No matter what type of emergency you encounter, you should be prepared. Whether you are faced with a situation only affecting you and your family or a large-scale emergency, readiness is key.
If you want to be ready for emergencies look no further. Below you find five tips to stay prepared.
1. Make Sure You Have the Right Insurance
Whether it is your personal property that is damaged or something directly happens to you or your loved ones, insurance is important. You can make it through emergency situations. But when you do get through them, you will be glad that you had current and required policies in place.
Be certain you stay on top of insurance requirements specific to your needs and required for your neighborhood. You don’t want to get hit by someone and not have the correct auto insurance. And you don’t want to not have flood insurance when a situation like flooding impacts you. No matter your emergency, you need insurance.
2. Have Plenty of Water and Food in Storage
While this strategy might pertain to more widespread emergencies, you can always benefit from having these essentials on hand. But if a major event happens that could limit your access to the items you need, water and food need to be available.
As a general rule of thumb, you need eight glasses of water each day. And you can get about 15 to 16 glasses out of one gallon. You also want to have non-perishable food in storage. Do not forget to have essential items like lighters, can openers, pots, and general cooking utensils to help with meal prep.
3. Make Sure You Have a First Aid Kit
For minor and major emergencies, a first aid kit is handy. Not only do you need to have the essential items, but you need to make sure all items are in good shape and not expired. When was the last time you organized your first-aid kit?
And while you are thinking about it, you might want to go ahead and make sure you have two kits. Place one in your home and grab another one to have handy in your vehicle. Because whenever and wherever an emergency hits, you want to be ready for whatever type of situation. Not having a first aid kit could actually be the difference between life and death.
4. Enure Vehicles Are Serviced
If an emergency impacts you and requires you to leave your home or something happens while on the road, you do not want to get stuck on the highway because you put off changing your oil. Make sure you use oil change stickers to remind you of when the oil needs to be serviced and don’t put off other auto maintenance needs, too.
You must make sure your tires are in good shape and that you have a spare, as well as a way you can change a worn-out tire. Pay attention to your different fluid levels for your breaks, steering, transmission, and wipers. And don’t forget to regularly check your brake pads and lights. Keep at least one tank’s worth of gas somewhere, too.
5. Be Certain of Emergency Routes and Contacts
When you need to get out of town or if you have to get somewhere even faster in your own community, you must know the best routes. If you faced heavy traffic, what different routes could you take? Grab yourself an atlas and keep that handy. You have smaller road maps from which you can choose, too.
And what emergency contact information must you know other than 911? Have a notebook with all of your important phone numbers. If for some reason your phone were dead, you need to still have access to your contacts. You will need to jot down your professional emergency contacts and your personal ones.
You Can Make It through Any Emergency Situation
If an emergency rears its ugly head do not let that emergency get the best of you. Be confident that you will be able to handle any type of crisis, no matter the size or scope. All you have to do is make sure you are prepared, and each of the five tips above will help ensure you are ready.
