Disaster Planning For Life And Wealth Protection | Wealth Management

Are you ready for a disaster and prepared for an emergency, either natural or man-made? Do you have supplies on hand for yourself, your dependents, for days or weeks? Do you know what essential supplies you need and where to procure them, store them, and maintain access to them?

Look at your current lifestyle and determine what products and services you use daily and periodically. If you live in an area that can be affected by natural disasters you may already have a disaster plan ready to take effect. How much warning do you need to implement your plan?

By collating a list of things that come onto your property and that need to leave your household you can get an idea of what is mandatory and what is discretionary. For example, we all expect electricity and water to be available on demand, but we have probably all experienced the short term inconvenience when these services are lost: a tree takes out power lines, a construction operator breaks a water main. But how often has your telephone service been unavailable? Even without power many times the land line phone will still work. How does that happen?

When AT&T set up it’s nationwide service and it’s ‘baby bell’ subsidiaries, their prime objective was to maintain a dial tone. At all the central switches they included backup power systems that provided electricity when the power utility system failed. Their system and reliability is taken for granted.

These days many people use mobile cellphones, wireless devices, and cordless phones at home, or Internet-based VOIP as their primary telephone service. All these devices need a power supply that you must procure, and the telephone service itself from the provider may not be as reliable as AT&T Ma Bell used to be.

One of the basic planning steps for emergencies and disaster recovery is to determine priorities. You may decide that cellphone service is something you can do without if you have access to a landline. If cellphone service is part of your emergency plan do you have a way to charge your phone? If the cell tower is out of range or is inoperative what fallback system might you need?

If your electricity supply is unavailable what will be affected? When power goes off for up to 8 hours your refrigerator and freezer can hold the temperature low enough that your food will not be spoiled, provided you do not open the door. After 8 hours you may not be able to salvage much of the contents. In hurricane, tornado, and earthquake vulnerable areas many people install temporary or permanent backup power generators that can be automatically or manually activated. You may choose to have adequate power generation capacity for just your fridge and communication devices, or to also provide cooling, heating, cooking and computer operation.

When planning and designing backup power systems consider the fuel required and its storage or supply of that fuel for the period of time you need it. Then consider the next fallback position you may need to take if your fuel supply is exhausted.

In severe situations such as after a powerful hurricane, massive earthquake, biological, chemical or military event, power, water, food, and communications may be suspended for long periods. After a storm has passed, work crews can take weeks to restore power and water after the road access has been cleared of debris. At least with advance warning of imminent hurricane threat you have time to evacuate the area and implement your disaster plan. Classical warfare builds from warning signs over time. With earthquakes and terrorist attacks there may be no warning at all that allows evacuation to safer areas. After a major catastrophe consider what your options might to evacuate your area and head for a another location.

If you plan on staying in your home and community be sure to make realistic estimates of what you may need and what conditions may become over that period of disaster recovery. Run through your mind some scenarios where you are without power and water for 2 days or 2 weeks. In your particular area can you find what you need to be comfortable, or just barely survive. Do you need to stockpile food and water, fuel for cooking or sterilizing water, means of protecting your family and property from looters and gangs?

When the emergency happens many systems that we have taken for granted no longer work. Social norms are threatened. When people get desperate politeness and respect are discarded. The survival mentality means you need to be prepared yourself and know that others may not be. Your emergency preparedness and diligence may become the target for the unprepared and desperate.

Although many municipalities, state and national authorities do a great job at preparing for emergencies, one only needs to look at what people did in New Orleans to realize that civil collapse is possible and police are not available for your protection or rescue. Many reports claim authorities were actually complicit in the subsequent looting and disorder.

When small disasters occur local authorities can be very helpful and effective. When major disasters are occur local, state and national emergency services are quickly overwhelmed and ineffective. Consider your state of preparedness and plan as much as possible for your own self-sufficiency and security. Much of your success will depend on your mindset, capabilities, and preparation.

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