1. A major earthquake in the United States is long overdue.
The last major earthquake to hit populated areas within the United States was the 1906 earthquake in California. It caused more than 3,000 deaths and destroyed over 80% of the City of San Francisco. An emergency preparedness kit would help sustain your life and give you the essentials for escape, rescue, shelter, warmth, nutrition, and communication. Why wouldn’t you want something that can help you?
2. It’s better to have than to not
It simple really, either have an emergency kit for the times when you need it or don’t and be left scrambling for food, shelter and emergency supplies when you need it most. Having an emergency kit stored in your trunk of your vehicle, at home and in the office will greater your chances of surviving an earthquake. When an earthquake strikes, and you survive the initial shock it’s imperative you have access to clean water, first-aid and sanitation supplies. You want to treat any injuries and keep them clean to reduce possibilities of inflection. An emergency kit doesn’t just provide food and water; it has emergency supplies to heal wounds.
3. Emergency Radio Communication
When an earthquake strikes, assume that all mobile phone infrastructure will not be working, because they won’t. Your only option for getting evacuation information will be through FM radio signals. They can transmit over longer distances and don’t require as many relay stations to rebroadcast. An emergency radio inside a kit will have built-in specialty tuned radio channels for emergency broadcasts. You don’t have to scramble to get up-to-date information; it’s already pre-programmed.
4. Shelter and Warmth
Many times earthquake victims choose not to return to their homes for fear of aftershocks. An emergency kit for an earthquake has tents, sleeping bags, food, heat packs so your family can camp out until its safe to return to your home. For example, during the 1990 earthquake in the Philippines more than 100,000 residents of Baguio camped outside for fear of falling debris from aftershocks.
5. Food and Water
Emergency rescue personnel won’t be able to help you immediately after an earthquake. In truth, they won’t know you need help because all telecommunications would be out-of-service. The sooner you start helping yourself, the sooner you’ll survive. You’ll need food and water to maintain your energy to evacuate and rescue yourself. An emergency kit for an earthquake will always have ready-to-eat food and water available for you and your family.
Having an emergency kit is not only crucial for sustaining your life, but it also gives you some peace-of-mind and a sense of responsibility.