Nobody wants to imagine a natural disaster happening to them, but it is better to be prepared and have an earthquake preparedness kit on hand, just in case an earthquake occurs, then be sorry later. Thousands of earthquakes happen everyday and millions of people are not prepared for the week after the disaster because they have failed to put together a survival kit for an earthquake. Survival kits help you survive an earthquake for as long as it takes for the electricity, water, and food to become readily available again. These kits are also relatively easy to put together too.
What should be included in an earthquake preparedness kit?
The first thing you need to determine is who is going to be using your earthquake preparedness kit. The earthquake preparedness kit contents will be determined by the number of people who will be using the kit and whether you have pets. The contents will be the same for most people, but the quantity will differ according to the amount of people who will rely on the kit to survive.
Keeping that in mind, the first and foremost item you need in your earthquake preparedness kit is food. After a disaster occurs it is a good rule of thumb to have enough food for everybody to survive for three days. If three days does not seem long enough food-wise, you should remember that you can always ration your food to make it last or you can get a larger kit from the very start. The basic rule of thumb is having enough food to last three days until help from the government is able to come.
The food that you should keep in your earthquake kit should be non-perishable and non-refrigerated. Usually non-perishable foods have a shelf life of over two years, so you will not have to be replacing the food in your survival kit every month. It is important you keep the food in a dark, cool, and dry place. If the food becomes soggy or over heated, it can grow moldy and expire before it's shelf life is done.
It is also recommended that you keep a earthquake preparedness kit list someplace handy of all of the dates that your food will expire. Your earthquake preparedness kit might need to change as time goes by, perhaps a baby will be born or a family member will leave, and it is important to keep a reminder nearby so that it does not slip your mind to re-stock the kit.
Another “must have” item for your earthquake preparedness kit is water. The average person needs approximately a gallon of water a day in order to be healthy. The same rule of thumb that you used for food should be applied to water. You should keep about three days worth of water for everyone until the water supplies are back up. It is not enough to keep only one gallon of water per person though. It is recommended that you keep up to three gallons per person for cooking and hygienic purposes.
If you run of out water or if you notice that the water you have tastes funny, you should purify the water immediately before consuming anymore of it. Your earthquake preparedness kit should also include bleach or a water purifier. A water purifier would be the easiest way to purify your water as all you need to do is pour the water straight through. Another alternative you can use is bleach to sanitize your water. You can add 8 drops of bleach to your water to purify it if you do not have access to a water purifier.
Where can I get an earthquake preparedness kit?
You can get an earthquake preparedness kit in a number of different ways. Some of these ways include buying from a survival store in your area, buying from an online store, or making one yourself. There is no one best way to get kits, and the way you obtain yours will depend on your resources and personal preferences.
The cost of buying from a survival or online store can range anywhere from one hundred dollars to three hundred or more dollars depending on how large of a kit you need. These costs can seem overwhelming at first to some people, but you are paying for a top quality earthquake preparedness kit, which includes a large supply of food, water, and other necessary supplies. A kit would also be a one-time investment, and you can split the payments up in order to make the cost easier on yourself. Another positive about buying from a store, whether it be online or near you, is that you can do research ahead of time on different kits and purchase the best earthquake preparedness kit for you and your family.
If you are going to make one yourself, it is recommended that you follow a set of guidelines so that you do not forget to include anything in your survival kit. You can obtain a list of guidelines from a government sponsored website in order to ensure that you are including the necessary items within your earthquake preparedness kit. People often want to include luxuries, such as junk food or televisions, in their survival kits but it should only be for items you need to survive. Making a kit yourself can be economical, as you do not have to pay for the labor of someone else putting it together for you, but you might not get the same quality of kit that you would get from a store.
Who should get an earthquake preparedness kit?
Anyone, whether you live on a fault or not, should be prepared for an earthquake. The most dangerous part of an earthquake is not the actual earthquake, but surviving the next week without any food, water, or electricity. We live in such a world that we cannot imagine not having access to these items. Having an earthquake preparedness kit can save the lives of you and your family members, and can prove to be an invaluable resource to invest in.
