Disaster Preparedness Kit

As with most situations in life, the ability to effectively prepare a disaster preparedness kit for an emergency situation requires that the prepper first gains a working knowledge of the obstacles presented by a specific scenario. While some generic preparations are recommended and appropriate for almost every situation, more specific planning is needed to survive other Doomsday events. For example, your basic prep kit might include items such as food, bottled water, matches and a first aid kit. A small kit such as this can be easily packed into the trunk of your vehicle for emergencies on the road and, despite its small size and limited abilities; it could still prove to be a life saver in an emergency. That being the case, this basic kit would do little to help if you were case, this basic kit would do little to help if you were confronted with a more complex scenario such as freezing weather.

Watch this video on assembling a disaster preparedness kit:

It simply would not have the proper supplies to meet the needs of these situations because the preparer did not anticipate the need for additional gear. To be truly prepared, even in the most basic sense, a prepper must logically look at the scenarios they expect to encounter and, then, look at the other scenarios that could logically branch off from the original threat. For example, if the individual who packed the kit used in the previous example had anticipated that they would be driving in the middle of winter on back roads, they might have added a blanket, extra clothing and a hand shovel to their kit. With these extra items and a bit of self reliance, a prepared individual would be able to survive an unexpected stay for a few nights in the inclement conditions. In essence, the prepper anticipates the situations they might encounter and, thus, they are never caught in a truly unexpected situation. This type of individual is prepared for any emergency or contingency because they have already decided how they will survive the situation before they encounter it.

To go along with this point, a prepared person must understand the proper usage and limits of the gear in their disaster preparedness kit. When used incorrectly, life-saving equipment can be ineffective and, in some cases, misuse can prove lethal. This was evidenced during the Persian Gulf War when Israeli citizens were provided with gas masks but were not properly instructed in their use. Several people died as a result of suffocation because they did not wear these gas masks correctly. There are many tools offered to individuals who wish to prepare for possible disasters that can create their own inherent dangers. The responsibility for understanding the equipment in your kit is yours. If you don't know how something works, find out before you are in an emergency situation where your life or that of someone else depends on that knowledge. Most of the items in your disaster preparedness kit will also have inherent limitations. You cannot open a can of beans without a can opener. A gas mask that is designed to filter one type of threat may be ineffective against another chemical agent. The coil of rope that you included to help you secure sticks into a shelter may not be strong enough for rappelling down a cliff face. Dying be strong enough for rappelling down a cliff face. Dying or getting injured because you did not recognize and anticipate these limits of the supplies you packed into your own prepper's kit is not going to earn you any credit with your fellow Doomsday event survivors.