8 Essential Tools You Must Have In Your Pack To Survive Any Emergency
The quintessential element of emergencies is that they lack a sense of occasion. Any emergency will find you anywhere; you may be sitting comfortably at home, driving along the road, or on an epic outdoor excursion. Emergencies that may disrupt everyday life include accidents, natural disasters like floods and forest fires, and civil disorders.
While nobody is immune to an emergency, preparedness in the face of the highlighted disasters could be the difference between life and death. Therefore, having a ready-to-go survival emergency kit in your car or home is prudent. Below are must-have items to keep you safe during an emergency.
1. Tactical Survival Gear
The term “tactical” may sound advanced, perhaps even intimidating, to individuals with a military, law enforcement, or survivalist background. However, tactical gear covers way more than guns and ammunition; some tactical survival gear items are less technical and may be simpler to use than you think.
Nonetheless, top quality tactical survival gear is essential in helping keep you safe regardless of the nature of your emergency. Such items include everyday carry (EDC) items like a knife and tool keychain, light sticks, navigation tools, binoculars, self-defense pens, stun guns, paracords, and tactical garments.
Tactical survival gear helps you defend against impending danger or safely make your way out of an otherwise dangerous situation. For example, you can use a stun gun to pacify aggressive animals like coyotes when they attack without causing them bodily harm. Also, you can use tactical binoculars to perceive your environment better when lost or chart a path to safety when stranded during natural disasters.
Diverse tactical survival gear is available on the market to suit different emergencies. Therefore, consider packing the tactical gear with the most diverse uses in various situations.
2. A First Aid Kit
A first aid kit is vital in managing injuries sustained during an emergency and stabilizing the injured party until search and rescue services arrive. According to one Red Cross survey, 59% of deaths from injuries would have been preventable had the disease received first aid before emergency services arrived. Moreover, the report also showed that first aid administration improves the chances of a full recovery post-injury while limiting the chances of short-term or permanent disability.
Therefore, always include a well-stocked first aid kit in your survival kit. First aid kit essentials include gauze dressing, adhesive tape, latex gloves, scissors/tweezers, assorted band-aids, an Epipen, antiseptic wipes/spray, and painkillers like aspirin. However, besides packing first aid kit essentials, ensure you learn and update your first aid administration skills.
3. A Solar-powered Radio
Radio is a crucial disaster management tool, helping to gather and disperse real-time information people can use to stay safe. Such information includes hazard warnings and emergency relief information. Unfortunately, an emergency may damage the power lines within the affected area, curbing information flow. However, a solar-powered radio provides a medium to receive hazard warnings and other pertinent information, regardless of the power situation.
Moreover, some solar-powered radios feature pre-programmed and independent NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) channels. NOAA weather radio channels constitute a nationwide weather broadcasting network. The radio channels within the network exclusively broadcast weather information directly from National Weather Service Offices within proximity.
A solar-powered radio tuned to the weather network empowers you to decide the course of action that will improve your chances of survival during an emergency. Besides solar-powered radios, battery-powered radios with NOAA channels are also helpful but ensure you pack spare batteries for such radios.
4. A Flashlight/Headlight
Besides an information blackout, an electric blackout is another disastrous scenario that may occur during an emergency. An electric blackout means no electricity to power residential and street lighting. Moreover, electricity may do you no good if trapped below ground level away from the power grid.
A light source like a flashlight or headlight is helpful in such a situation. Flashlights and headlights aid in navigation during an emergency by lighting the way. Moreover, they double as signaling tools that search and rescue teams can follow to get to you if you are trapped.
Also, headlights allow you to increase visibility while freeing your hands to focus on other emergency-related tasks. However, ensure you carry spare batteries to power your emergency light source.
5. Multi-tools
A multi-tool is a hand-held or pocket-size mechanical device featuring multiple everyday carry tools incorporated into a single unit. Such tools include cutting blades, screwdrivers, bottle openers, scissors, and pliers.
Multi-tools are handy during an emergency, giving you access to multiple resources you can use to escape or save someone from a dire situation. Moreover, they take up limited space in your emergency pack, unlike if you would have had to pack all the tools incorporated into the multi-tool unit individually.
6. A Water Filtration System
Water is life, and proper hydration is paramount, even during an emergency. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends storing at least one gallon of water per person for three days during an emergency.
However, a so-gallon load is unlikely to fit inside your survival pack or will slow you down significantly. However, packing a compact water filtration system can resolve the hydration issue.
A water filtration system features a mechanism that rids water from questionable sources of harmful bacteria and other water-borne pathogens, converting it into safe drinking water. Multiple water filtration systems exist, including purification tablets and water filter straws.
7. A Tarp
A tarp is an underrated disaster preparedness tool that serves multiple functions during an emergency. You can use a tarp to protect yourself from unfavorable wet weather, keep your survival pack dry, create temporary shelter, line the base of your tent to prevent water seepage, or make a hammock or stretcher, among other uses. Moreover, tarps are inexpensive and take up limited space in your cervical pack.
8. Food
Emergency food storage provides rations you can feed on during an emergency while you wait for search and rescue teams and humanitarian organizations to arrive with supplies. One government report recommends storing a multi-day supply of non-perishable food.
The report recommends storing canned foods like meats, fruits, and vegetables, dehydrated foods, protein bars, dried cereal, pasteurized milk, and nut butter. Pack approximately 2000 calories per person per day.
Conclusion:
Emergency and disaster preparedness is a life skill every individual should master because nobody is immune to an emergency. The cheat sheet above should help you start your emergency preparedness journey by identifying the essentials.