Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?

We have talked about the need to know basic first aid & CPR skills, but are you ready for an emergency?  What if we have a major earthquake or an electrical storm that knocks power out for several weeks or wildfires that wipe out our neighborhood?  Do you know what you would take with you if you had less than 5 minutes to decide?

Many people keep an emergency "Bug Out Bag" -- a bag / backpack with emergency supplies and important necessities that they can grab and go in a moments notice.  The BOB is based on a military pack that soldiers keep at the ready, but is in use around the world for places prone to tornadoes, military strikes, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, etc.

Take 5 minutes and make a list of everything you would stuff into a Bug Out Bag if we were in danger of some sort of emergency scenario.  Don't share your list or help others because we will be checking to see who does the best with this.-

What are some potential emergency scenarios?  Obviously some are less likely than others, but Lake County has endured a variety of emergencies over the years.  This winter parts of California dealt with phenomena that they never saw before -- three tornadoes in Chico within a weeks time, for example.  So it's good to prepare for all sorts of emergencies whether or not we plan to actually HAVE an emergency in our area.

• Floods
• Fires
• Wind Storms
• Earthquake
• Volcano
• Hurricane
• Virus Outbreak / Plague
• Chemical Weapon Attack
• Nuclear Attack
• Tornado
• EMP
• Power Grid Failure
• Military Attack / Invasion
• Revolution / Power Shift
• Economic Collapse
• Insect Infestation
• Zombie Apocalypse
• Asteroid
• Blizzard
• Aliens

Obviously there is little [or no] chance of these things happening [especially around here], but being prepared for anything means you are prepared for everything.