Emergency Management Online – Be Ready for Anything

October 8th, 2009

Any emergency management online website will give you good solid information on what you will need to get through and emergency as well as how to handle the aftermath. When you peruse emergency preparedness online sites you will often see the term 72 hour emergency kits. These are emergency kits designed to help you get through the first few days after an emergency. Whether it is a manmade emergency or natural disaster the first 72 hours are crucial and you must be ready for it in order to survive. Emergency preparedness kits can contain all sorts of different items depending on where you live and what kind of disaster threat your region is prone to.

72 Hour Emergency Kits – Stay Safe by Planning

October 1st, 2009

72 hour emergency kits are the key to surviving emergency situations. No matter what type of emergency you may be facing - hurricane, earthquake, contagious disease, fire, flood, or terrorist attack, you must have a plan and that plan needs to include a 72 hour emergency kit for everyone in your family. 72 hours worth of supplies is the standard as that is what is perceived to be the amount of time it could take to stabilize after and emergency. It is the time it takes for all contingencies and assessments to accurately understand the level of damage done by a disaster and how long until things are back to normal.  Hopefully, you will never have to use a 72 hour kit, but it’s far better to have it and never need it then to need it and not have it…

FEMA Emergency Preparedness – Find out What You Need in an Emergency

September 24th, 2009

FEMA emergency preparedness advice is detailed yet varies as to what to pack in your kit depending on where you live and what kind of disasters could be expected. However, wherever you live there are certainly items every kit should contain. It is important to make sure everyone in your family has a FEMA emergency preparedness 72 hour emergency kit. You should always have the kits at the ready and in a place where the whole family knows they are. The kits will greatly increase your survival chances after a disaster.

FEMA emergency preparedness experts highly recommend that each kit should contain food and water, cash, medication, clothing and bedding, first aid kit, personal effects and documents including identification and a flashlight. The light is going to be very important and the best type of flashlight is one that doesn’t require batteries. Chances are the electricity will be out and you will need to a light source that can be used for an extended period of time.

Emergency Kits – Build One Now

September 13th, 2009

Emergency kits are a necessary evil – disasters can occur anywhere, anytime.  Unfortunately disasters are a reality in life and having a well prepared kit could very well save your life. Emergencies happen every day to all kinds of people. There is neither rhyme nor reason and usually there isn’t sufficient warning. That is why you must have an emergency contingency plan that includes kits for emergency situations of all types. We face tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, tsunamis even terrorist attacks all over this country and if we are not well prepared then we risk not only our lives but those of our families as well.

Emergency kits need to be put together right now. Too many people talk about preparedness, usually right after something has happened to someone else, but they rarely put the thought into action. That can be a real killer, literally. You must sit down and think out emergency contingency plans and then put together a 72 hour emergency kit. The first 72 hours in a disaster is crucial and once you have survived the first few hours of an emergency you are usually in pretty good shape.

Emergency kits differ depending on the location and people involved and types of emergencies they may face. However, every 72 hour emergency kit should have the basics and they should be reassessed regularly to maintain their viability. Food and water, medications, bedding and clothing, personal papers including identification as well as phone numbers and addresses of family members and friends, money, radio, a good first aid kit and waterproof matches or lighter are all essential to a well built 72 hour emergency kit. Also essential is a good light source. Emergency kits should all include a flashlight that doesn’t require batteries. In most emergencies of any size, electricity will be cut off for a period of time and light is essential. Not having reliable lighting can be very dangerous – without light it may be impossible to  signal emergency personnel.

Emergency kits should have no battery flashlights so light is available if and when needed.  A no battery flashlight makes sense for other reasons too. Batteries are corrosive and fail to work properly in cold environments.  Having to keep fresh batteries in an emergency kit can also be challenging and inconvenient. Even with fresh batteries, a standard flashlight is only useful for a few hours – after that it’s dead weight. A no battery flashlight will see you through any emergency, no matter how long it lasts.  You also want to keep your 72 hour emergency kit as compact and sustainable as possible. To achieve this goal, the need for batteries must be minimized if not eliminated all together.

School Emergency Management – Being Prepared Can Save Lives

September 9th, 2009

School emergency management is extremely important. Emergencies are downright scary and especially so if they occur in a school. No one wants to think about emergencies occurring at school but as we have seen over and over again, they happen far too frequently. Shootings, bomb threats, fire or natural disaster can happen at any moment. Parents should ask questions about what school emergency management plans are in place and how the school intends on dealing with them if an emergency occurs. Then you should review those plans with your child and make sure that school officials do as well.

Most school emergency management programs are pretty good and they have things well in hand should a problem occur but you can never be too careful. When querying your child’s school, make sure they have preparedness kits available in case of a long term emergency lasting up to 72 hours. The first 72 hours of an emergency situation are the most crucial and having a well prepared emergency 72 hour kit available to the kids could be the difference between life and death. You should have a 72 hour emergency kit at home too for each member of your family as well.

School emergency management departments will have a different sort of 72 hour emergency kit than you would at home but there are still some basics the school should have packed in their kits. Each classroom should have their own kit with supplies for as many kids as there are in the class. Food and water, bedding materials, a good first aid kit, radio and most importantly an emergency flashlight that doesn’t require batteries for each student and the teacher. Darkness is dangerous in an emergency situation especially where kids are involved. Any emergency situation can obviously cause  panic and keeping panic to a minimum is essential in preventing injuries. Being in the dark can only increase the chance of  panic and potential harm.

School emergency management departments need to be aware that there is also another important reason for to provide students with emergency no battery flashlights and that is as a signaling device. Should there be a situation in which emergency teams need to locate victim, a light source comes in very handy. The other thing about no battery flashlights is that you don’t have to worry about batteries dying in the 72 hour kit before you actually need them.