Preparing Your Opportunity for Success If Disaster Strikes

I will be blunt there are numerous disasters beyond natural occurrences and they can happen anywhere, anyplace and anytime. Group A person buys a kit and book hoping never to use it their survival rate 35%. Group B person gets the book and kit reads the book then stops there 63%. Group C person buys the kit, book and gets training or does a course once that's it survival rate 73%. The group D person 89% or higher survivalists drill and practice on a regular bases are usually: military, reservists, first responders and their number is not higher cause the nature of work involves. Then there is one group S that can exercise a higher level of survival rate at 94% found among all groups. Why group S is compelling they live a modified self-sufficient life styles and view disaster as a common occurrence of life, the key preventive care. If your personal life, home and community are well maintained survival in a disaster ensured. I'm an S personality any one can do it practicing no frills organized life management skills that eases your mundane or out of the blue occurrences. Many are S groups and don't know it here is my best advice to join that demographic!

I. Emergency Preparedness Basics
Determine The Risks: (Know your environment and its limitations)
Don't go crazy about an Armageddon to be prepared define realistically the hazards then you can access your needs and plan of action. Wasting your energy or income for an array endless possibilities, your effort is a resources invest wisely for what matters you and family. Knowing your environment and its' limitations define prepare for an outcome or change for an outcome making it ideal in survival is not limited to your home includes community and surrounding region. Start identifying your regions risks: climate, geography, security, industry, native wildlife and social composition. These hazards I listed you modify for them or modify them making survival possible, if a demographic fails at political social level lobby for improvement.

My state Virginia's subjugated to the following: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, snow or ice storms and earthquakes. Identify hazards of adverse weather and basic reading the environment to forecast potential of weather changes such as cloud types or knowing the dangers of heat or cold to the body. Geographically know low lying areas prone to flooding, soil composition natural to the region as land erosion or sink holes a natural occurrence from torrential downpours. The security the level of crime per area as it may increase during a disaster and national or state security infrastructures in your area also determines places of refuge or avoid in acts of terrorism. Industry identifications are utility infrastructures, commercial transportation, and manufacturing facilities pose risks; biological hazards, high voltage power, or fuel explosions. Understanding native wildlife displaced in a disaster poses hazards such as venomous, predatory animals and basic behaviors access fear threat displacement or of disease as rabies. The social composition demographics are wealth & education ratio, hospital population ratio and traffic congestion levels. The social composition is insights the populations self-sufficiency, medical capability during disaster and expedience for evacuation. Its simply evolution to ones environment or revolution changing your environment for your survival!

Understand Governments Roll and Actions: (Be and informed civic citizen)
Be wary of the local, state and federal guidelines that issue warnings and request actions to either evacuate or stay off roads. They have the right and authority to reduce risk and the risk of first responders. Disregard places unnecessary barriers providing assistance or insinuate total failure. Virginia engages an exercise of having all lanes of traffic dedicated to evacuation from the coastal areas. Understanding that if left in a position to wait last minute to leave work and retrieve family for evacuation may lay a challenge if a highway is inaccessible. Yes, follow basic road rules aggressive panic driving causes delays or casualties as many forget this as the natural order of traffic is altered in an evacuation. Go against social order is falling from society defined as another form of death as life's order nurtures life while disorder breeds decay!

Create a Plan of Action: (Have a backup support system)
Account information per the risk, government action and daily activity. This information devise an action plan occurrence during various times at work, kids at school or at home. Planning alternate actions requires diverting potential risks from monitoring daily agendas and routine schedules. Multiple plans are usual avoiding travel or options enabling travel safely low traffic times, alternate routes and monitoring these routes proving less hazardous. Share this intended plan and update changes prevents repetition among your entrusted associates and designates a decisive search for you if plans fail. It is a simple as passing information to those you trust where and when sometimes this communication permits accessing vital information they're aware of recent events requiring a deviation for safety. Part of that plan stay connected with friends and family is the greatest aversion to disaster, nothing ensures even weak strategies succeed for you than backup support it's a wise investment. Before the greatest structures exist it had a blueprint!

