Are You Prepared?

That's a loaded question. Nobody can be prepared for absolutely everything, nor would we want to be. There is no point in preparing for things if they simply cannot happen to you , in your particular situation. If you live in a desert, for example, then preparing to escape a forest fire isn't a good use of your time and resources.

Things that threaten our well-being can be loosely divided into two groups: Natural disaster, and man-made disaster. A natural disaster such as a flood or an earthquake is something that you may expect, depending on where you are. Certain regions of the world are more prone than others to these events, therefore, if you're standing on the banks of the Mississippi river, it's more likely that you could experience a flood; Living in California, it may be more likely you feel an earthquake (except for the rainy season, when they get floods and mudslides). Now we can fine tune our expectancy to what is the most likely threat based on where we are and what time of the year we are there. Now we know the answer before the question is asked. Answer: Earthquake; Question: what is a likely threat to your survival if you live in California?

Man-made disasters are not necessarily as predictable. They are either accidents such as the chemical tanker that crashes on the expressway, spilling a cloud of toxic gas over the local neighborhood, or it could be the deliberate acts such as violent crime or terrorism. If you live near an expressway, you know that a tanker crash is a possibility, and you probably know that of the thousands of people who drive by your neighborhood every day, eventually one of them is going to look at your neighborhood as a place where they can commit a crime and then get back on the freeway and be long gone in a short period of time.

Again, with a little thought and assessment, you can come up with some scenarios that are more likely than others. Once you have figured out what these likely scenarios are, then you can come up with a simple plan and some steps to prepare for them. Be aware, of course, that if you go somewhere else, the situation could be completely different, and you have to assess your surroundings from the beginning.

And that could be as simple as walking through another part of your home town, some place you've never been to before, or a place you haven't visited in a long time, and it's changed, for better or worse.

The bottom line is that wherever we go, we need to be aware of our surroundings and evaluate what, realistically, are the threats to our well-being; have a simple plan, and know what event will cause us to put that plan into action.