Disaster Preparedness Kit- Yes or No?
 

Ok, I need some opinions on this...

Do you think having a Disaster Preparedness Kit is a good idea, or is it just being overly paranoid? I don't mean having duct tape to seal your windows shut, but a kit with water and food and basic first aid supplies. Please give me some help with this... I'm so undecided if this is a good idea or not. :confused:

Growing up in south texas where we were always worried about hurricanes, I would definately say a supply of food, batteries and stuff like that is not being paranoid. It's being prepared.

While a natural disaster such as a hurricane is vastly different from the 'disaster' we potentially face, I still believe it would never hurt.

It's ALWAYS a good idea to be prepared. Have a little extra food and water in case the stores aren't able to open or something like that. Duct tape, etc might be taking it a little far unless you live somewhere like NYC.

You should prepare for terrorism the same way you'd prepare for a bad weather event or season like tornado/hurricane season.

Actually, Duct tape won't work. It's gas permeable. You know how everyone in the movies can breathe through duct tape? That's why they use it, so the actors can breathe. If you want to shut out gas from your home, you would want to use sealing tape that is not gas permeable. Of course you'd have to surround your house in a bubble.
We could all just go live in the bioshpere.
-M

I think it's worth having some extra food, water and a battery powered radio around -- and whatever else.

Heck, we're in the midst of a snow storm that may bring 4 FEET of snow. Glad we've got some extra provisions.

when they first raised the national security level to code orange a few weeks ago my parents freaked out so they sent me a bunch of the stuff that they were saying to have to be prepared: plastic sheeting, duct tape, a flashlight, battery powered lantern, first aid kit, etc..they also made me go out and buy a bunch of non-perishable food and water..so yeah, i have an emergency kit..all of which now sits in the trunk of my car.. so i guess you could say i'm prepared should something happen..i'm not too worried tho..

and michelle - the duct tape isn't to seal the windows..its to tape up the plastic sheeting that will seal the windows/doors/openings/etc..

Thanks for all of the advice. I went out today and bought some supplies: battery-powered radio, battery-powered lantern, extra batteries, sternos and a sterno cooking stove (which will also be useful when camping ;) ), water, plastic dishes and silveware, and non-perishable foods (oh, and extra cat food for my cat). Everthing is packed up in a Rubbermaid box which will go under the bed.

After I thought about it last night (and read a few of your responses), I decided that making a kit was a good idea. We get some pretty nasty ice storms during the winter, and we have been know to have an odd tornado or two. It's just something good to have in case the power is out for a few days and we are stuck inside.

Again, thanks for the advice! :D

-Nicole

while i see that it is wise to be prepared, i cant help but wonder if we are worrying too much. i know its a precaution, but are things being taken a little too seriously? people who live in places prone to disasters like tornadoes, snow storms, hurricanes, etc...understand the importance of a disaster kit. for me, i have been living in florida all of my life except for two years and my family has never made a disaster kit. our area has never been hit by a hurricane. i have lived in several places in florida that has never seen a hurricane. is it luck? maybe. is my family foolish? maybe. i just think that we live in a paranoid country. yes i know there is a serious threat of war. i hate it. i think war is terribly unnecessary, dated, and just plain useless.
i do think that our country needs to take it easy though. we use to think that we would not live to see the other side of 2000...y2k bug.

just a thought.

Yeah.....

Hell yeah we're prepared, lol...we'd just go over to my husbands parents house. His mom has enough supplies to help out a third world country.