Weathering the Storm: Preparedness Essentials

Even though people living in areas exposed and often afflicted by hurricanes and tornado’s generally are aware of all the precautionary measures, people still do tend to lose lives in these disastrous situations. This is why we’ve come up with an article outlining all the necessary preparations for weathering a storm.

Food and Water

To start with the most basic of needs, the problem here doesn’t necessarily lie only during the timeline of an actual storm, but for days of craze and distortion that ensue afterwards. Here is what you’ll undoubtedly need:

• One gallon of water per person per day, to last three days at the very least, not only for drinking, but sanitation and other needs, as well.
• Peanut butter – this product is quite long-lasting
• Protein bars
• Fruit – you’ll need your vitamins, especially in potentially exhausting situations such as this
• Canned food, such as fruits, vegetables, meats (tuna), canned beans, etc.
• Canned juices – this is a great source of sugar, as well as liquid that your body might need
• Crackers – yet another type of food that can last for ages
• Non-perishable milk
• Dry cereal
• Other foods that do not require refrigeration or cooking

First Aid Kit

This, of course goes without saying, seeing as how injuries are a frequent occurrence in situations such as that of a storm. Emergency services will probably be overwhelmed, perhaps even physically unable to reach you. Even minor injuries can cause sepsis and further complications, if not treated within a reasonable time period. Here are your basic first aid essentials:

• Sterile gloves – you wouldn’t want to suffer bacterial infections, especially in instances such as this type of a disaster
• Sterile dressings, quality adhesive bandages
• Antibiotics – whether it’s ointments, or pills, supplements that prevent bacterial infections are of vast importance here.
• Prescription medications – you need to have reserves of necessary pharmaceuticals that you or your family members might potentially require. These include insulin, heart medicine, asthma inhalers (you wouldn’t believe how easy these are to misplace, so you better have at least a couple of these stockpiled within your first aid cabinet).
• Tools such as tweezers and scissors – not only are these absolutely necessary for first aid purposes, but might come in handy for a plethora of impromptu situations
• A whistle – ridiculous as it may sound, these items can turn out to be real life savers – no one laughs at a whistle sound during or after huge storms, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to an observer
• Towels – these have a wide variety of utilization abilities, from preventing bleeding out, to drying off, in order to avoid hypothermia.
• Garbage bags
• When it comes to infants, you’ll need a large number of diapers, to avoid risking infection, as well as an instant formula, for obvious reasons.
• It is smart to have pliers and a wrench, if nothing, than so as to be able to turn off utilities, such as pipes, or age-old electrical equipment.
• Complete change of clothing, enough to last at least 3 days.
• A fire extinguisher for cases of electrical surges
• Matches in a waterproof container

 Other Paraphernalia

• Generators
• Portable toilets
• Fuel tanks – There are many diesel fuel tanks available out there, so make sure you have this covered
• Cook stoves
• Batteries (it is smart to have these in all sizes available)
• Flashlights
• Duct tape
• Candles
• Sleeping bags
• Rubber boots

These cover most of your essential needs for a storm, as well as other types of a disaster. Make sure you have all these covered and thus insure you remain safe and healthy. Of course, a bit of extra consideration might go a long way in helping you weather the worst of weather conditions out there, so feel free to add a couple of your own ideas to the list.