Every year hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are displaced out of their homes from natural disasters. You hear lots of talk about disaster planning and emergency preparedness. But in a worst-case scenario, how would you protect your family in a basic survival situation? Would you have the survival training needed to get through a disaster?
Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes are more common in certain parts of the country than others. But the side effects of such natural disaster like fallen trees, downed power lines, disruption of basic emergency services and food and water shortages can happen almost anywhere. In an emergency, help may not be available for hours or even days.
In Connecticut, not long ago, where a freak snow storm had thousands of homeowners without power for as long as two weeks demonstrates how serious it can be. Could you survive such a situation?
That is where survival training, emergency preparedness and disaster planning can really help you. A good survival handbook can teach you all of those things and more. It can teach enough, in fact, to get you through most disasters.
When such an emergency occurs, police, fire department, paramedics and other emergency personnel are overwhelmed with requests for their assistance. So the burden shifts to individuals for their own survival. And who better to learn new skills from than a retired fire department Captain who trained citizens during much of his lifetime.
Here are several hands-on tips on evacuation, salvaging, decontamination, vehicle rescue, search and rescue and other life-saving tools. It has everything from: rescuing people out of building rubble; to fighting fires with a garden hose; to shutting off gas and electricity safely and quickly; to setting up emergency sanitation systems and how to make contact with friends and family when normal communications are disrupted.
It is a necessity for anyone who lives in disaster prone areas of the country which covers a lot of ground.
Another very useful book offers unique ways to survive natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, epidemics and earthquakes. It suggests 21 simple inexpensive steps to drastically improve your chances of surviving any disaster. It shows you where to locate inexpensive essential supplies like clothing, tools, guns and more. It suggests where to find nourishing, cheap foods to feed you and your family for one month or more and helps you decide whether to stay in your home or leave during an emergency.
These manuals on survival techniques are two of the best for basic survival skills.
This Disaster Handbook is a great reference book for everyone.
The book on Shoestring Survivalism offers techniques for preparing for difficult times including natural disasters.