Thursday, May 5, 2011

Eleven Tips for Survival and Crisis Preparedness

There are many Top 10 lists on various blogs and forums concerning how one does best prepare for Emergencies and Survival Situations so here is another list from Sibi Totique and The Free Online Survival Guide with an Additional Tip.

1.) Review Your Own Situation
Many discuss Survival and Crisis Preparedness without taking the situation of those how are trying to prepare for an Emergency into consideration. Every person has specific limitations and possibilities that preparedness efforts must be adjusted to.
• What Kind Of Climate Do You Live In?
• What Are The Risks You Face in Your Everyday Life?
• What Kind of Terrain Do You Live In?
• Do You Live In a House Or Apartment?
• Do you live in a Urban, Suburban or Rural Setting?
• How much Time and Money do you want to put into Preparedness?

You can also make a more comprehensive analysis by your own situation by making a Risk Assessment.

2.) Health and Physical Fitness
In many countries overweight, diabetes and cardiac disease are major problems. Having good health and good physical fitness is not only a resource that may mean the difference between life and death in a survival situation – most importantly it will improve your quality of life, reduce stress and may prevent disease or illness.

3.) Emergency Budget and Financial Stability
Every person has a specific economic situation. Finding a balance between your income and expenses is an important part of Crisis Preparedness. Natural Disasters can result in economic loses but also every day events like job losses, accidents or a fire can be devastating without proper insurance and some extra funds available. I suggest that you approach this subject from multiple perspectives
 • Try to cut down on Expenses
• Start to make Savings every month, even small savings is better than no savings at all
• Keep learning more about your Jo/ Carrier or find an alternative form of income
• Make sure that you are properly Insured

4.) Skills and Experience
In a real survival situation the skills and experience that you have is you’re most important tool to deal with a situation. Having theoretical knowledge about a subject is good, but actually knowing how to put this knowledge into practice is even more important.

5.) Enhance Your Everyday Security
Most threats that people face are not extraordinary situation like natural disasters and man-made disasters. These disasters often get the most attention in the Media but are not necessarily the threats that actually cause the most harm. Threats like fire in buildings, traffic accidents, falling in the bathtub and unsafe electrical appliances are examples of threats that people face every day. Examples of steps to reduce this type of threats:
• Get Fire Alarms for Every Floor Of Your Home
• Get a Fire Extinguisher and Learn How To Use It
• Always wear a seatbelt and take it easy while in traffic
• If you ride a bike get a Helmet
• Systematically try to reduce threats in your everyday environment.

Being ready for major threats is important – But don’t forget about the little ones that may not be as interesting as the big ones.

6.) Every Day Carry
Emergencies and Survival Situations often happens when we expects it the least. Having some basic items on your person can help you to deal with this type of events. Examples of Items that can be useful:
• A Cell Phone
• Some Cash and a Credit card
• A wrist Watch
• Compact Flashlight or other Light Source.
• A Folding Knife, Swiss Army Knife or Multi-Tool, remember to follow your own legal restrictions.
• A Pocket Survival Kit

7.) CPR and First Aid
There are many emergencies that can result in bodily harm. Having the knowledge and skills to handle this type of situations can mean the difference between life and death for you, your family or family. First Aid and CPR are skills that have to be practiced with regular intervals if you will be able to use them effectively. The Red Cross and Other Organizations often offer this type of course for free or for a small fee.

8.) Water and Food Storage
In today’s society is fairly seldom that we see events that result in a disruption in the access to food or water, many people just have food for one or couple of days in their home and most supermarkets receive their supplies on a just in time basis. When situations occur that disrupts the access to food and water this can often result in big problems for people living in a community, this can often be the case after natural disasters like Earthquakes, Tsunamis, VolcanoesHurricanes or Ice Storms. Having some basic Food Supplies that can be stored in Room Temperature, Some Water Stored and some means of Water Purification can save a family allot of trouble during an Emergency.

9.) Basic Equipment for Your Home
Many people may lack any form of equipment that may be useful during an emergency. A First Aid Kit, some Basic Medications, a simple flashlight, some means to start a Fire, a small camping stove to Prepare Food and a battery powered Radio so that you can receive messages from Government Agencies may save you allot of trouble if you would ever need it. I suggest that you try to get some basic supplies and items to cover the most important fields and then expand gradually. You do not have to have multiple high quality products for each fields, a few basic items will do in most situations. Crisis Preparedness does not have to be very expensive.

10.) Get Home Bag (GHB) or Bug Out Bag (BOB)
Your Everyday Carry provides some basic tools that you can have on an Everyday Basis but some people may feel that they want more comprehensive solutions for an Emergency or Evacuation Scenario. For this people a Get Home Bag or Bug Out Bag may be an interesting alternative. Exactly what type of kit that you should put together must be based on your own situation and needs.

11.) Own the Process
You have just read ten shorts tips for anyone how is looking to become more prepared for an Emergency. This tips may be useful for some readers, other readers may already have a capacity that far exceeds the steps suggested.

The Blogs is intended to give the readers inspiration and advice so that you can find individual solutions that fits you, it is not a One Size Fits All Blueprint for every situation and person. The most critical aspect of the process is that you reach the point when you feel that what you are doing is based on your individual needs, your own assessment and your own situation. Always get second opinions and more than one take on different subjects. Forums like the Survivalist Boards can be a good source for information and feedback on ideas concerning Survival and Crisis Preparedness. For more suggestion about where you can find additional information check out the article Survival Related Blogs and Webpages.

No comments:

Post a Comment