3 common disasters that could result in devastation

Editor’s note: PlanandPrepared.com welcomes Tony C to the website. Tony first realized the how ill prepared he was following the 2008 stock market/housing collapse. Tony vowed to change that, and has been preparing him and his family ever since. He’s a proud husband of 20+ years and a father of two boys. You can find Tony at Prepsurvivalguide.com

In a large part of prepper writing, people are told to prepare for major disasters. Events like EMPs, mass famine, financial collapse, martial law, or nuclear war get plenty of attention from our fellow preppers and advice regarding these events abounds. Most people’s view of a prepper is someone who expects only the worst in life to happen.

While this can be true, it is not always so. For example, I am not a big believer that we are going to go to nuclear war any time soon. I may be wrong, but I would love to be right.

What I am a big believer in is that things could go wrong every day. Some of these are not huge SHTF events (like a car running out of gas), while others can pose serious issues (like an elderly family member falling).

And more often than not, it is not the extreme events that cause disorder in our lives. The events that cause most of the destruction in our daily lives are when regular, daily occurrences go horribly wrong.

So to truly prepare for disaster, we must ask the question: what are common, daily scenarios that could go horribly wrong and result in devastation for myself, my family, and my loved ones?
The sad, yet true answer is that there are many common disasters that can quickly escalate to devastating events. For simplicity’s sake, I’ve divided the most common ones into three main
categories: health, location, and natural disasters.

Health

Health could be an issue where a seemingly minor pain can quickly become extreme or even life threatening. Imagine this scenario: My son was weightlifting a few months ago and felt a small twinge in his lower back. He’s a pretty stout fellow and is use to some pain. The problem is that he thinks he’s a really stout fellow and can work through the pain!

He was wrong.

His minor tweak soon turned to a full on muscular pull in his back. Not only was he unable to continue exercising, but he was walking funny, had trouble opening doors, and didn’t even want
to pour milk by himself.

His entire problem started because of a minor strain in his back. Now imagine if we had to bug out. Imagine if he had to defend himself, his girlfriend, or his mother from an attacker. Imagine
if he had to grow his own food.

He couldn’t do it.

Minor health issues can quickly escalate to be full on devastation level forces. Whether it is a pulled muscle, a severe fall, or a birth defect, health disasters must be carefully watched, prepared for, and taken care of if possible.

How to prepare: Be aware of your physical limitations and the limits of anyone in your party. Fix these issues if possible. If not, prepare beforehand with medicine, physical training, or physical therapy. (For more on prepper physical fitness, click here.)

Location

Problems involving location can quickly become hazardous and almost always involve being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Car crashes are the obvious example of the mundane turning disastrous, but the threat of a wrong location can apply to thousands of scenarios. (For more on vehicle preparedness, click here.)

A restful night’s sleep can turn sour when a burglar breaks into your home. You can be caught unaware when you must suddenly bug out and you are not in a good location to do so. Your car can break down on the side of the road and you may find yourself unable to get help or get to a safe location or you may be without supplies.

Urban disasters, such as riots or earthquakes are also location based events. Being aware of your surroundings, having the right gear on you, and having evacuation plans in place can go a long way to helping you protect your life and the lives of loved ones.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can seem harmless but end up having horrible results.

How to prepare: Always bring with you whatever you will need to survive. Even if it is inconvenient to take the extra meal, tool, or bag, you may be able to save a life. Also, try to stay physically fit. You never know when you may have to literally escape harm’s way. In addition, situational awareness is paramount to keeping you and your family safe while out in public. (For more on situational awareness, click here.)

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters are notorious for their ability to cause destruction and harm while presenting people very little chance to prepare. Even when people do get a chance to prepare, the destruction caused can be so severe that it takes decades to repair, like with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Natural disasters can turn sour for the average human being very quickly because extreme scenarios come to life very quickly.

Let’s use a snow storm as an example. I remember a few years back we experienced “Snowmageddon” here in the southeast. With almost no advance warning, suddenly people were trapped on the side of the roads in their cars. There were some who were stuck at work for days and many who were unable to leave their homes.

This not uncommon natural disaster resulted in devastation because in nearly an instant, people were unable to go to grocery stores for food. People were unable to get to their families. There were some who had no food, no water, and no way of replenishing their stores.

If this event had continued for a longer period of time, there would have been several deaths from starvation, dehydration, or freezing temperatures.

Homes were without power and food could only be made by those who had it stored or who were able to start a fire.

Common natural disasters like snow, storms, earthquakes, or other natural events can rapidly turn to devastation because people are not prepared for them. Even if they think they are prepared, they usually are not.

How to prepare: Always have food and water with you. Have food and water stored up where you can use it if you have no way of purchasing or preparing it. Have a way where you can return to a safe place or leave an area of danger if necessary.

Conclusion

Natural disasters can turn to devastation because people always believe that they can withstand destruction, but devastation comes in many forms.

Physical issues, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and events like storms can all rapidly turn into devastating arenas where only the strongest survive. To prepare for these events, you must first be aware that they are possibilities. You should be strong and physically capable, have supplies stored up, and always be willing and able to exit a bad scenario if possible.

This world is not kind. Sometimes, only those who are prepared make it to tomorrow.

Editor’s note: Tony is absolutely right. We see so many people prep for the end of days, but don’t stop to think about the everyday disasters that could strike. 

As I have mentioned before, I have been in numerous disaster situations. I lost my apartment to a tornado a few years back. The next year I worked in Moore, Oklahoma where a tornado killed 24 people and did over $2 billion dollars’ worth of damage. I experienced an ice storm several years ago where I lost power for about two days and was snowed in. My brother lost his job a few years back, and lived on his food storage for about 8 weeks until he found a new job.

In each of these situations, being prepared helped me and/or my family out in difficult situations. Having the plans, gear, and supplies made each of these events easier to get through. And none of these emergencies was on the disaster scale of a EMP or global pandemic.

So when you are prepping, be sure to think about the little things. They could make a difference between life and death!

Stay safe out there!

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