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.
- When the Oroville Dam threatened failure in early 2017, 180,000 faced immediate evacuation orders, some coming with less than five minutes of warning.
And this is a partial list at best; the dangers facing your follower base likely include some of these dangers as well as numerous other catastrophes.
You Can’t Prepare After the Fact
With events like earthquakes, terror attacks, or infrastructure failures, there is no warning at all; there is only the response that follows. If a household has not taken the time to prepare before such disasters, there is no time left to mitigate the challenges of the response. If you take it from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s own statement: “You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. You could get help in hours or it might take days. This means having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours.”
That’s right, the agency tasked with emergency management says we will likely have to fend for ourselves following a disaster. Now there’s a talking point to note as you spread awareness.
Get a Good Go Bag
VLES Designs founders Karina and Stuart Warshaw didn’t create these bags or serve as firefighters and EMTs for the money. Nor did they become American Red Cross CPR instructors or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members for the cash.
Neither was direct involvement in Hurricane Irene or direct impact by Superstorm Sandy financially driven. The training and experiences of the staff at VLES Designs coalesced to inspire development of our brand: we saw a need that wasn’t met, so we went out to meet it.
They started the company because they care deeply about sharing the products and spreading the awareness that can help keep people safe during the worst scenarios they will ever face. That’s why we not only offer a fully stocked emergency kit, but why we include literature like a quick checklist and a comprehensive Readiness Playbook that features a tear-off emergency plan and readiness test. Our passion for promoting safety through preparation also explains why we list the supplies included in the GO-bag on our site and offer downloads of the Readiness Playbook for free. Check out the link, and be as ready as you can be.
https://vlesdesigns.com/
