This is an introductory post to a series on disaster mitigation. Mitigation can be simply described as efforts made to minimize the impact of a disaster SHOULD one occur. There are many ways we can take steps to reduce the damage and impact that occurs during and continues after a disaster. The first step in disaster mitigation is to educate yourself. Learn the risks that equate to your particular geographic area and take responsibility to protect yourself and your loved ones from the unexpected. For instance, residents of the plains provinces will not need to prepare for a hurricane, where eastern coastal residents should. In any case, no matter which region you live in, a basic supply of food, water, medical supplies as well as cash should be kept on hand, and should be sufficient to last 2 weeks. A 2 week supply is only a personal suggested minimum, as government agencies will suggest only a 72 hour supply. It has been my observation in recent history, that government aid may easily take more than 3 days to arrive and be properly distributed. Here is an overview of the types of disasters I will be covering…
Tuesday, April 19…Floods
Wednesday, April 20…Wild Fires
Thursday, April 21…Storm Related (lightning, wind, power loss)
Friday, April 22…Earthquakes
I will spare you the post on winter storms & extreme cold until the weather would suggest.