Sunday, July 13, 2014

Natural Disasters: Do you have a plan?

By: Bear Claw
Sunday, July 13, 2014

This is the first edition of The Lamp Post, so let’s start off with something simple and easy, ehh?

Do you have a plan in case of a disaster? This is a simple question that is more often than not answered by a no. Most people today are trapped in the predictable “it won’t happen here” or “it won’t happen to me” thought pattern, while others are depending on the government to help them. This kind of thinking is dangerous; it will leave people vulnerable and possibly in mortal danger.

Today, where one in four Americans have no emergency savings at all[1], people who plan ahead against misfortune are often times labeled as “slightly off” to downright crazy conspiracy theorists. It is not crazy to plan ahead in case the worst happens. If our ancestors had not had back up plans and put up extra supplies for “rainy days”, I wouldn’t be writing this article and you certainly wouldn’t be able to read it, right? Our ancestors didn’t see it as crazy, but as prudent and wise to prepare for the unexpected.

Now that hopefully you understand why you need a plan, let’s talk about a few ideas to get you started.

First of all look around your community, your state, and even your country in order to determine what disaster you would most likely face. Is your biggest problem a failure of the power grid, food shortages, floods, earth quakes, or possible civil unrest? Could one of these things follow the rest?

The second thing you need to look for is what supplies and skills you have, then which ones you need. Do you have enough food to last more than three days? What about drinking water, hygiene necessities, or medicine? What about energy sources, such as generators? One last thing to consider is defense: Do you have weapons? Are you trained to protect yourself and your loved ones?

Last but not least is what will you do? This depends heavily on which disaster you may face, but the important always to ask yourself would be: Is the danger close by? Can you stay sheltered in place, or do you have to leave? My answer is you should have a plan for both. Look around at your friends and family, and I mean really look at them and think “can I trust this person with my safety and the safety of my loved ones”?

In closing I hope you found this thought provoking even if it was short. Remember these are just some ideas to get you started on your path to preparedness. I will cover them in more depth in later articles. Until then, watch your top knot and keep your eyes along the skyline.

Signed,

Bear Claw

“You head due west or any other directions tomorrow and you’ll be a starving pilgrim within a week. You aren’t likely to meet up with someone of my good nature”

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