You DON'T have to be a victim!

If you live in Los Angeles, a sensitive preparation can go a long way and can make a difference between being a victim or being able to live through an emergency.

Consider this: The greater Los Angeles population is composed of over 18,000,000 individuals - that is a HUGE number of men, women and children. The vast majority being very ill prepared for any kind of emergency. A simple power outage lasting several days would have tremendous repercussion in such a crowded urban environment.

As an example, let's take a look at that simple scenario: A power outage of moderate duration such as only a week, and look at some of the repercussions:

• ATMs and banks will not work - you can't get cash
• If you don't have cash, you can't buy food (Do you have enough food at home?)
• Most likely large stores won't be open - they won't even accept cash because the registers needs electricity (It happened to me during a power outage - I had cash but could not use it)
• You can't buy gas either. (and if you're away from home, I hope you have enough gas)
• The food in your fridge and freezer will spoil very fast.
• Basic utilities won't work - if you have food, how will you cook it?
• You need at least 5 gallons per person for 5 days - That's just drinking water. Do you have it?
• How will you clean yourself if the water does not work?
• What about the simple act of going to the bathroom?
• Would there be any civil disturbances like looting? Increase of criminality?

And the list could go on for many, many pages.

In many ways, in an urban environment, a basic emergency preparedness is a social obligation. By being prepared you can be part of the solution and not the problem. Instead of being a victim, you can be able to help yourself, your family and others around you.

WHAT YOU CAN DO...

You can get yourself educated. There are many resources existing on the Internet and in various books.

Give yourself a goal, something that you can accomplish easily. Maybe it's being prepared for 3 days or a week and go from there. I'm advocating sensible preparedness but as you go along and learn new things, you may take the decision to do much more. It's your choice. Many options are available within various budgets. You don't have to be rich to be prepared.

Learn to become actively part of the solution. Take a look at some of the preparedness/self-reliance classes I offer and consider attending one. I spent a long time studying the subject of Urban Preparedness and the classes I've put together are extremely hands-on with lots of actual examples. You get to observe and try things, you are also provided with written materials so you can review what you learned later on and apply it in your life.

Learning preparedness can be a lot of fun.