Emergency Preparedness! How Creators Can Prepare for Disruptions and Disasters of All Kinds

Responding effectively to emergencies and disasters is almost always the result of preparation. With a little forethought, know-how, and planning ahead, creators with a DIY and community spirit are uniquely positioned to help themselves and others in dire situations.

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But what threats should we invest in to prepare for? Risk is calculated by multiplying the probability by the consequences. Many small emergencies have minimal consequences, but happen frequently: power outages, network outages, even supply chain issues that limit our access to everything from food to fuel. At the other end of the spectrum are events that are less likely, but have dramatic impacts: disturbances that spread over a large area or last a long time, or rare catastrophic events like a tsunami, earthquake or a super storm. The likelihood varies depending on your locality and situation.

Preparing for any event is almost impossible. Therefore, determining which risks are most important to you requires research and thought. But regardless of the risks, your best investment is usually to prepare to meet your most basic needs: food, water, shelter, and security, in various scenarios.

Survival experts talk about the rule of three: Humans can survive about 3 hours in extreme cold or heat, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. These numbers provide a fundamental framework for preparation. If you are traveling on icy roads during northern winters, having an emergency kit in your trunk with blankets and a candle warmer is a must to avoid hypothermia. If you live in an earthquake zone, storing enough water for your family may be a necessity. If you're in a place where food deliveries might be interrupted for a month, rotating food stocks is a good idea.

The topic of "survivalism" is fraught with social and political issues that often distract from practical emergency preparedness. History shows that the best disaster outcomes come from strong communities working together. We therefore consider that the preparation is something more effective when it is carried out in collaboration with our neighbours. We'll leave the subject of self-defense to other forums to discuss.

Plan your preparation: To structure your planning, it is helpful to consider some variables that will alter how you prepare for events. At the highest level, these are: time, gravity, motion and inclusion.

How long is an outage likely to last? It makes a big difference in how you prepare. Having basic foods on hand is great preparation, but storing enough for a few weeks is very different from storing enough for a year. Some skills, like rotating inventory so you use the oldest ones first, are great for all plans, but worst-case scenarios can potentially change your goal from "lots of cans" to "whole grain wheat stored in bins." with CO2 to avoid insects. .” It's comforting to think that we can be prepared for any length of event, but it comes at a cost. Determining what works for your family, your space, and your budget is key.

SEVERITY

How bad will it be? There is a big difference between a municipality issuing a boil water advisory and having the water lines run dry. (Or, as recently happened in Texas, a boil water advisory at the same time natural gas is turned off to homes!) Simple preparation can be to have a few gallons of water handy of hand as well as containers to store boiled water. Extreme situations may require you to rely on local non-potable water sources or alternative fuels to boil water. Knowing how much water your group needs is important to plan for different severities.

MOVEMENT

Where will you go? One of my favorite survival books is dedicated to the "inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum who, under the mockery and insults of their neighbors, packed up at night and left". In many emergency situations, sheltering in place is not an option. Planning a flight brings a very different set of considerations...