Listing The Requirements and Resources of Your Plan: (Outline your goals)
Once action plan criteria determined evaluate the tools ensuring support of your plans success. List the requirements allowing you to compensate for aversions to your survival whether supplies or training. Don't be surprised altering plans or resources again customizing an appropriate fit based off skills or emergency resources may eliminate certain actions or increase based on appropriations available. I conceive a list as an endless tool used in various ways a checklist to ensure nothing is missed, a checklist to maintain needs and a measuring tool of negative or positive actions. It is not perfection but a constant source of a work in progress that can be updated, modified and reviewed. I use lists daily either ingredients to a recipe and sometimes substitutions are made or items dropped the goal is to ensure the end result is beneficial and not a recipe for disaster. There's a list for every/any personal goal in life they're for focus and make it happen!

Implementing Your Plan: (Practice makes perfect)
Implementing is taking the foundation the plans for a desired result beyond supplies and training it is testing or drilling till the plan effectively suits the situations. Implementing does not occur once but a continuous act for your welfare. Practice ensures the plan is up-dated and any changes work or require alterations. Practicing basic skills in first aid or safety procedures ensures everyone knows what to do and effectively work as a team then against each other in a disaster defeating the whole purpose in preparation. Make it a game for kids, who is fast at being ready for a weekend outing? I do this everyday through time management getting ready for work either late or having to make stop on the way and streamlining efficient means to get a task done with same quality applied as before. Exercising skills educates if you lack resources and must improvise or adapt to change quickly, trial and error is how we learn to walk from birth!

Managing Your Preparedness Plan: (Maintain Your Work or Skill)
Management is insurance nothing becomes obsolete a reinforcement to constant change against potential failure. HIV & AIDS unknown 30yrs ago, food & medicine expire and contact information changes with jobs or kids progression to another school. Important government policy on disaster preparations are updated or revised continuously. Maintained properly requires a schedule with your checklist and plan. Not an expensive feature expiring food and first aid use regular bases for camping or daily needs provides practice or donate them. Free medical clinics will take some first aid supplies and over the counter meds if sealed. The maintenance eliminates wasting valued resources that could be but to use everyday otherwise you are buying for show. I don't pay for gas to drive to work or time working to toss a paycheck, its' use it or lose it!

II. Psychology and Physiology of Disaster Preparedness (Condition to Participate Life)
I will not lie this key area is where best preparedness strategies fail human error or psychology dealing with disaster and physiology if physical health not sufficient to deal with the disaster. Athletes are conditioned for the challenging sport and survivors conditioned for living through disaster.

Psychology: (Create a Circle of Social Strength)
In a disaster there is always the possibility of failure to deal and manage adversity. The best trained and prepared will usually panic, react with dangerous aggression or be immobilized by fear. Know thyself testing mental aptitude to stress, adversity and emotional control vital. Importantly you or others breaking in crisis impair survival. Acquire foresight signs, symptoms and actions countering impulses that cripple performance. We all do it everyday it is engaging with work, social activity and relationships. I exercise mental faculties dealing with adversity into everyday situations. It is multi-task, accept additional responsibilities and improvise on personal setbacks. Volunteering beyond ones comfort, delegate those wiser and organize a project under time constraints exercises in stress or adversity management. Participate diverse social activities the quintessential human management or team-building skills achieved there is no substitute or classroom to educate otherwise. Build a driving force to live for its your social support system!

Physiology: (Your Body A Temple of Life)
The second area of failure is an insufficient physiology referring to personal physical condition. Not limiting poor health maintenance: obesity, disease and age may play factor. Critical consideration practicing physical well-being not only own survival but for those depend on you for theirs. A vast difference if injured a person with sound constitution has a higher survival rate than someone with a physical deficit. Deficient health or disabilities ensuring survival takes careful planning. I incorporate physical activity managing weight, basic survival conditioning such as hiking/camping and recreational activities I enjoy. I exercise competing against limitations improvising means to defeat, reduce or work with my limitations. My body is my temple of life!

