Saying: “It won’t happen to us” is a poor disaster response plan. And thinking: “It can’t happen here” is categorically wrong. There are all sorts of “its” out there, and they can and do happen, here, there, everywhere. And when it happens, there might be only minutes in which to get out the door and go. Emergencies don’t wait for us to get ready.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that you can minimize the impact that “it” has when it happens. How? By getting getting the supplies you need at the ready.

A Few of the “Its” We face

• More than 9,100 wildfires scorched California in 2017 alone. 2018’s record large burn, the 300,000-plus-acre Mendocino Complex Fire, displaced tens of thousands of people.

• Following the 9/11 attacks, tens of thousands of people were displaced, with hundreds of thousands exposed to hazards like fire, dust, and particulates. According to The American Preparedness Project, 83% of us worry about another attack happening.

• Hurricanes have displaced millions of Americans so far in the 21st Century; after Katrina, more than one million residents were initially forced from their homes. Hurricane Sandy temporarily displaced more than 775,000 people across 24 states.

• California has not experienced a magnitude 7.0 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault System in more than 100 years. Seismologists calculate a 93% probability of the so-called Big One striking before the year 2045.

• Tornado warning systems offer an average lead-time of 13 minutes, but residents often have much less notice. And as most tornadoes move across the ground at 30 miles per hour (some have traveled at 70 MPH), there is no time to waste after the warning.

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