﻿How to Prepare for a Natural Disaster


Do You Live in an Area Prone to Earthquakes?
Natural disasters are never convenient, and earthquakes can happen with little or no warning. If you live in an area where earthquakes are common, the drills you practice at work, school, or home are worth taking seriously.
The current safety advice is simple: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Drop to your hands and knees, cover your head and neck, and if a sturdy table or desk is nearby, get underneath it and hold on until the shaking stops. Doorways are not considered a special safe spot in modern homes, so don’t waste time trying to reach one.
It also helps to look around your home before an earthquake ever happens. Heavy or breakable items are safer on lower shelves, and tall furniture, televisions, and other objects that could fall should be secured whenever possible.
Should You Ride Out a Hurricane?
Hurricanes usually give you more warning than earthquakes, but that doesn’t mean they are predictable. A storm can strengthen, weaken, or change direction, so it’s important to pay attention to official updates instead of assuming it will miss you.
Talk with your family ahead of time about where you would go and what you would take if you had to leave quickly. Know your evacuation route, decide where you could stay, and include pets, medications, and any special medical needs in the plan. If local authorities tell you to evacuate, leave as soon as you safely can and don’t return until they say it is safe.
Keep an easy-to-carry emergency kit ready. For an evacuation, a practical goal is at least three days of food and water. For staying at home after a disaster, the American Red Cross recommends working toward a two-week supply, including about one gallon of water per person per day.
Store important documents in a waterproof container and keep secure digital copies if possible. Pack the things you truly need, but remember that clothes, blankets, food, water, medications, and other supplies still have to fit into your vehicle if you need to leave in a hurry.
Supplies and Safety
If a hurricane is approaching, protect windows with storm shutters or properly installed plywood where appropriate, and secure loose outdoor items that could become dangerous in high winds. Keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio available in case the power and internet go down.
If you are sheltering at home, choose an interior area away from windows and continue listening for local emergency instructions. Don’t head outside just because the wind suddenly becomes quiet. Wait until local authorities give the all-clear, because dangerous conditions can return or continue even after the worst of the storm appears to have passed.
Long-Term Food Storage Options
After a natural disaster, stores may be closed and electricity or clean water may be unavailable. Having shelf-stable food on hand means you won’t have to scramble for meals at the exact moment everyone else is doing the same thing.
Choose foods with a long storage life that require little or no refrigeration, and keep your family’s dietary needs in mind. Rotate the food you store so that older items are used first and replaced before they expire.
Ready-made emergency meals can be convenient, especially if you need to leave quickly, but you don’t have to buy expensive survival food. Plenty of ordinary grocery-store foods work well in an emergency supply.
Here are a few shelf-stable foods you might want to keep on hand:
• Protein bars
• Beef jerky
• Dried fruits
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Canned soups
• Canned tuna or sardines
• Canned meat
• Powdered or shelf-stable milk
• Coffee and tea
• Honey
• Beans
• Rice
• Oatmeal
• Pasta
• Nuts
Some of these foods need water or cooking, so plan accordingly and keep a manual can opener with your supplies. When choosing your emergency food, think about what your family will actually eat, not just what looks good on a preparedness checklist.
Living Off the Land or Growing Your Own Food
Gardening isn’t always easy, but there is something very satisfying about walking outside and picking food you grew yourself. Learn which fruits and vegetables grow well in your climate, and expect a little trial and error along the way.
If your local rules allow it and you have the space and time to care for them, chickens can also provide a regular supply of eggs. Just remember that animals need food, water, shelter, and care during an emergency too, so they should be included in your preparedness plans.
When your garden produces more than you can eat right away, safe food-preservation methods can help you save some of that harvest. Freezing, dehydrating, and properly tested home-canning methods are all useful options.
A vacuum sealer can also help protect food quality and reduce freezer burn when it is used with proper refrigeration or freezing. What it does not do is magically make fresh food shelf-stable, so vacuum sealing should never be treated as a replacement for safe canning, freezing, or refrigeration.
All in all, homegrown food can be a great addition to your emergency preparations. It won’t replace a ready-to-go disaster kit, but over time it can give you one more way to be a little less dependent on whatever happens to be available at the store.
Prepare a Little at a Time
You don’t have to build the perfect emergency supply in one weekend. Start with the basics: water, food, medications, a flashlight, a radio, important documents, and a simple family plan. Then add to it a little at a time.
Check your supplies every few months and replace anything that has expired or no longer fits your family’s needs. Preparing for a disaster isn’t about expecting the worst every day. It’s about knowing that if something does happen, you won’t be starting from zero.

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