Has disaster preparedness become too commercialized?

One of the more difficult issues with survival in disasters is communication and sphere of awareness. Common individuals from the public are oft accused of giving little thought or concern about preparedness until after the event – obviously much too late. Is it even fair to expect more? John and Suzy Q. have enough to worry about conducting their everyday lives. To them, the notion of preparing to survive in worst case scenarios smacks of cardboard plaques claiming the end is near.

Perhaps playing on both this and the sensational fear that follows every disaster event, some commercial products have arisen promising preparedness in a box. Just pay the freight, and never give a second thought while the kit gathers dust in some forgotten corner.

This is severe folly that could potentially cost more lives than having no preparations at all. An overconfident family may opt to ride out an incoming hurricane or shun help until it is too late to do so. Dr. Arthur Bradley, author of Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family summarizes the concept perfectly.

Bradley, A. T. (2012). Handbook to practical disaster preparedness for the family. Lexington, KY: Arthur T. Bradley, Kindle Location 482.

We all love one stop shopping. It’s easy, and there’s little thought required. Capitalizing on that line of convenience thinking, several companies now offer prepackaged disaster preparedness kits. Most are stored in airtight buckets or easy to carry backpacks-both good ideas. If you read the the retailer websites, you might be convinced that preparing offers nothing more than forking over $99 and finding a shelf on which to store the bucket of goodies.

Through an exhaustive step by step analysis, Dr. Arthur goes on to put a commercial family of four survival kit up against a real world east coast hurricane scenario. His conclusion was not surprising. The kit fell woefully short of meeting the most basic needs.

Bradley, A. T. (2012). Handbook to practical disaster preparedness for the family. Lexington, KY: Arthur T. Bradley, Kindle Location 529.

The bottom line is that, upon further analysis, the bucket DP kit falls far short of meeting your family’s post-hurricane needs. Test this kit against other scenarios, such as a winter storm, terrorist strike, or widespread blackout. No doubt you will agree that it does little to improve your chance of survival, let alone make the situation more tolerable.

The simple truth is that disaster preparedness is not unlike any other personal skill. It is not particularly complex, but does require a nominal expenditure of thought and effort. You can order today, but it’s of little use unless you act now.