A lot of people worry about disasters, whether they come from the weather, a lack of resources, a war, or anything else, but they don’t do anything to ensure they and their family will stay safe should the worst happen. This means they will continue to worry and become more and more stressed because they know if something bad were to happen, they would be in danger.  

If that sounds like you, you might be making yourself sick through worry, and that will only make matters worse. You’ll miss out on enjoying life, and you’ll be stressed at all times – this can impact your ability to work and your relationships with family and friends. This is why it’s a better idea to put some plans in place and to prepare for a potential disaster. Ideally, you’ll never have to use this plan, but it’s far better to have it there for you to use just in case. This will help you to stop worrying and also ensure that you’ll be safe should anything bad happen in your life, in your area, or in the world. With that in mind, read on to find out more about how to prep your home for a potential disaster. 

Have Backup Power 

The very nature of a disaster means that they will often occur without warning or with very little time to spare to get anything prepared if you haven’t already. This means that you need to have everything in place so that as soon as something happens, you can start going through your disaster checklist and doing whatever it is you need to do. This is going to be difficult, and potentially impossible if you don’t have any power. 

Therefore, the very first thing you’ll need to do when you are getting prepared for a disaster is to have backup power. The ideal solution to this is to have a portable power station of your own. In this way, you don’t have to worry about using fuel or having a dangerous item in your home and around yourself and your family; you can simply use this tool to provide you with power to help you stay safe and remain in control. 

On top of this, it’s wise to have other items like candles, flashlights, and definitely batteries. You should also know who you can contact when the danger has passed to repair your power, although this might be something that will have to wait, and therefore the backup generator is really your biggest asset.  

Close The Water Main

If a disaster happens, you’ll need to conserve as many natural resources as you can, and water might just be the most important of them all. If you are trapped in your home, for example, you’ll need water to make it through until you can be rescued or get out under your own steam.  

This is why it’s important to close the water main once you know something has happened. There are two main reasons for doing this. The first is that it will conserve water – if there is a leak at a faucet, or a water pipe has burst elsewhere, turning off the main water supply will save water from being wasted. The second reason is that it can stop further damage being done. You might have suffered a disaster, and you won’t want to add flooding (or additional flooding) to the problem, making everything much more difficult to deal with.  

Make sure everyone in the household who is able to understands how and why to turn the water off so that there are no delays. 

Have An Emergency Kit

Something you can do in advance of a disaster happening that will not only mean you are prepared for anything, but that will also help you feel more in control and less stressed overall, is to create an emergency kit. 

There are no hard and fast rules about what should be included in this kit, so think about what would be most useful for you. A first aid kit is a good idea, and so are plenty of bottles of water. Tinned food is good, and fire extinguishers can save lives. Batteries and candles could be included. Emergency contact numbers. Cash. Spare car keys. Weapons. The list is endless, so you’ll need to go through each idea one by one to ascertain whether that’s something you want to include in your kit. 

Once the kit is complete, you’ll need to work out where to keep it. It should be in a central place that anyone in the family can get to. You’ll also need to check the contents once in a while and replace anything that is out of date (this could be food, batteries, the contents of the first aid kit, and other items). 

Some households like to have more than one of these kits in strategic places so that no matter what happens, at least one will be accessible. 

Check Your Smoke Detectors 

Fire is a big factor that can cause a lot of damage and injury when it comes to a disaster in the home or in the wider area. In fact, in some cases, a fire might be the first sign that something has gone wrong, and it will be the thing you need to be aware of to put other measures in place to keep safe and protect your home and family members. Therefore, install a smoke detector.

Checking your smoke detectors every week or month is a crucial part of being aware of a fire starting. If you were asleep or in another room, your smoke detected would be the first indication of an issue, and the sooner you can be aware of a fire, the sooner you can do something about it, whether that’s putting the fire out or leaving the house, for example. 

It’s best to have battery-operated smoke detectors as they will be unaffected by any power outages, but of course, this means you need to replace the batteries regularly otherwise they will be useless.