Lessons in the recent tornado tragedies...

The recent tornado outbreak across the Southern United States can hold lessons for all of us. We have talked about bug out bags and running off of the top of your gas tank and various other survival/ prep type stuff. Just like the disaster that hit Japan recently, this shows us that all the prepping we do is for more than just the zombie apcolypse.

In a real world setting, natural disaster is probably our biggest worry. Hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, all of these are very real threats in our Country. And while these are very different, preparing for them is going to be about the same. Staying or leaving determines different styles of preparation though.

And all the prepping in the world is useless without a plan.

It would be ideal if a disaster struck while everyone in the family is together, but the chances of that are kind of slim. What if you are at work and the children are at school? Do you have a plan to get everyone back together? Do you have a meeting point in case you can't get home? And what if you can't get home, do you know where you will go? What about pets?

 Having a plan is great, but running through it a time or two will allow you to work out the bugs. We have a plan. I'll admit though, that we have never practiced it. Like everyone else, our family is going 20 different directions at 100 miles per hour all day everyday. But we are going to make time to practice our plan. It's important, it may save our lives.

The people in Alabama and Mississippi had very little warning about the tornados that hit the area. Even the best of plans wouldn't have helped much before hand. But what do you do after? Have you seen the pictures of the devastation? Having a few days worth of food and water could save your life in a similar situation.

Make a plan. Talk about it with your family. Practice the plan.

Japan Earthquake Before and After - What if it happened here?

Go check out this page of before and after images of the Japan earthquake. The images are overlaid. If you hover over the image you can see the difference between the two.

The change between before and after is aweful. There are big lakes where there was farmland. Large areas that were populated have been wiped clean.

This is going to take a long time to recover from, if ever.

This is a good reminder of why we need to be prepared. If we suffered an earthquake of this magnitude, and it was near you, would you be able to survive the aftermath? Do you have any food stores set aside for an emergency? Water? Medical supplies? Do you have digital copies of all of your important documents?

If you had to leave your house today, and never return, what would you take? I don't think we could ever fully prepare for a disaster the size and scope of what the people of Japan are experiencing, but it gives us an opportunity to think about the things that would give us a chance at survival.

I know it's tough to think about a situation that would put your life in danger, but we have seen several examples over the past few months. Having at least a basic plan is better than nothing at all...