About Natural Disaster Safety

In the United States, every city, state and geographic region is subject to its own mix of natural disasters: earthquakes, landslides and wildfires in the southwest; ice storms and blizzards in the northeast; hurricanes and torrential floods in the southeast and along the eastern seaboard and tornadoes and flash floods throughout the Midwest. Although there are areas that may have a lower statistical risk of suffering a natural disaster, no area is completely safe.

Significance

• Since encountering natural disasters is a fact of life, ensuring our safety and that of our loved ones during a disastrous event must also be a constant consideration. Natural disaster safety can be divided into three primary areas. First, natural disaster preparedness involves understanding your environment and disaster needs and how to access resources should the need arise. Second is the survival of a natural disaster. This involves all of the steps you will need to take to ensure the safety of your family if you find yourself in the middle of a disaster event. The last area is recovery. In many cases this can be the most traumatic aspect of dealing with a natural disaster. Despite the difficulties you might encounter in addressing each of these areas, failure to do so can be tragic and life altering.

Preparedness

• Since there are numerous different types of natural disasters, each with its own effects and safety demands, it is important to be familiar with the disasters that are particular to your area. For example, preparing for a hurricane is dramatically different from preparing for a tornado. Although similar in many aspects, the path and intensity of a hurricane can be forecast within 80 percent accuracy up to five days prior to landfall; tornadoes can form and touch-down with little or no warning at all. Knowing what type of event you can expect in your area can make a significant difference in how successfully you survive a disaster.

Survival

• Surviving a disaster means than just living though it. Many disaster events have left individuals and families physically healthy but with deep mental or emotional scars. Emerging from a disaster completely unscathed may not be possible. However, once you have prepared for the events you are most likely to encounter, following through with your disaster plans, accessing pre-identified resources, staying calm and working cooperatively with friends and neighbors will be the best ways of emerging safely from a natural disaster.

Recovery

• Recovering from the effects of a natural disaster is a complex and multi-faceted endeavor. You should not expect it to be a simple or quick process. You will need to address the physical, mental and emotional changes the disaster has brought to your life. Physical aspects like loss or damage to personal property, or physical injury or illness need to be quickly addressed. There are many federal resources like the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that can provide, or help you access resources to address these needs. The American Psychiatric Association has attributed many cases of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the after affects of natural disasters. It is important to seek support and assistance in dealing with the emotional and mental consequences of recovering from a disaster event. Join survivor support groups or start one yourself, seek private counseling or counseling from friends, family or spiritual leaders. Identifying these resources in advance of a disaster can go a long way toward ensuring your mental and emotional safety after the event has occurred.

Considerations

• It takes careful planning and consideration to ensure your safety before, during and after a natural disaster takes place. There are many companies that offer survival kits designed to address immediate needs during a disaster. The FEMA website (FEMA.gov) can provide disaster profiles of specific areas with statistical detail on what disaster types can be anticipated and how frequently. Between 2005 and 2009, there has not been one region of the United States that has not been severely impacted by a natural disaster at least once. Many states can claim several disaster occurrences within this time. If you are new to an area, research the disaster support groups and find out the services they offer. You may even want to volunteer; one of the best ways to support your own recovery is to be instrumental in the recovery of others.