and always keep power bank fully functional. And lastly abstain from using any plugged in electronic items during the storm, shut off the power supply manually during the storm to avoid any short circuits. In order to keep yourself updated make use of radios.

Plan for a possible power outage, dependable food supply, evacuation medium in the form of inflatable boats, map out your communication channels, and set up emergency kits when it comes to long-term planning.

Due to power outage, you will need to have to rely on alternate dependable sources of energy, for heating and other purposes. Fuel less generators, including solar generators and solar power kits, kept in a usable condition well in advance, help to consume power when not available from the usual supply. These have the capacity to withstand harsh weather conditions, and yet provide us with a dependable source of energy for sufficient consumption. Moreover, Insta Fire starter and fuel should be kept in the storage/garage in case all the possible options for energy are exhausted, this should be used as the last resort to fulfill energy needs. And after deploying these to work, in emergency situations like the one described above, you will be able to dust off your worries for heating, and communication via internet and phone calls. Apart from these maintain an adequate supply of flashlights, candles and kerosene lamps.

Although that alone will not provide you with the key to survival because in situations where the disaster becomes prolonged, you will also need a reliable source of food as well. Freshly cooked food in such situations will never be the best option. Instead in such circumstances, you need to have ample supply of non-perishable, high energy, hunger-filling, instant foods. Stock on canned food and dried food in your pantry. Frozen food like soups and instant foods, fruit powder, vegetable powder, dried food like dried fruits and vegetables, and energy drinks like coconut water powder and protein powder will help you stay energetic, fresh and dehydrated for a stressful and demanding day.

Emergency kits should consists of dressings, band-aids, spray Band-Aids, bandages, antibiotic ointment packets, cold compress, antiseptic wipe packets, gauze pads, flashlights and flashlight batteries should be kept at an accessible place for the children and elderly members of the family. Make sure to keep an adequate supply of any prescription drugs for your family members or yourself. Moreover, children and elderly should be guided and instructed in advance on how to deal with such situations, and in case of natural disasters, where no help is available, which places to hide at indoors.

In situations like these the optimal time period to plan for is at least two weeks, for very extreme cases. Do not wait till the last moment and the hurricane warnings, to take action. Haphazard planning and arrangements would end up in a chaos for your family and you. The hurricane and thunderstorm will make it difficult for you to make preparations. In places which are at a higher risk of hurricanes and thunderstorms, make sure that these plans are set for the whole year and that elderly and children know how to manage without help and guidance. Making arrangements to accommodate for your neighbors and pooling in resources by sharing the costs of emergence prep material will not only be light on your pocket but also provide you with personal help, in the form of manpower and in order to keep your morale high.

Prudent and thoughtful planning beforehand would help you to make rational decisions when the emergency occurs. In cases where you have not planned in advance you will likely be left with damage. Plan in advance, and ask for help from your neighbors, family and friends. Take to government officials for plan of action for such situations and lastly keep a positive attitude. The hurricane although temporary can do a permanent damage, though it is up to you to safeguard your family and yourself from such damage.

jamessmith
James Smith is a passionate blogger. He is a proactive writer and loves to write about preparedness. Currently, he is associated with Equip Enterprises LLC, a leading machinery trader that offers the best quality used heavy equipment to its customers. Follow @jamessmith1609 for more updates.