Are You Prepared in Case of a Disaster?

Photo credit 22 News WWLP.com

When the tornado struck Western Massachusetts leaving 4 dead and dozens injured, I realized how dismally unprepared our family was to cope with a disaster. As I mentioned in this post from June 9th - http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/2011/06/counting-our-blessings.html - I couldn't even find batteries to work the main radios in the house. I had to settle for a hand-held radio that was powered by two AA-battery to keep me connected to the outside world.

Perhaps part of the issue is that up until recently, natural disasters haven't caused a great deal of problems in our area. While 152 twisters were recorded in Massachusetts between 1951 and 2008, according to this article in The Christian Science Monitor, the most severe occurred in 1953. It's been a while since our area saw this type of destruction. This follows a dreadful winter filled with record-breaking snowfall that caused some school districts--including ours--to sacrifice days from their April vacation in order to avoid attending school through the end of June or into July.

FEMA has an online guide titled Are You Ready?: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness. You can find it at http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/

One of the things it mentions is assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit for home, work, and your car. As part of this move toward being better prepared, I ordered a review sample from Daily Bread. They offer 25-year worry-free food storage. According to the brochure I received with my Beef Stew sample, their gourmet entrees are made with real meats and vegetables and can be prepared with very little water. No cooking is involved.

Since we went on vacation right after our sample arrived, I haven't prepared it yet, but I plan to soon. I'll come back with additional comments after that. While purchasing food this way is definitely an investment, the peace of mind it offers can be worth it. I have to admit I didn't like feeling very helpless that afternoon as we lost all power and even cell phone service was sporadic at best. This is the year our family becomes better prepared to cope with natural disasters.