When you think of emergency preparedness, there are a few things that immediately cross your mind. Most common of these things are emergency kits, emergency survival kits, first aid kits and planning for emergency escape. However, there are also some basic items other than the comprehensive readymade kits that are really important and can help you during more than one kind of emergencies. Some of these basic items that are really useful during disasters are discussed in this article. These items can be bought separately or as parts of the emergency survival kits.
Emergency Blankets and coverings:
These are very useful during many types of emergencies . For example, if you are stuck in a fire, a blanket can help protect you and help you escape the building easily. Also, if your car gets damaged and you're in middle of a road during winter season, an emergency blanket can keep you warm and protect you from chilling cold outside. Similarly, a protective covering can keep you warm during a natural disaster like an earthquake when you don't have electricity to power your heating devices. You can find these items in most of the emergency survival kits designed for natural disasters.
Emergency Water:
Pre-packaged water and easily portable containers of water can be of real use during a natural disaster. As everyone knows water is a real life saver during emergencies. Keeping yourself hydrated not only helps you during severe emergencies, but also helps reduce the level of stress caused by a difficult situation. Making appropriate arrangement of water storage and water supplies is one of the most basic steps towards emergency preparedness.
Emergency Food:
Ensuring a sufficient and quality supply of food can help you when you're going through a disaster and have no access to stores, your kitchen, restaurants, or any other regular sources of food supplies.
Communication equipments:
Items like radios, walkie-talkies, bullhorns etc. can help you communicate with your family when it is important to convey messages about your/their location, rescue needs, and guidance for rescue. They can also be useful when the emergency hits you at a crowded place. These equipments can be successfully used by the rescue teams to provide a guided pathway for escaping the situation to all victims.
Emergency Lighting:
Flashlights, torches, and candles can be useful if the disaster occurs during the night or where there is less availability of sunlight. Such situations occur mostly during the natural disasters when the powergrids fail and electrical supply is broken. Thankfully, many of the electrical equipments designed for emergency usage are powered by solar energy which is more likely to be available to charge batteries.
Basic Items for Emergency Preparedness