The past few months have been grim reminders that we are all one natural catastrophe away from the safety and comfort of our homes. Hurricane Sandy which hit the east coast of the US in November left millions of people without power, some for weeks, with 100 reported fatalities and over $50 million in damages to homes and businesses.

Here on the west coast we’re constantly reminded that we are in an earthquake zone. In the last 30 days we’ve had 5 earthquakes along the coast of Alaska and Vancouver Island ranging from magnitude 3.3 to 7.5.  None yet that we’ve felt in the city of Vancouver but you get the feeling it would be wise to prepare. With children there is even a more pressing need to know what to do in an emergency.

• What happens if I’m at work and the kids are at school?
• Will the bridges between work and school be open?
• If you live in a high-rise building will you be able to return if there is an earthquake?
• What about the pets?
• How can I prepare?

FEMA Be Prepared Video

Family Emergency Kit

All the experts say pack an emergency kit well in advance of an emergency.  Regardless of your location there are some basics that can help ease the unknown and help you prepare with the hope that you’ll never need to use these items:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand cranked radio and flashlight  – we like the Freeplay Companion Radio, Flashlight & Cell Charger and the Eton hand cranked radio, flashlight and solar charging station – if you decide on battery run items pack extra batteries
• First Aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Throw everything in a backpack you can leave quickly with.  You can re-use old backpacks no longer in use or go high tech with the Voltaic Systems Converter Solar Backpack with built in charging, great for the car emergency kit that can be used on road trips.

A full Family Supply list list can be downloaded from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Ready website.  There is  great information on preparing for natural disasters depending on where you live and what type of disaster is more likely.

Many municipal areas have great information for how to prepare in your local area and offer emergency routes and in our case, seismically prepared bridges for escape routes.  In Vancouver the city provides details on how to prepare for emergencies and information on free information session hosted at local community centers.

Include the kids in emergency preparations

FEMA has a Fun and Games section for kids to learn and prepare for emergencies, it includes:

• games
• word searches
• a Flat Stanley game
• tips for pets
• facts about natural disasters
• a test your knowledge quiz

Create your emergency kit today

Grab some old backpacks and start to collect the items for your emergency kit.  Because you don’t know when you’ll need one aim to create one for your home, one for your car and if you can store one at an offsite location like work, a garage or a friends house.  If you don’t have time you can order an emergency kit online, there are lots of choices at Amazon.

Check in on the full series of How to prepare for a natural disaster with great info on natural disaster emergency famil kits, emergency family plans and information including the family pets when making plans.

Below are some kits from my affiliate, Amazon.  They offer a great selection of kits in various price ranges as well as individual items you may want to include to customize your kit.

If you missed the other parts of the series:  How To Prepare for a Natural Disaster you can check out the information using the links below:

Part 2 – How to create a family plan

Part 3 How to prepare for family pets in an emergency and customize your kit