Emergency Supplies Blog

GET AN AUTO EMERGENCY KIT.  THIS CHECKLIST WILL HELP YOU PLAN FOR JUST ABOUT ANY AUTO EMERGENCY.  

Bottled water, food bars, fire extinguisher, flashlight, tool kit, jumper cables, windshield scraper, tow rope, wire, duct tape, electrical tape, leather gloves, road flares and/or reflective sign, solar blanket, shovel, knife, facial tissue, paper towels, fix a flat or air compressor, jack, sand and sand, maps, compasss, cell phone, 12 volt strobe light, marine flares, CB radio, paper and pen, whistle, a first aid kit, leather gloves, hand and body warmers.

BELOW ARE SOME GREAT WAYS TO MAKE YOUR EMERGENCY SUPPLIES PORTABLE. 

Backpacks

Daypacks

Kid carriers

Suitecase with wheels

Duffle bag

Plastic five gallon buckets with lids

Garbage can with wheels

Wheelbarrow

Stroller

Hand truck or dolly

Wagon or other four wheel carts

Vehicles – car, truck, RV, boat, bicycle, motorcycle, trailer, campers.

   Many people make the mistake  of thinking that emergencies happpen to other folks.  Being prepared should be a part of your normal daily living.  Here are a few ideas to help you get started.

Establish a modest preparedness budget.  Get a three day emergency kit, emergency candles, a couple of solar blankets, some emergency food and water, and a first aid kit.  These are the basics.  Once you have the basics you can add additional supplies as needed.

Get reliable emergency preparedness information for your specific area from reliable sources governmental sources. 

Don’t think that everything has to be done all at once.  Gathering your supplies and applicable information is a process that should be reviewed every six months or so.   The main thing is to be consistent. 

Within a short period of time you will have the necessary emergency supplies to take care of yourself, your significant other, and/or your family. 

Don’t forget make a bring up in your planner or mark your calander to review your emergency supplies and preparedness plan every six months.

After a crisis occurs, it often brings a huge physical and emotional upheaval, resulting in needless panic and distress for survivors and victims. Sometimes it even happens that with the occurrence of a natural disaster the existing government system fails to meet the demands of innocent civilians. This is only because the damage that results after a disaster appears colossal as against the immediate available emergency supplies. Lack of proper supplies has taken the lives of many who could have survived had there been adequate search and rescue supplies available. With the right search and rescue supplies and equipments, a noticeably positive change can be brought to a crisis situation. There are many voluntary and non-voluntary organizations that work for search and rehabilitation during natural disasters. Community Emergency and Response Team CERTS are one such organization that works toward emergency preparedness and the hazards that occur suddenly.  Search and rescue could be classified into different types including, mountain rescue, urban search and rescue, combat search and rescue, and sea rescue.

So what rescue supplies are to be used during an urban crisis?

In most disaster situations it often takes considerable time for the search and rescue team to arrive. Since lives are at stake during that time, it depends on the victim to control the situation and take action, albeit with available disaster supplies. There are different types of rescue materials available in the market. Diverse rescue supplies are required during crisis.

Some are discussed below:

Reflective Vests:

The reflective vests are one of the best supplies to give to those in control. Since they can easily be seen from a distance due to the color, it helps the rescue operators to easily locate each other. The bright color of the vest acts as an instant notification for the search and rescue team to cue in on the location of the victim.

Lights and Horns:

Emergency lights, communication devices, and bullhorns also help to a great extent during the operation. In fact the bull horn or megaphone often helps the rescue operation go smooth. It enables the staff to produce loud sounds to direct people or it also helps the rescuers to understanding that help is needed.

Blankets and Bags:

Solar blankets and sleeping bags make important contents in keeping trauma victims warm. The solar blankets and sleeping bags help a great extent to use during temperature drops or overnight stay. A body bag also may help in transporting a dead person back to a specific area.

It is always best to keep search and rescue supplies ready as it often takes time for the first responders and/or rescue and search teams to reach an accident site. With the use of tools like flashlights, crow bars, shovels, fireman’s axe, sled hammers, ropes, etc…a situation can be controlled to a large extent. Staying alert to natural disasters is everyone’s basic responsibility, especially if he/she resides in a disaster-prone region like for flooding, hurricanes, tornados, fire prone areas, and other elements of your particular area.

With respect to places that will take your pet.  Check out dogster.com, catster.com, and petpop.com for sitters.  These sites are useful in other respects besided pet sitters.  Nancy

I looked at your printable emergency forms on your web site in the free information.  They are good and a lot of people will use them.  Nevertheless, I would suggest putting all of your emergency contact information, checklists, and plans on a zip drive.  Thats my preference since I travel with a lap top most of the time.

For many years, hurricanes have been a cause for concern in the Southeast United States. When storm season hits, people tune into local news services and other information sources in an attempt to figure out the best course of action. More recently, wild fires have decimated huge swaths of the California landscape. Residents there have had increased cause to pay attention to warnings and advisories.