III. Survival Kit Planning and Preparations Applications: (Assure all your gear functions the role)
For most disaster preparedness equivalency is overnight bag, snacks and first aid kit. Sadly, mistaken its life organization skills application exists where we forget consideration; health, financial, home, vehicle, and office or school. The preparedness kit is the last line of defense if all else fails.

Health Preparedness: (Taking care of you)
Important aspect overlooked is preventative medicine before a disaster strikes. It is your ultimate first aid kit ensure regular dental checkups, medical checkups and immunizations or booster shots are up-to-date. This also includes proof of medical coverage, immunization records and history and medical contact information either on a portable digital record or secured server archive. Failure to update your shots like tetanus will reduce ability to cope with minor problems that can escalate and become major. Keep you immune system prevalent to possible infections that may occur as a result of a disaster such as waterborne diseases from a flood contaminate water harbor possible exposure if wading in high water with potential wounds. The weak do not harbor the strength to bare the weight such great struggles!

Financial Preparedness: (Financial Freedom to Succeed)
Often overlooked ones financial health as a part of your preparedness kit. In case a disaster access to money may impede securing shelter, food or means to travel out of an inhospitable area. Includes credit cards, cash homeowners' insurance, flood insurance and life or accident insurance policies. Don't forget personal identification, records taxes and proof of employment. It is important that you have the ability to recovery quickly not only during but after a disaster. As income ability hampered if injured or employment is displaced financial security becomes a vital tool in planning immediate use and for later recovery. Backup secured digital copies of financial, work & medical records if it becomes lost, destroyed or stolen. Reduce worry ensure the digital copy is password protected to access your data or remote data security sites if you loose everything or prove identity fraud, it came in handy when I was declared dead. Not all slavery involves chains that hinder the freedom to live!

Home Preparedness: (My Home Is My Castle)
Investing in homes maintenance is vital such as proper insulation of pipes prevents loosing water for days in a blizzard or ice storm. Maintaining trees at a distance from home or species planted determines the threat of injury or death in the event of hurricane winds. Heavy furniture braced or affixed to walls can avert falling injuries. Routine home maintenance one must think in terms of fortification efforts to your preparedness and the quality of home contents in case your must hold out for days unable to leave. I do this as a necessity that saves me money on energy costs, repair cost and eating out that may be unhealthy. I also include for health radon testing and extermination as pests pose threat as harboring disease. A home is refuge and sanctuary!

Vehicle Preparedness: (Reducing the vehicle depreciation investment)
Your important escape means, not maintaining your vehicle puts you and others at considerable risk. Just keeping the tank full but adding twice yearly maintenance summer and winter preparations may divert a break down during evacuation hinder escape or accident during traffic volume in a mass evacuation. The basic emergency roadside kit and inclement weather kits are essential. Additionally, keep a three days food, water and other essentials both in the trunk and inside passenger compartment if you become stranded. I reduce fuel consumption if the car is running properly and high repair costs. Tip: if you don't have "On Star" keep in a secured arm console your cell phone as you drive, a bottle of water and small pouch of food, if you get into an accident, injured and hidden from view it can make a difference to your life till your discovered. Oh, that decorative throw or beach towel on the seat is more than holiday decorations or keep the seats clean in my car its an emergency blanket or injury compress for bleeding. I replace my car food often serves as non-stop errands to eat emergency food saves money and healthy, trail mix over greasy cheeseburgers. My kingdom for a horse, a golden chariot of value is worthless if you do not have the labor of sound steeds!

Work or School Preparedness: (Its provides you not entraps you)
Work & school will have the basics in emergency care such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits and basic evacuation fire drills or lockdown drills. Overlooked work environment safety many businesses infrastructures not maintained pose a hazard keep an eye out on this environment and report need of improvements or lack of worker safety. Additional considerations locker or office desk have a small emergency kit incase stranded there for hours. This includes equivalent of 1-3 days water and food, personal first aid kit and backup recharge battery for cell phone if phone lines go down. A small battery operated pocket radio ideal if electricity is lost to keep informed. I replace the food & water often it serves emergency lunch on grueling work projects that keep you chained down instead of going out to lunch. All trades has its tools all labors its efforts but a sound business supports all and society to exceed!

