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(More customer reviews)We all love one-stop shopping. But just how effective are pre-packaged disaster preparedness kits? Try putting this kit to use in a real-world scenario.
Example scenario:
Assume that your family of four lives on the East Coast, and a hurricane blows through. Thousands of power poles are downed, leaving you without electricity for two weeks. Gasoline is in very short supply, supermarkets are unable to restock, and local water reserves are contained due to flooding. The temperature is about 85 degrees during the day and 50 degrees at night. there are subsequent bouts of heavy rain. Worst of all, a large tree has fallen through the roof of your house. And, though not prevalent, there are scattered incidents of looting.
Let's test this kit against your family's 14 fundamental needs:
* Food--The four 2400-calorie energy bars offer enough calories to keep a family of four alive for an additional two days over having nothing at all. But the less than appetizing meals certainly won't help the morale of your hungry family. There is no can opener to open any cans of salvaged food.
* Water-- The water pouches will last your family of four about six hours (assuming a minimum of one gallon per person/day). The water purification tablets could be very useful, but only against waterborne threats that react well to chemical halogens.
* Shelter--The simple ponchos, tent, and nylon cord can be used to construct a rudimentary shelter. However, there are no heavy tarps or tools in this kit to patch the hole in your roof, so your shelter is slowly being destroyed by the deluge of rain.
* Light-- The kit's single flashlight and one lightstick will be inadequate for your family to function at night. There are no emergency candles. After dark, your family will be forced to hunker down and wait for daylight.
* Heating/Cooling -- The temperatures are mild enough that you can survive without heating or cooling. Daytime temperatures will make it uncomfortably warm, as well as increase the need for drinking water. Evening temperatures will be chilly, forcing you to depend on the blankets you already have to keep everyone warm. Space blankets are unsuitable for anything except short term wilderness survival. They are typically small, easily torn, hard to wrap yourself in, and if questionable benefit over a simple tarp.
* Air -- In this scenario, there are no dangers to your air supply. However, if there were, the kit offers only four N95 lightweight dust masks that would be ineffective against most airborne threats.
* Sleep -- Sleeping in your home is still possible for a while, but conditions will quickly become unhealthy because of sanitation issues.
* Hygiene/Sanitation -- There are no supplies for hygiene or sanitation. Without an ample supply of water, your family faces risk of disease from poor sanitation. Also, the inability to maintain an accepted level of cleanliness will drastically drive morale down.
* Medicine/First Aid -- The 54-piece first aid kit contains simple bandaids and alcohol wipes and would be inadequate for anything much beyond a scraped knee.
* Communication -- The AM/FM radio provides a means of receiving information, but there is nothing in the kit to help contact family or friends, no evacuation plan, no games or activities to keep children entertained, and no information about emergency services.
* Financial Security -- The kit does nothing to help your financial security. In particular, there are no home inventory sheets included to help itemize property damage.
* Transportation/Navigation -- The small radio might offer information to help decide if evacuation is necessary. However, with this kit alone, you will have no spare gasoline, no alternate means of transportation, and no maps of the surrounding area.
* Protection -- The kit offers no personal protection beyond a small utility knife. Should looters invade your home thinking it empty, your family will be helpless to defend themselves.
As you can see from this simple assessment, pre-packaged DP kits do an inadequate job of preparing for real emergencies. That criticism, however, isn't directed against the companies making these products. In a sense, they are to be saluted for identifying a very real need - better to have this kit than nothing at all! Kits like these can be useful when you need just a few basic supplies, however, it is strongly recommended that you take a more practical approach to preparing your family.
Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."
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Mayday 4 Person Deluxe Emergency Backpack KitGreat all around emergency survival kit for one person. This kit wonderful for home, work, car, or wherever.Kit includes:1 - Backpack4 - 2400 Calorie Food Bars4 - Solar Blankets24 - Pouches of Waters4 - Dust Masks4 - Ponchos 1 - Flashlight2 - Alkaline "D" Batteries1 - 2 Person Tent1 - 50' Nylon Cord1 - 12 Hr. Light Stick1 - 54 Piece First Aid Kit50 - Water Purification Tablets50 - Waterproof Matches1 - Utility Knife1 - 5 N 1 Whistle1 - AM/FM Radio with Batteries1 - Camper's Stove1 - Pair Leather Palm Gloves
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