I keep seeing all these natural disasters unfold with dozens to thousands killed earthquakes, avalanches, tornados by the dozens, sinkholes, flooding and a massive snowstorm this late and all in this month of May 2015.
Is there a pattern unfolding here?
I await the 2015 hurricane season with some trepidation – will it be a docile season or one wrought with nature’s fury bringing with it death and destruction?
As a child I remember going through a couple hurricanes high winds, rain and boarded up winds as we hunkered down and waited for it to blow over. We’d emerge from shelter to find trees blown over, and the once peaceful neighborhood awash with debris, requiring weeks of labor to return life to normal.
As I age I worry about infirmity – the old adage what will happen if?
One of my closest friends kept saying wait it will be your turn when we used to kid him about being an old man and complaining he hurt all over.
Wake up call! It’s here for me now and he’s now saying the same thing to me to just wait another 10 years…
What happens when you’re in your latter years and trying to deal with getting out before a possible disaster strikes?
I can tell you that without a disaster plan you could find yourself face to face with problems you do not want.
What is a disaster plan?
It’s made up of segments of preparation and planning that allow you continuity of life with a relative means of safety and comfort.
Step One: Being ready to leave your home and getting yourself to safety in the wake of a pending disaster. One such disaster where I am and one you have adequate preparation time for is a hurricane.
A hurricane planning timeframe may be days in advance and its path is not an exact science; the same for a major blizzard the impacted millions in the northeast this past winter making travel impossible.
Getting Out:
- Have a means of leaving safely with adequate time to allow you to secure your home
- Calling ahead and making reservations at an inexpensive hotel, never rely on family or friends wishing to have their daily lives and schedules interrupted
- Have a planned route of travel that will not put you in massive traffic jams with others with the same idea as you
- A week’s supply of food you would normally eat
- One gallon of water per person per day
- Clothing, blankets and sleeping bags for warmth and comfort
- Have all these items ready so you can throw them in your vehicle in no more than a few minutes planning for at least a week’s stay.
Hurricanes: This is a sometimes massive storm that can be as wide as 200 miles with winds in excess of 120 mph getting away may require you driving into the lower mountain states a distance of 500 miles or more if you live in lower southeastern states bordering the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. In the Pacific Ocean coastline traveling to reach safety is much less distance.
Tornados: In the event of a tornado approaching keeping track of storm fronts is a major issue. Once the conditions are right a tornado can drop anywhere along the front and the only means of escape is an underground shelter.
Blizzards: Staying inside may keep you safe from the cold provided you can stay warm, have water and food available. Many homes in the north have installed wood pellet or oil or gas fuel stoves to aid in winter weather when electrical power is lost. Have sufficient means of communication by landline or cell phone.
Flooding: Rainy conditions in flood prone areas can be a disaster. Erring on the side of caution and moving to higher ground taking your valuable is one of the only means of escape.
Earthquakes: this is the most unpredictable and potentially devastating disaster. Nothing is predictable and the level of the quake always unknown. You can have supplies to assist you in case you need to leave your home same as in any pending disaster.
Mother Nature is unforgiving; she can reign down destruction at any moment at any point of the globe. Your best course of action is to just pay attention to weather condition and patterns, be prepared in case you have to evacuate.
Its such as you learn my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, such as you wrote the ebook in it or something.
I think that you just can do with a few
percent to pressure the message house a little bit,
however other than that, that is excellent blog.
A fantastic read. I will certainly be back.