Calls for evacuation are transmitted in many ways, including via radio. It’s especially helpful for concerned homeowners to keep an emergency radio at hand just in case the worst happens. By staying connected to the authorities, you can ensure the safety and security of your family during an evacuation.

Fear sometimes makes our nerves freeze still. The thought of losing our pets during a crisis can make you even more fragile. There are people who have pets at their homes and are so attached to them that they will not leave their home during a crisis.  There are also pet owners in a panic-laden situation that forget to carry their pets with them. The occupants are often then do not even have the option of getting back and bring their pets, resulting mostly in a tragic death of the helpless animal.  The responsibility of the owners increases even more with a pet that cannot discriminate between a dangerous and an ordinary situation.

With the sudden outbreak of a disaster, the circumstances may force the occupants to vacate their house within minutes.  It is necessary for the owners to learn the tips and precautions that are beneficial to help the pets. Similarly, using the same preventive measures to ensure that the pet is secured during an emergency is equally necessary. When you love your pet saving its life while battling against the odds is your duty.

What to do when the disaster strikes? When a disaster strikes most people care more about the human casualties than the animals. Essential services like water, food, and life support equipment are often lacking when it comes to treating pets. For surviving such shortfalls, you should ensure that when a crisis occurs, your pet is secured and cared for.  Here are some simple tips and tricks to follow:

Preparation for Pets:

- Know where your pets can be shifted during a crisis.

- Keep your pets’ vaccination card and records with you.

- Make an id card for your pet or use a dog tag id, providing the necessary information like contact name, address, phone numbers.

- Have disaster kits ready with equipments like extra ID tags, leashes, collars, water, food, medicines, photos and health records to prove your ownership.

- Prepare first aid kits with necessary vet information and medicines and also authorization to treat your pet.

- Gather relief information from multiple resources. So that when a crisis occurs you know where to get help from.

- Train your pet how to board the vehicles.

- Keep your neighbors informed that you own a pet and keep your neighbors contact information with you or in your emergency kit. – Know about the organization in your area that can help during a crisis.

- Always keep a photocopy of your pet and ownership papers.  

- Prepare a pet first aid kit with all the unique supplies, food, water, bowels, cages, pet vaccines, bandages, blanket and others supplies that may be needed.

- Last but not the least train your pet to differentiate between objects that should be gotten close to and the ones that are dangerous

Preparing for pet emergencies in advance is the main factor that will help save your pet in a crisis.  Getting  a pet emergency kit is a good place to start preparing for pet emergencies.

Pets are at times trusted by people more than their fellowmen, or so goes a saying. Therefore, isn’t it obvious that you would want to keep your pet safe and secure from injuries or harm? However, with animals as frolicsome as cats and dogs, accidents do happen and pets often hurt themselves – some with minor scratches while others sustain severe injuries.

Therefore, pet safety products are important to keep in your house as well as in and around places where your pet frequents. For instance, if you take your pet cat to your chamber or work station every morning for some hours of pure fun, take care to have a pet first aid kit installed within your work area to prevent emergency situations from getting out of hand. Pet safety products especially, medical emergency kits meant for pets come in handy for owners who don’t have vets or vet hospitals near their home. You’ll need pet safety products and emergency supplies to safeguard your pampered pets from any harm. In fact, during Hurricane Katrina, pet owners had abandoned exotic animals and pets as they didn’t have any pet safety products to take care of their darlings. Hundreds of animals strayed onto the streets as their owners ditched them due to the unavailability of pet safety emergency supplies and first aid kits for the creatures.

You can stop this from happening to your cute little Pomeranian or by planning well before disaster strikes. A pet safety kit is easily available online – from hundreds of dealers catering to the demands of pet owners. It doesn’t cost a fortune too – starting from only $45.00! With the investment being so less, saving your favorite bird or pooch is not that difficult as you would have assumed. A pet first aid kit contains a lot of what is carried in a pack of emergency preparedness supplies or medical first aid kits meant for humans. These include – bandages, wraps, splints, pet ointments, poop bags, emergency food supplies and water storage suitable for the pet, chew sticks and blankets. You may also carry a toy to engage the pet while first aid is being administered to it.

Saving your pet in case of sudden emergencies neither costs you a fortune in terms of money nor is it as complicated as it may sound. Pet safety products have simplified the whole procedure down to ‘Do-it-Yourself’! All you need to do is know what to do and when to do it!

Once you have your emergency kit and supplies and a plan; staying informed before, during, and after an emergency is vital.  

 A good emergency radio that does not need batteries is the best.  One that has a flashlight built into it is good.   A portable AM/FM shortwave radio is even better.  Here is one that comes with 4 shortwave bands, TV Channels 2-13, weather channel, and VHF high bank to keep you informed.