Most people already know that it is good to have a supply of bottled drinking water and prepared foods on hand in case of a power outage or some sort of natural disaster. Even worse, in today’s environment we must be concerned with the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Every day there is a chance that you will find yourself trapped inside your home due to weather conditions, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, or even wildfires that may cut you off from the local market and who has not heard of the dire predictions for the latter months of the year 2012? Whether or not you believe in these predictions, it is always a good idea to be prepared for the unexpected.
Some of you may have your stockpiles of food and water, maybe you even have weapons stored to protect your supplies, but what happens if you must leave these stockpiles behind? Are you prepared?
Don’t forget to consider your family members when making your preparations. Set up a primary and secondary meeting place for you to regroup with your family if you should be separated at the time of the occurrence. These should be places other than your home, just in case.
You might even want to consider one or two possible meeting points outside of town just in case the disaster or attack is city wide, and then take a look at possible routes of travel to get there, both on foot as well as by vehicle. Keeping a backpack prepared for such a trip could be extremely useful, and it should include some basic survival gear including a few days rations of food and water, a good knife, fire starting tools, a change of clothes, fishing line and hooks, small rope, a battery radio with extra batteries, an emergency blanket, a first aid kit, and maybe even a book on primitive survival tactics could come in handy.
Your survival pack could be kept in the same room of your home that you would use to gather during a tornado or hurricane; a room preferably protected from the possibility of flying glass or debris, and this is where you would keep some of your other supplies too.
One of the primary tools of survival that is more often overlooked is your personal level of fitness. Being in good physical condition can increase your odds of survival with or without a stockpile of supplies.
If you do not have the physical ability to dig yourself out, carry your survival pack, or make a trek through the woods, your odds of survival can be severely diminished. Not only can good physical conditioning help you escape an initial attack or disaster, your long term odds of survival can be increased too.
People who manage their physical condition have a better chance of surviving illness, and can outlast others in more extreme environments. It also helps us with everyday tasks, improves mood, and cuts down on medical bills. When it comes to survival, or just quality of life, maintaining good physical conditioning is essential.
Amazon.com has a good selection of survival books available and if you find you are in need of improving your level of fitness, Fitness Coach Jim can get you started. Most of the gear you will need can be found at your local sporting goods store, but be sure to get quality products. You wouldn’t want your equipment to fail when you need it the most.