In an emergency situation, it always pays to be prepared ahead of time. Too many people, however, either have no emergency preparedness plan in place or prepare for all the wrong things. No matter what your situation is, there are a few emergency supplies that everyone should have around the home. Here are the top four things your family should have in any emergency or disaster scenario.
Bottled Water and Personal Water Filters
Before even considering anything else in an emergency, the first priority is to establish access to clean water. The conventional approach to this is to keep several jugs of distilled water on hand in case of emergencies. Though this is still a great idea, you should also have a personal water filter for each member of your family. If your emergency situation lasts longer than your water supply, these filters will allow you to keep drinking until fresh, clean water can be gotten.
Appropriate Survival Food
Of course, food is also an important part of surviving a prolonged emergency situation. Just as important as having food, however, is having the right type of food. What you need are canned and dried foods that have long shelf lives and can be stored without cold temperatures. Dried pasta packages are especially good because they are calorically dense and will give you the fuel you need without taking up much space.
Emergency Generator
If your power is cut off, you’ll need an emergency generator to act as a backup until the normal power grid is brought back online. This generator should be equipped with an automatic transfer switch, like those from Enercon Engineering Inc, which will allow it to kick in automatically when the power goes off. You can use either a gasoline powered generator or one fed by natural gas or propane directly. However, gasoline generators will run out of fuel within a few hours, making them impractical for longer emergency situations.
First Aid Kit
Since any emergency situation carries the risk of injury, you need to have a good first aid kit on hand to treat whatever may come up. This kit should include all of the usual components for wrapping and treating minor injuries, as well as a variety of over-the-counter medicines to take care of common illnesses. The more complete this kit is, the better.
Emergency situations are never fun, but with at least these four items on hand, you’ll be able to face them adequately prepared. Also remember that the most valuable asset in an emergency is a clear, cool head. If you maintain your composure, you’ll be able to ride out practically anything.
