There have been so many disasters in the past few years throughout regions all over the world. Many, many people experienced disasterous and unbelievable hardships from earthquakes, sunamis, floods, hurricanes, tornados and other traumatizing events. How many of them, I wonder, were even minimally prepared? Many lives were lost, many people were hurt and injured and there were billions of dollars in damages to property. Japan alone has had numerous earthquakes this year, earthquakes so enormous and destructive that day-to-day operations came to sudden halt.  Amazing!

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were suddenly involved in a disaster?  Large or small, it pays to be prepared.  And you will thank yourself for taking action to begin building a supply of resources and supplies, making plans to ease the difficult situations you will find yourself in, in the event of a disaster.  You may not have the funds to purchase everything you will need but you can start small and build.

This year, the gas lines in my entire neighborhood were upgraded.  For the safety of everyone concerned, all gas service was shut off.  Mine was shut off for four days!  Why? Because when the upgrade was completed and the new meters were installed, I was unable to take off work right away.  So I was probably the only one in the area with no service.  I had no hot running water so I could not take a shower.  I couldn't cook, I couldn't dry my clothes and I had no central heat. I had to go live with a family member until I could take a vacation day off to have my services restored and checked for safety. 

I have experienced power outages as I am sure probably everyone has at some time in life.  The food in my refrigerator spoiled, I couldn't cook, wash or dry my clothes or read because I had no electricity.  I had no way to automatically open and close the garage door genie. I had no alarm clock, no television, no cordless telephone usage - no lights or power!  Now that's scary.  But I did have some emergency supplies that I had already began to stock up on.  So that made my experience much less tramatic.

Now the two above mentioned incidents pale in comparison to a major disaster.  But I was miserable non the less. Even though it may seem trivial on the surface, it was a huge inconvenience.  I can't imagine what it would be like if it had a major disaster.  But I do know that if I find myself part of a disaster, I want to be as totally prepared as I can.

Very soon, I will be posting articles and resources and tips for you to take advantage of.  And I hope you will seriously avail yourselves to this information.  Almost all of the information I offer will be free to you. But I will also refer you to a site I like where you can begin purchasing some supplies.  If you can purchase a large supply of items, great!  If not, start small and keep building.  Get your relatives, friends, neighbors and coworkers involved and refer them to this site so that they can start preparing too.

So check back regularly for my updates and make a conscious decision to start your emergency preparedness plan today!

You won't be sorry.