Emergencies and disasters might feel like they belong in the realm of Hollywood movies, or like something that always seems to happen to someone else. After all, it can be uncomfortable to think about circumstances where things might be out of your control and the outcome is uncertain. But the fact is, emergencies happen to everyone. If you’re lucky, the emergencies and disasters you face will be relatively minor, but sooner or later they will affect your life in some way. This book isn’t intended to scare you with disasters or worst-case scenarios, nor is it intended to be an extreme end-of-the-world ‘prepper’ manual. Instead, it’s intended for everyday people who want to be more informed and prepared, no matter what life brings. Facing adversity is difficult under almost any circumstance, but being unprepared makes coping with those emergencies that much harder. Your willingness to increase your awareness, take steps to plan ahead, and accept that life sometimes means handling tough situations with as much calm determination as you can manifest, will help you be resilient and prevail.
Unfortunately, some of you may have had less than enjoyable experiences in the past with really dry and uninspiring material about safety, disasters, and preparedness. This book, however, is colorfully designed to be easy to read, with subjects broken down into bite-sized pieces that won’t overwhelm you with too much information or detail.
This book provides an introduction to a wide variety of skills and strategies that will be helpful in a wide range of circumstances. You can use it as a broad reference guide, or pick and choose just the content that feels most relevant to your needs. Either way, I hope it will inspire you to explore your level of preparedness, to better understand the potential hazards in your environment, to take a class to deepen your skills, and to volunteer to serve your community in a time of need.
If you’re new to disaster preparedness, look at this book as a resource to help you and your family get started. Don’t feel too much pressure to “get it all done”— or master every skill immediately. Instead, arm yourself with curiosity to learn the new skills and tools that will help you handle almost any crisis. There’s a lot to learn, but very step you takes you farther away from being a victim and brings you closer to being a true survivor. If you already have your 72 hour emergency kit and are reading this to learn more, you’ll hopefully find a new ways to approach an existing challenge or information to further deepen your preparedness. Either way, you’re bound to learn and expand your knowledge.
JOSEPH PRED
Author