Catastrophe can come in many forms and can be as individual as losing a job or as global as a major meteor strike. Most catastrophes could be survived with a minimum of preparation and a good dose of luck. How comfortable you are during and after a catastrophe will depend on how well prepared you were and on how severely your immediate area was effected.
Many events could occur and leave your family without the "civilized" comforts we take for granted. These civilized comforts include: * Water available at the twist of a faucet.
* Food available from grocery stores and restaurants.
* Electricity available at the flip of a switch to provide light, heat, cooking, hot water, and entertainment.
* Natural gas to provide heat, cooking, and hot water.
* A car with a full tank of gasoline for transportation.
These comforts are provided by an intricate network of individuals working together to provide us a standard of living unique in the history of humankind. In the event of a major catastrophe this network of individuals would breakdown, at least temporarily and possibly permanently. Are you prepared to deal with such an event? Do you feel that preparing for such an event is beyond your abilities?
When most people think of catastrophe occurring, they think automatically about "heading for the hills." In reality your home is probably the best place to stay, unless an imminent life threatening event requires evacuation. Your home contains more resources than you could ever hope for if you packed a car and headed for the hills. Additionally, in your home you are less likely to face the conflicts that will naturally result from fellow refugees competing for limited resources and spreading disease among each other.
Living comfortably in your home without electricity, natural gas, municipal water, or municipal sewage disposal will require some planning ahead. The primary comforts needed are: water, food, heat, cooking facilities, light, sewage disposal, and a means of bathing. This will be like camping out at home. If you currently enjoy camping you already have many of the items necessary to make your predicament more comfortable. Depending on the type and extent of catastrophe, these comforts can be set-up in your main living quarters or in a basement. In some instances (such as a nuclear war) you will set them up first in your basement and later move them to your main living quarters. Most of the items you will need after a catastrophe are already in your home. These items include: your bed, sheets, blankets, clothes, cooking utensils, furniture, and, of course, the protective structure of your house.
Presented in this book are recommendations on how to prepare your home so you will have water, food, heat, cooking facilities, light, sewage disposal, and a means of bathing available when society can no longer provide these necessities for you. Recognizing that circumstances may require you to flee your home, a section providing advice on when to flee and what to take with you is included. The Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Association provide good free advice on how to react during many disasters, but they do not cover epidemic disease or the nuclear threat concisely so a chapter on each of these potential catastrophes is included.
Preparing for a catastrophic event need not be a time intensive or high dollar endeavor. Much of what you need is already at your fingertips. You simply need to is recognize how to make use of these resources and accumulate a few additional basic necessities.
Preparing For Catastrophe On a Budget is a 8.25" X 5.25", 131 page, perfect bound, quality paperback book with 11 fine illustrations, 6 informative tables, and a useful index.
