• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer




Of The Hearth

Faith, Family, and Forging a Difference

  • About
    • About Me
    • About the Blog
    • Contact
  • Archives
  • Printables
  • Privacy and Disclosures
  • Recipes
  • Series
  • Topics
You are here: Home / Keeping the Home / Dare to Prepare: Introduction to Disaster Preparedness

Dare to Prepare: Introduction to Disaster Preparedness

September 2, 2013 By Shannon This post may contain affiliate links and this site uses cookies. Click here for details.

What is the longest period of time you’ve gone without electricity? A couple of hours after a bad thunderstorm? A few days while camping? A week while on a mission trip to a developing country? During the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008, I went 15 consecutive days without electricity. This episode wasn’t exactly convenient, but I learned some incredibly valuable lessons from it.

Introduction to Disaster Preparedness

Public health authorities recommend that all households create an emergency plan and assemble a disaster supply kit. Though most of us think these are good things to do, we often put them off because of busy schedules and tight budgets.

I’m compelled by my experience to take a straightforward look at fundamental preparedness topics and discuss these in a way that will help us all streamline our planning. Thus, I’ll take a look at a few preparedness topics over the next couple of weeks. September is a convenient time to do this because it is National Preparedness Month. Will you dare to prepare and join me in developing a preparedness plan for the first time or by updating your existing plan and replenishing your supplies?

Getting started

An important first step in disaster preparedness is determining which disasters can occur where you live. This can be especially helpful if you tend to think that “it won’t happen to me” (something most of us have thought at one time or another).

  • Natural disasters. Catastrophic disasters like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes have the potential to knock out utilities and interrupt your routine activities for days, weeks, or even months. Just because you don’t live in a coastal region, Tornado Alley, or California doesn’t mean you’re not at risk! Seemingly less significant events like extreme heat or cold, blizzards, and wind storms can do the same.
  • Technological and industrial accidents. Do you live near a railway, factory, hospital, service station, or other facility that handles hazardous materials? Or perhaps you live near a nuclear power plant? Millions of Americans live in areas where residents could find themselves needing to shelter in place due to a technological or industrial accident.
  • Pandemics. Talk of disease pandemics often brings to mind historical events or works of science fiction. However, the risk of an influenza pandemic is very real. Essential services may be interrupted during a pandemic and you may need to remain at home for an extended period of time to avoid exposure to the illness.
  • Terrorism. We live in an era characterized by omnipresent risk of terrorism. Various sites in your community (transportation hubs, civic buildings, stadiums, convention centers, houses of worship, etc.) could be potential targets. Acts of terrorism can interrupt the delivery of essential services, requiring residents to be self-reliant.

Next week we’ll take a look at how knowledge of these various risks can help us determine which supplies—and how much of each—should be included in a disaster supply kit.

Have you ever experienced a disaster? What challenges did you face in the wake of it?

Related posts:

Enjoy this post? Let others know about it:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Keeping the Home, Promoting Healthful Living Tagged With: current events, health and safety




Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Dare to Prepare: Assembling a Basic Disaster Preparedness Kit says:
    September 9, 2013 at 5:43 am

    […] enough supplies to care for our households for a minimum of three days. Last week we looked at what types of disasters could impact our respective communities. In light of this knowledge, let’s consider which […]

  2. Obtaining and Storing Disaster Preparedness Supplies says:
    September 25, 2013 at 6:57 am

    […] of where you store your kit, be sure each family member knows where to find it. Also, consider which disasters are likely where you live so you can store the kit where it is least likely to be damaged. For example, if you […]

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Email Subscription

Never miss a post! Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search Of The Hearth

Topics

Recent Posts

  • May 2025 Dinner Menu
  • 9 Useful Containers to Use as Easter Baskets
  • April 2025 Dinner Menu
  • Pull-On Diaper Comparison
  • March 2025 Dinner Menu
  • Easy DIY Heart Pouch Valentines
  • February 2025 Dinner Menu
  • Favorite Winter Posts and an Update on Site Upgrades

Popular Posts

Philly Cheese Meatloaf
Easy DIY Puppet Theater from a Cardboard Box
17 Bible Verses to Encourage Dads
Printable Vacation Packing List
Cheesy Baked Egg in Toast
50 Fun Activities for Fathers and Their Toddlers
Build-Your-Own Sliders: A Great Meal for a Crowd
Why Wives Are the Ones Who Nag in Marriage

Tags

babies book reviews civic involvement cleaning tips cooking tips current events date night ideas eliminating debt friendship frugal living green living handling differences health and safety holidays hospitality i will just for fun menu planning organized living personal finance pregnancy preschoolers product reviews projects and crafts recipes school-age children serving others spiritual growth technology toddlers

Popular Conversations

Rotating Daily Cleaning Scedule
Philly Cheese Meatloaf recipe
Is it really possible for moms to find time to spend with God? Yes, it is! Here’s how three busy moms make it happen.
Daily Cleaning Schedule 2016
Do you want to show respect to your husband but you’re not quite sure what this should look like? Here are 8 practical ways to show him your respect.
Home Decorating Considerations for Christian Women

Footer

Disclaimer

© 2012-2022 OF THE HEARTH. All Rights Reserved. Please see the About tab on the menu for details about the site, including privacy, advertisement, affiliate link, and comment policy information.
Of The Hearth

Copyright © 2025 · Daily Dish Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in