earthquake! emergency survival kit

8/3/2019 Earthquake! Emergency Survival Kit

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Earthquake! Emergency Survival Kit

The recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster that Japan is still dealing withhad been in the forefront of world news for months. What a tragedy! Much humansuffering could have been avoided with the availability of a prepared survivalkit ready to go for any emergency.

Could a disaster of this magnitude have been avoided? Not really, considering Japan’s lack of usable land and their population. Of course, without all the people they would have little use for the energy provided by the nuclear/electric facilities.

Could the nuclear facilities have been made safer? Probably. Is this a dire warning about nuclear safety in general? Not really. It is a warning about beingprepared for just such an emergency.

Being in a historically earthquake prone area of the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire” , wouldnot be my first choice for a nuclear-electric generating facility. A constant p

ossibility of some sort of natural event like earthquakes, tsunami’s, volcanic activity, typhoons/hurricanes or even just a rapid rise in sea level would make anyarea of Japan’s coastal plain unusable for a nuclear facility, I would think.

Having said that, let’s go on to the choices I would make for a survival kit for use in case of an earthquake with the added hazard of a local nuclear plant whoseoperational safety has been compromised.

Since this will be a grab-and-go survival kit versus a stay-at-home preparation, we will concentrate on portability and efficiency when selecting our survivalitems.

Water. Water and a container(s) to carry it in that is easy and problem fre

e. A hydration pack is an excellent choice if you need to evacuate fast.

A canteen or two is fine but remember that the human body needs a minimum of aliter a day for bare survival, two liters is what you should aim for. Since water is heavy and bulky I would suggest carrying two-three liters in a hydration pack .

An easy and cheaper alternative would be plastic beverage bottles. Plastic soft drink bottles are very handy and come in two liter sizes. Plastic bottles can be rigged up in a bag or sling for over-the-shoulder carrying.

For the remainder of your water requirements I suggest a water-filter bottle t

hat will help you use water in the field . I have a one-liter filter bottle that will filter out most microbes and water-born parasites as well as clean up thechlorine taste from treated water.

First Aid; Because buildings and other structures are collapsing and fires starting, the amount of injuries sustained by the population is enormous. Youmust have first aid supplies and a first aid manual to benefit you and your family at the very least.

These supplies must include; Bandages and tape, topical anti-biotic cream, aloevera or other burn lotion, disposable gloves, alcohol wipes, scissors, scalpel, tweezers, safety pins, needles and thread(suture packs), a tube of super glue, gauze rolls, large sterile pads for dressings, sanitary napkins for blood abso

rption, tincture of iodine, ammonia inhalants, aspirin, salt tablets, potassiumiodide pills, dosimeter, a candle or heat tabs, emergency blanket(space blanket), aluminum foil, fire-starter(matches, lighter, flame thrower) and maybe some te



a bags, bouillon cubes or instant coffee.Any medications you or your family must use should be included as well as so

me cash money, silver if possible.

A knife is also a must have item for survival in any disaster or emergency situation. I would suggest a solid, full-tang hunting knife with a fixed blade about five or six inches long.

It is a good idea to choose your knife carefully as it could be a life or deathdecision. It has been pointed out to me that in a survival situation your knifeshould be able to be used as a wood chopper, i.e., to cut up wood to build fires with. As a 5 or 6 inch blade might not be adequate to build shelters with orchop up bigger branches or maybe 2 x4′s, you might consider a “Bowie” type knife thatis heavier and longer.

These knives are designed for chopping as well as cutting. So are hatchets,axes and machetes, just remember you might have to carry it for miles, size andweight are factors here. It’s up to you, but make sure that you have at least agood hunting knife.

A well balanced, brand name knife that sharpens and holds an edge is your number one tool in an emergency situation.

Don’t fall for the “Rambo” knives with the compass in the handle. These ”survival knives” are more-often-than-not made with inferior materials and are easily broken,bent, and sometimes won’t even hold an edge when cutting a steak!Besides, the compass in the handle is about worthless-the first time using theknife butt to pound on something ruins the compass. The hollow handle would seem to be a good idea for storing other survival items, but it’s not. The hollow handle makes the knife unbalanced and means that the tang, or blade metal doesn’t extend to the butt. Your knife can easily break right there at the handle.

I would suggest a multiple function Leatherman-like tool or a Swiss-type arm

y knife as a backup to your main knife. Just remember what it will be primarily used for and stick to the simpler, more basic models. Leatherman tools areguaranteed for life against breakage!

Emergency food. The human body can go quite awhile without solid food if water is available. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pack a lunch, you should have something to sustain energy, replenish lost nutrients, and don’t forget the calming effect that a meal can provide.

In my go-bag survival kit I have an outside pocket just for on-the-go eating. In it are several high protein energy bars, dried fruit, beef jerky, crackers,honey, and peanut butter. I’ve also got some tea bags, cocoa mix, and electrolyte replacing fruit drink powder.

Eating/drinking utensils. A stainless-steel mess-kit like the Boy Scouts use is a very good choice. Don’t get plastic or porcelain as they are not for cooking in, or even aluminum as it will leech heavy metals into your body rapidly when cooked with or eaten off of. It also is very easy to bend, smash, flatten orotherwise ruin. Titanium is best for durability and weight, then stainless-steel. Remember spoons and forks, spoons are a must-have, forks are extra.

Sleeping, bivouac. Depending on the nature of the disaster you might need tospend several nights sleeping out-of-doors. Remember that foul weather and fluctuating temperatures often accompany natural disasters and who knows when relief crews will have shelters set up for the newly homeless.

Emergency space blankets/bags weigh very little and take up very little space compared to a bedroll or sleeping bag. A plastic tarp or over sized poncho can make all the difference between sleeping dry and warm versus trying to sleep cold, wet and shivering.

Other necessities for your light-weight, grab-and-go survival kit might include an emergency AM/FM /shortwave radio, a wind-up flashlight, signalling devices of some kind(highway flares are great, they also make fire starting very easy)



, para-cord, extra pair(s) of socks, light jacket, hat, work gloves, underwear,and a towel(s). Hopefully you are wearing sturdy shoes or hiking boots, shirt,and pants.

Important papers, licenses, passports, ID cards should be included or at least copies thereof. A map(s) and compass might be a good idea depending on whereyou live.

Last, but maybe it should have been first, is a pack, bag or duffel to carry your goodies in. A medium-sized military-type soft pack is what I use. There areplenty of outside pockets that are weather proof for items you might need in a hurry like water, food or first-aid and the inside is split into two waterproof compartments for dry goods.

Extra plastic bags of all sizes are a good idea to have. For keeping your gear dry and for trash are the uses you might think of first. They are also good forstoring water if you get the heavy-duty zip-seal types. In the event of possible fallout a plastic trash bag can double as a makeshift, disposable poncho if need be.

A backpack, day pack, fanny pack or duffel bag is preferable to a suitcase or hand-bag because they keep your hands free for other things like wiping your nose.You don’t want to have to set everything down to pull out a handkerchief to blowyour nose or wipe your brow. You need to be moving to get away from the dangeror you might be rescuing trapped victims or any number of other things that require your hands. You might need a weapon or a flashlight that would be awkwardto use with your hands full.

In an emergency survival situation a person who is prepared ahead of time and has an idea of what to do or where to go is the person with the best chances of surviving. A light-weight, easy to carry survival kit/pack will enhance any one’s ability to survive the worst of disasters or emergency evacuation events. Buildyours today and set it somewhere for easy access, your life might depend on it!

earthquake! emergency survival kit

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