With devastating earthquakes occuring one after another in various parts of the world,  we are in constant fear of the said “big one” here in our country.  Our house lies a few meters away from an active faultline, so we take earthquake preparedness seriously.

As a family, we have discussed where we are to meet in case we are separated during any calamity.  For those of us who are always at home, we have set a location in the house where we are to congregate when an earthquake strikes.  We have also prepared emergency boxes for each family.  Our calamity kit includes:

• Food
  • 2 foil packs of formula milk
  • 4 tetra packs of natural fruit juice
  • biscuits/crackers/oatmeal cookies
  • 2 cans of pineapple tidbits
  • 2 cans of vienna sausage
  • 2 cans of tuna
  • 6 sachets of nesvita
  • water
• Clothing
  • one set of clothes for each person
  • jackets for the toddlers
  • 2 packs 4-pc diapers for the toddlers
  • face towels
• Medicines & First Aid
  • paracetamol
  • antibiotic
  • hydrasec & erceflora (for diarrhea)
  • antihistamine & anti-allergy
  • betadine & hydrogen peroxide
  • bandages/band-aids/sterile gauze
• Emergency Essentials
  • batteries
  • flashlight
  • swiss knife

 I’ve just recently read “Preparing for Disasters”, an article on survival written by Erika Sauler, and have now found out that we lack a few more essentials.  We need a quick trip to the mall to purchase these items:

• chocolate bars – these are great sources of energy
• honey – it serves a dual purpose of providing nutrition and disinfecting wounds
• condoms – they apparently can be used to transport water and keep electronic gadgets secure
• crank radio – an AM frequency radio that does not need batteries
• signalling devices – mirror and whistle
• duct tape – it sticks to most surfaces, is waterproof, and can also be used to seal the house in case of radioactive fallout

 From the same article, I also learned that Betadine can be used to purify water for drinking.  You’d only need 4 drops of the iodine solution for every liter of water.  You then have to wait for 30 minutes for the organisms to be killed before the water is safe enough for drinking.  They have stated though that this is not advisable for pregnant women.

There are a lot more survival tips in the article  and I recommend you go over it.  It just might save your life when disaster strikes.