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Is Three Days Enough?

© Donna Satterlee

Earthquake Rocks El Salvador. Northeast Blanketed by Snowstorm. South Hit With Devastating Ice Storm. West Faces Power Shortage, Possible Blackouts. Powerful Storm Pummels California. Devastating Quake Rocks India. These are just a few of this winter’s headlines in the news. So what does that have to do with me you might be asking yourself? Plenty. If nothing else, it goes to show us that we can’t control where or when Mother Nature might decide to hit us with a devastating event. More important, it demonstrates once again, the purpose of having an emergency preparedness plan and supplies ready at all times.

Last month I discussed supplies that should be included in every kit. These supplies would last you about three days. I want to encourage you to supplement this kit with additional food and supplies. I truly believe you should have an emergency preparedness kit with supplies enough to last you and your family at least a week. When a major storm or other natural disaster hits an area, many, many people are affected. While your emergency response teams will begin to respond immediately, with widespread devastation, they can’t “fix” everything for everyone instantaneously. It is not uncommon to be without electricity for a week or more. Having supplies that will sustain your family for a week should give you time to regroup and seek additional assistance if necessary. In addition, I suggest that every family have a tent, sleeping bags and extra blankets to use as alternative housing should your residence be damaged and become uninhabitable.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and we don’t get hit by devastating storms, or natural disasters very often. But when we do it often moves in quickly. An ice storm can make driving hazardous, bring down tree limbs and power lines in a short amount of time. So even in this area, we never know when an unplanned event might strike and we will find our emergency kit a necessary item in our daily lives. This holds true wherever you might reside in this world of ours. Mother Nature makes her presence known worldwide. Since we can't control where, what or when an event might happen, we need to do what we can to be ready for her.

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