Remember that disaster preparations for a weather event are regional. The folks in Idaho don’t worry about hurricanes just like the Brownsville folks not worrying about blizzards. So depending on what part of the planet you inhabit depends on what preparations you should make. The next questions are how long will you need to survive on your own and are you going to ride out or run from a potential disaster. With hurricanes you run because we have plenty of warning. With tornadoes we have 20 minutes if we’re lucky so we have to ride it out.
Tornadoes are the yearly threat we face so let’s focus on riding them out. Storm shelters and safe rooms are the first choice. Second is a room in the house that has no exterior walls. That can be tough with some floor plans. Storm shelter location should be easily accessible and waterproof. Good thing about shelter and safe rooms is that they can be stocked with a weather radio and supplies that you may need. Make your decisions carefully as lives depend on it.
This brings us to disaster bags (aka go-bag). Everyone (even the kids) should have one ready at all times. For this discussion go-bags should have enough supplies to last two or three days. Doing an internet search for go-bags will yield enough results to keep you occupied for several months. You can build or buy a go-bag. I decided to put together the go-bags my wife and I. Why? Because I can customize the bags for the individual. Besides most folks don’t need a razor and shampoo in a weather related survival situation.
Our bags contain:
Clothing: long pants, long sleeve shirt, 2 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, belt, gloves, hat, a hand towel and thermal blanket.
Food & water: three meals (we use Mountain House and military MRE’s), several energy bars, water purification bottle, steripen and a quart of bottled water.
Other essentials: minor medical and snake bite kit, OTC pain relief and allergy meds, 50 ft. paracord, LED flashlight w/lithium batteries, knife, multi-tool, boot laces, small mirror, clothes pins, lighter and spare batteries.
