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Disaster Survival Preparedness Tips? Being prepared for a disaster can not only give you peace of mind but help you and your family survive during a time of emergency.

Let’s face it; we live in a world where being prepared for a disaster is essential. In America, you have the potential for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, eruptions, flooding, fires, and more.
Disaster Survival Preparedness Tips
As we all saw during previous disasters, it takes time for rescue workers to reach you during these events. It’s up to us as individuals to be prepared to survive long enough for help to arrive, or to have enough supplies on hand until we can make our escape.
Water is Essential for Disaster Survival Preparedness
When preparing, you should consider the types of things you will not be able to live without and what necessary supplies you will not be able to get. We take for granted the water that comes out of our faucet, but if you have no power or the water lines are broken, the most necessary item to survival is gone.

One person needs at least two quarts of water a day to survive long enough for help to arrive or to travel for help. Keep in mind, the higher the temperature, the more water you will need.
This means if you have four family members, you would need at least two gallons of water each day on hand. Since you would want to be prepared for at least three days, it’s crucial to have a minimum of six gallons of water set aside in an area that is easily accessible at all times.
If you’re concerned about needing to escape, such as in a fire situation, it’s not necessarily practical to lug around six gallons of water. You may want to consider having a water filter or purifier on hand so that as you travel, you can sanitize the water you find along the way.
At worst, be sure you have a pot and a lighter or matches so that you can boil any water you find for at least 10 minutes. You will also want to have a container so that you can store any water you have found.
For Disaster Survival Preparedness, I would recommend having a duffel bag or backpack fully loaded with your survival items. If you’re planning to simply wait it out until help arrives, in the panic, you don’t want to have to expend your energy searching your home for needed items. If you need to leave in a hurry, you can grab your bag(s) and go. We talk about Bug Out bags Here: Bug Out Bags and How to Make Them.
Now that you have the most critical item taken care of, water, other items can certainly make survival much easier.
Start a Survival Kit
I’m sure you’re next thought is food, we can survive longer than you might think without food if you’re growing weak due to lack of food, the chance of survival goes down dramatically. Needless to say, if you’re packing a survival kit, weight is going to be an issue.
Just like your water supply, you’ll want to have at least three days of food on hand for each person. You will want to store items that, of course, have a long shelf life, are low in salt, and give you maximum energy. If you have canned food on hand, be sure you have a manual can opener on hand as well!

Some food suggestions for Disaster Survival Preparedness would be unsalted trail mix, canned fruit, or other canned food with high liquid content, whole-grain cereal, ready-to-eat meals, dry mixes (though you’ll need extra water for these). Use common sense when choosing what to pack: consider the space required in your disaster kit, weight, nutritional value, shelf life, and ease of preparation.
Other items you may want on hand in the case of a disaster would be copies of all of your important documents such as drivers licenses, social security cards, birth certificates, bank/financial/credit card accounts, and medical cards.
Other Emergency Preparedness Items
Here is a list of additional items you may want to have in your ready-to-go emergency preparedness kit.
- first aid kit and a first-aid how-to book (If you’re on life-saving prescription medications, be sure to have those stored in a ready-to-grab area as well.)
- toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and/or resealable baby wipes
- hand crank radio or radio that runs on batteries
- LED flashlight and a LED headlamp
- a cookstove or grate you can put over a fire for cooking
- Sterno cans
- matches in a waterproof container and lighters (in case matches get wet)
- blankets and extra clothing
- a small foldable shovel, knife, rope, and tarp (you can make a shelter if needed with these items)
- have some cash on hand
- cooking and eating items (manual can opener, pot, utensils, etc.) 5-gallon container
- of gasoline and a piece of hose if you can escape in a vehicle (The hose is for siphoning gas along the way should it come to that.)
I would recommend looking for these items at a local store that sells camping items. This way, they will be made specifically to be durable and lightweight.
In addition, you may want to pack some items strictly for entertainment. It’s essential to keep everyone’s spirits high. A deck of cards is small and can be entertaining for family members of all ages. Likewise, have some hard candy on hand. It can boost your energy and lift the spirits at the same time.
Of course, if you have pets, you will want to prepare for them as well with dry food on hand and water. Animals need about 1oz of water per pound per day.
While this is certainly not an all-encompassing list or guide, it is a good place to start when preparing yourself and your family to survive when an unexpected disaster comes along.
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