Survival Kit Preparations And Its' Contents: (Tools of the trade)
The key essentials contents are based on: environment, weather, season, and how many people it serves or how you transport it. In preparing items must be categorized into tiers that are in separate pouches that make up a rucksack. Don't duplicate items; forget elaborate and select multi-function items carrying less weight reduces fatigue. Permissible duplications are food & water to share or if longer duration incurs. My kit since childhood any invite camping/fishing/hiking I'm ready to go bag today has an official title survival kit.

*Selecting tier pouches and Rucksack that is the following: waterproof, portable, durable and with various sized components for easy access of certain supplies.
*Tier items go in separate pouches then rucksack, contents vary by region or season listed are basics.
*There should be one per home, vehicle, or work incase you can't return to home to retrieve it.
*Up-dated it routinely don't waste time to restock it during a disaster.
*Easily accessible to leave under 5 min, 10 min with kids and 15 min max with kids, pets and infirm relatives.

Tier Pouches:
1) First Aid Items: prescriptions, antiseptics and bandages
2) Water & Water Purification Items: 3-5 days worth water, purification tablets & portable micro-filters
3) Fire, Light & Heat Items: waterproof matches, flashlights or candles
4) Communication & Direction Items: cell phone, radio, batteries, flares, & signaling devices.
5) Food Procurement Items: 3-5days worth, cooking/eating tools and hunting/fishing & foraging tools
6) Shelter Items: tarps, solar blankets and building tools (rope, shovel, & hatchet/hammer tool)
7) Hygiene Supplies: sew kit, 3-days clothes and travel or sample size basics only.
8) Orientation Items: GPS fine, still have a compass, know basic star navigation, and maps.
9) Financial & Identification: this should be on person and yes included is medical ID or information.

* I dislike listing weapons if the situation deems necessary in home only! Firearms prevent entry in evacuation shelters established by FEMA or local government classify as federal facilities sanctioning seizure and incarceration or simply (weapons in government buildings is a federal offense!)

IV. Information and Resources for Preparedness Kits: (Knowledge is power)
I've listed the links on government information under additional links; opportunities for basic training begin as early as childhood with Boy & Girl Scouts of America to Non-profits as the Red Cross and the government with Citizen Emergency Response Training (CERT). For sources for supplies check these listings below:

Training Sources:
Boy Scouts of America [http://www.scouting.org]
Girl Scouts of America [http://www.girlscouts.org]
American Red Cross [http://www.redcross.org]
Community Emergency Response Team or CERT [http://www.citizenscorps.gov/cert]

Supplies Sources:
REI [http://www.rei.com] basic camping gear and basic kits
Extreme Outfitters [http://www.extremeoutfitters.us/] basics gear and favorite among military.
AAA Mid-Atlantic [http://www.midatlanticaaa.com] source for car kits and maps.

Supplies Sources Recommended for Non-camping or New To Preparedness:
1-800-Prepare.com [http://www.1800prepare.com]
TBO-Tech Survival Gear [http://www.survival-gear.com]

This isn't survival extremist its take action measures to any opportunity even the mundane. A home do-it-yourselfer or roadside mechanic is cheaply efficient. A minimalist invests smarter reducing waste and decrease setbacks. An organized lifestyle creates time pursuing passions or success in life. Seizing the results of actions and not allowing things pile up or fall short offers new possibilities before they're lost. Being an S personality I survived the following some without survival provisions: flood, blizzard, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, violent acts and public riots traveling abroad a testament daring to live a full and meaningful life. Let me clarify "S personality means "STANDARD" defining standard value of life I choose to live. Safe conduct exists through application of ones sagacity and honing it. My standard views supportive, social, and self-reliant helping others help me in case I need assistance. Because despite all well prepared intentions, there are no guarantees in life just possibilities of hope if you or I make it better available!