Sallie, at A Gracious Home, has written a post today about preparing for natural disasters.I've been thinking of the same thing again recently, even before the news accounts of the flooding in England.
My introduction to the Internet happened when I became an Administrator on an emergency preparedness website in the 1990s. I have long been interested in the subject, probably as part of my interest in simple living and getting back to the land (before I became a Yuppie...a very long story).
At the website, I was in charge of the books section (of course!) and the section that dealt with items that can be purchased to help through a crisis. I had been researching the subject since the 1970s and I enjoyed being a part of that site and teaching what I had learned. Most of my longtime Net friends were met there.
I know our state continues to have commercials once in awhile, suggesting a few weeks worth of food, water, and emergency supplies in case of natural, man made, or terrorist type disasters. However, one of my friends who lives in the American Southwest told me last year that she had a long conversation with people in her nearest town who were in charge of local emergency preparedness. They were suggesting stocking what one could for even more than a few weeks. She said they don't believe most Americans take the need for preparedness seriously (you'd think we would after Katrina).
I've already written a great deal about it under Homemaking In Difficult Times. I also have some Preparedness Links on the lower right hand section of the side bar. Basically it is as easy as purchasing some extra necessities each time you go to the grocery store as well as at least one container of water with each grocery store visit until you have enough (water must be rotated as the plastic is meant to break down over time ...ask me how I know).
There is plenty of information available if you want to do further research. There is a lot that can be done on a budget, too. Items must be stored properly. A little research will reap big rewards. Along the way, you also come to realize the important of simplicity in cooking and homemaking. :)
Thanks, Sallie, for the reminder!
3 comments:
We never used to have to plan for natural disasters in the UK. Our climate was so gentle and temperate. It seems that recently we have all learnt that householders must plan for flooding, and to a certain extent hurricanes. There were hurricanes in both Birmingham and London last year which caused damage to properties, if not lives. It also seems that we must come to terms with our changing climate and plan for that accordingly.
I agree completely. The weather in our area has been strange, too. We had a heat spell in early Spring, followed by a week of colder -than -average freezing temperatures that did a lot of damage.
It seems we have heard "near record" or "record breaking" highs and lows a lot in the past few years.
Oh, thanks! I was wondering what to do with our non-perishables which I'll no longer be buying because they're not organic. I was trying to think of a local food bank in our area to give them to, but when I saw your post, it came to me that I can store these things here for emergencies. Thanks, again, and thanks for your comments at my blog! Blessings, Debra
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