Natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and/or fires, can have disastrous and far reaching effects on our lives. Especially if we are not prepared!
Watching the news and seeing images of people who lost everything, their houses, cars, clothing, family heirlooms and photographs, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, has always made me think about how they were going to put their lives back together. While we can’t prevent or stop these events from happening, we can be prepared so that we can mitigate the damages.
Since we (at least most of the people getting this newsletter) live in California, earthquake territory, I put together a list of five important tips for how to be or how to get prepared for an earthquake. Hopefully this will provide information and motivate you to do something, anything, towards getting you and your loved ones ready, just in case…:
• Know your risks: Learn what to do before, during and after an earthquake. www.ready.gov is a great resource for emergency related information.
• Be Proactive: Make sure to have an earthquake kit. I have one in my car just in case I’m not home when an earthquake hits. See below for pre-made earthquake kits.
• Take action: Make a communications plan with other family members or friends NOW so you’ll have it when you need it. (notice I said when!)
• Fema.gov has great article entitled “How to Prepare for an Earthquake”. Here’s the link: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1408632135401-3d0521fa59d0dd4016e82f08fe7f3732/PrepareAthon_EARTHQUAKES_HTG_FINAL_508.pdf
• Make sure that you have all of your important documents together in one place so that you can recover your losses quickly (ie, insurance policies, photos of valuables, emergency contact list) I keep mine in a 3 ring binder that is easily accessible. If you want more detailed information about which documents to keep and how to get it all together, sign up for my newsletters (see the link below) and get a FREE Emergency List File.