Now that we are two days into the tap-water warning in the Lower Mainland, everyone has been given a small glimpse of how well we would do in a real emergency like an earthquake. It’s not looking so good.

Given that there were reports in the media of people getting into pushing matches at stores over the last cases of bottled water (in the middle of a rain storm no less), it seems to be a safe bet that, collectively, we are not very prepared at all. In the event that we were forced to look after ourselves and our families during a real emergency where power, water and communications were unavailable, most people would be in a lot of trouble.

In looking at my own home, I realized we are ill prepared for any type of emergency. As a result, we have finally started building our own disaster preparedness kit at home to include basics like water (about 4 litres per person, per day is the recommended amount… with a 3 day supply), flashlights with spare batteries and non-perishable food.

Here is a link to the Public Safety and Emergency Canada website which has a number of checklists and articles showing you what you need to do to be able to survive for 3 days after a disaster without having to rely on emergency services. The site provides a lot of useful information including what items should be a part of your home disaster preparedness kit.

(The photo above is from Kate’s blog on Vancity’s Change Everything site)