Essential Tips for Building An Earthquake Preparedness Kit
Does the threat of shifting tectonic plates have you worried? Are the terrestrial hazards of living on or near a fault line disconcerting enough to make you think twice about how you will cope with a catastrophic earthquake? Earthquakes can wreak havoc on your home in the forms of flood damage and fire damage. A large earthquake could rob you of your home altogether, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare the essentials that could very well save your life in the event of large loss due to such a natural disaster.
Properly preparing for an earthquake takes time and should be approached with a clear, patient mind. Understanding essential tools and goods for survival, how to select the right items, how to store them, and when to update your cache are all foundational in getting your earthquake preparedness kit rumbling. OK, enough with the ground shaking metaphors; here’s how to start building your kit:
- Start by planning your supply for at least seven days, but expect to grow your supply over time. Opting for the worst case scenario is usually the modus operandi of natural disaster preparedness. Optimal planning necessitates a couple of kits--one larger kit in the home and a smaller one in your vehicle. Typically, foot lockers, 30 gallon plastic trash bins fitted with shelves, or large backpacking packs suffice for a home kit. A smaller day pack can be used for portable vehicle kits.
- Determine which items have the shortest shelf life and place them in the most accessible part of the kit. Dry, canned, and instant food are survival essentials. Labeling all food is imperative since chances are you’ll forget about your kit and what’s in it. Nothing is worse than losing water and power after an earthquake and popping open that bag of instant food only to find that it is grossly expired. Attention to detail is paramount.
- Next you need to evaluate the most essential items (after food) to include in your stockpile. First aid kits, flashlights, batteries, portable radios, water purification tablets, bottled water, blankets, extra clothes, and personal hygiene items are all critical elements of any earthquake preparedness kit, no matter how rudimentary. You should organize these things in the kit by shelf life and for accessibility.
- Organize all of your supplies in the kit container and check the dates on perishable food items a couple of times per year. Also, replace batteries and replenish water supplies every couple of months. Keep things like tents, sleeping bags, cooking gear, fire extinguishers, axes, crowbars, hammers, and other tools in an easily accessible location for immediate retrieval.
- Finally, store your home kit in a safe location where it will be easily accessible in the event of an earthquake. In the case that the kit is inaccessible, always keep a mobile kit of the same variety in your car or garage.
Effective natural disaster preparedness begins with understanding the realities of how disasters like earthquakes affect modern infrastructure and anticipating what you’ll need to survive in the aftermath. Having a well composed earthquake preparedness kit is an important step for holding your ground when terra firma isn’t.