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How to Use Our Emergency Preparedness Assessment Tool

By Larry Heitz | Published April 16, 2012

Emergency PreparednessWe offer an interactive Emergency Preparedness Assessment Tool on our website that makes it super easy for you to quickly learn exactly which survival kits and emergency supplies you need to prepare for a disaster. Our Home Emergency Preparedness Assessment Tool analyzes the size of your family, geographic location of your home, number of bedrooms, pets, and other information you provide to determine which kits and supplies you need to prepare your home.

Just simply answer the questions and we’ll provide you with a customized list of recommended kits and supplies based on the information you provide. The list of recommendations we provide will have 2 categories: Essential Preparedness and Complete Preparedness. Essential Preparedness includes the standard level of supplies recommended by the US Department of Homeland Preparedness. Complete Preparedness includes a comprehensive list supplies to ensure that you are fully prepared for any disaster situation.

Need help figuring out which survival kits and emergency supplies you need to keep in your car, school, and office!?  No problem!  We offer tools for figuring that out too.

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Using Social Media in Emergency Situations

By Larry Heitz | Published April 2, 2012

Social Media and Emergency PreparednessThe role of social media in emergency preparedness is something we at Quake Kare have been following closely for the past few years. According to a recent poll by Mashable.com, 71% of people would use social media for emergency purposes. Survival victims hope to use these services for information such as the location of emergency food and water, evacuation routes, and emergency shelter locations. Click on the thumbnail of the brilliant infographic to learn more fun and interesting factoids about social media use for emergency preparedness.

As a culture, we started rely more and more on social media. In recent disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti and revolution in Egypt, it has paid an important role as a method to communicate to others where they can find sanctuary. By spreading viral messages about disaster threats, emergency agencies can gather intelligence and have ongoing communication with victims.

It is no surprise then that The Red Cross and Dell have joined forces to launch the first social media-monitoring platform dedicated to disaster relief. The Digital Operations Center provides the American Red Cross with the ability to more easily share safety and emergency preparedness tips before, during, and after disasters. The hope is that the new Red Cross technology will enable communities of disaster victims to more easily seek and find help.

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Taking Lessons from the Movie Take Shelter

By Larry Heitz | Published March 26, 2012

I recently watched the movie “Take Shelter” which is about a man who decides to build an emergency storm shelter for his family. Of course, everyone thought he was paranoid. Sound familiar? I will admit that I run into my share of people who don’t believe in emergency preparedness.

Without spoiling the movie for you too much, it serves as an example to trust your instincts when it comes to emergency preparedness and never to listen to anyone who makes fun of you for taking steps to prepare your family for a disaster.

Of course, we all don’t have the resources to build an ideal storm shelter. In fact, the main character in the movie didn’t either. But we can all at least some steps to be better prepared; even if it’s only investing $100 on an emergency preparedness kit to keep in your car.

And if you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Check out the movie trailer below.

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Emergency Preparedness Goes Mainstream with Doomsday Preppers

By Larry Heitz | Published February 13, 2012

emergency preparedness“Doomsday Preppers” is a new series on the National Geographic channel that focuses on people who taking emergency preparedness to a whole new level. The show cleverly explores the lives of seemingly ordinary Americans who spend the majority of their time preparing for a catastrophic disaster. It covers the diverse beliefs, strategies, and motivations that “preppers” take to ensure they are prepared for any emergency. The show also includes an “expert assessment” of who fares the best in terms of survival if their worst fears become a reality. You can even take the “prepper quiz” by clicking on the image on the right. Good luck!

The show fails to reveal any details behind the “expert” who assesses their strategies. But the biggest error I’ve seen people make is spending so much time storing dried food that require water to prepare when their water supply is insufficient. Also, a lot of the food stored, requires cooking; such as rice. Rice doesn’t even have enough nutrients to be a reliable emergency preparedness staple item. For all the time and energy these people spend on preparing for an emergency, they would be better off storing 55 gallon water storage barrels and survival food bars that are guaranteed to last for 5 years and provide the optimal balance of nutrients for survival victims.

It just goes to show that you don’t want to believe everything you see on TV.

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