When you turn on the news, you almost regularly hear about devastation and violence everywhere. When it comes to your home, you need to take steps to make sure you’re prepared should the unthinkable happen.
Building a survival kit is just smart. You never know when or how long you may be without electricity, access to food, gas, and water.
Here are four essential items to keep in your home or have on hand should an emergency occur.
Access to Clean Water and Food
One of the most essential items to have in our home is water. In an emergency, access to clean water and food is a necessity. For water, it’s estimated there should be one gallon, per person daily.
So, if you have a family of five, you would need five gallons for each day. You should have at least a weeks worth of water and food in storage.
Think about the people that suffered through Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina? The ones prepared fared better than those who weren’t.
Having things like this on hand is priceless during a disaster. Disaster prep kits should have shelf stable food sources that can be made without access to a microwave or stove.
Protection
During a natural disaster or other occurrences, looting is commonplace. When your family has been compromised from things beyond your control, you need a way to protect yourself.
Having one of the AR-15 rifles or another gun is vital for protection. People become desperate when their food and shelter is compromised.
You can rest assured your family is protected when you have knives, guns, and other protection devices on hand.
Hand Crank Radio
When you are cut off from the outside world due to a loss of electricity, having a battery powered or hand crank solar radio is an essential item to have in your home. By virtue of the airwaves, you can learn about safe houses, areas of town to avoid, and you can keep track of weather and other serious issues.
The local government puts out announcements on the radio that are essential to keep the public informed. Radios are inexpensive and priceless when faced with a disaster.
Many areas also have emergency plans in place where radios are crucial. They will allow you to communicate with others in the area and make sure everyone is safe.
Flashlights and Candles
When there is no electricity, it can make things quite dark during the nighttime. You need to have flashlights and candles on hand.
Even the smallest of tasks can be difficult if you don’t have access to light. You want to keep flashlights and extra batteries stored safely where water cannot harm them.
It’s a good rule of thumb to have one flashlight for each person.
It’s estimated more than 60 percent of Americans say they’re not ready should a disaster or emergency occur. This means only 40 percent of people have taken the proper steps to make sure their family is safe.
It doesn’t cost a lot to get ready, but it can be enough to save your life. What are you waiting for?
Here’s a list of things to have on hand if you know severe weather is blowing in. Following this are instructions on what to do once you’ve lost power.
