The importance of family emergency preparedness

If disaster strikes, would you and your family be prepared? Probably not a question you ask yourself everyday however the actions taken in the initial moments of an emergency could be crucial to survival. 

Extreme weather, natural disasters, chemical exposures or just an unfortunate event; there is an endless list of emergency situations that we could find ourselves in, but the question is, how should we prepare for the worst?

In today’s ever-changing climate we never know exactly what emergencies could be around the corner and so, the key is to be prepared for the unknown. How would you and your family survive, for example, if access to amenities ceased to exist tomorrow? Should a crisis occur, how would you access clean, safe drinking water? Human life can only last three days without water so having an emergency back-up isn’t just a nicety, it’s essential for survival.

Emergency prepping should be treated seriously and an emergency survival kit – key to ensuring that not only are you prepared to run out the door when disaster strikes but that all your essential items are packed up and at your aid, enabling you to best respond to any given situation. A well thought out exit plan should also form part of any prep work, giving you an element of control in an uncontrollable situation and allowing you to best ensure your family’s safety.

When preparing your survival kit, have a think about the following emergency realities:

• Where would myself and my family go to in an emergency?
• How would we get where we needed to go?
• What would happen if we couldn’t find shelter?
• Should amenities cease to exist, how would we access a safe, clean water source?
• Do we have access to food which could be easily stored, sealed, ready to go and non-perishable?
• Clothes for any eventuality for yourself and your whole family
• Forms of identification, medical requirements or emergency medication
• A way to get in touch with others aside from your mobile or house phone?
• A pet plan – as part of the family, their safety counts too!

It is important to remember that in some instances, the crisis could be over within hours or days but unfortunately, there could be situations that occur for a much longer period and so you need to think through all possible emergencies when preparing, to ensure ultimate survival.

Preparing for three or more days without food, water or shelter is highly important. When making preparations for emergency water sources, be aware of expiration dates with stored water, which is recommended to be stored in food grade containers for no longer than 6 months at a time. It’s also important that when accessing a found water source, a tried and tested water filter is used, such as the LifeSaver Family Emergency Preparedness Pack or Ultimate Emergency Preparedness Pack. Water contamination can happen quickly when in the case of floods or hurricanes, and a basic water filter such as those used for camping, are not sufficient to ensure ultimate protection against virus, bacteria and cysts. See our blog on how to choose a portable water filterfor more details.

The consequences of drinking contaminated water can be life threatening and so it’s important that when purchasing a water filtration product, that it has the technology to keep you and your family safe. LifeSaver water purification products provide clean, safe to drink water without the need for electricity or chemicals. The emergency preparedness packs are also delivered in aluminium foil sealed packaging which extends the product’s shelf life to up to 10 years. Perfect for your emergency survival kit.

We often take for granted our lifestyle and luxuries, without a second thought for what may come, but if we were faced with unforeseen circumstances, would you and your family be ready for an emergency?