You can’t watch the news these days without hearing about another natural disaster. Are they becoming more frequent and more severe or is the media just reporting them more often?

According to some environmental experts, these natural disasters will increase in frequency and severity and will be increasingly unpredictable. Many blame this on global warming.

What types of threat could your family face? You can break them down into three broad categories: natural disasters, man-made disasters and personal setbacks.

Natural disasters

  • Forest fires
  • Earthquakes
  • Hurricanes
  • Tornadoes
  • Flooding
  • Extreme cold
  • Extreme snowfall
  • Freezing rain
  • Avalanche
  • Mudslides
  • Drought
  • Heatwave

Man-made disasters/situations

Personal situations

The likelihood of any of these happening to you depends on where you live. In Canada, cold related events have a high possibility of occurring but less so in equatorial Africa.

It’s up to you to assess the risk posed by each potential threat and determine how you can deal with it. Any of the threats above may happen and chances are you’ll be involved in one of them in some way during your lifetime. As global warming worsens, the likelihood increases of you being personally involved in more than one.

Natural disasters, while unpredictable, have characteristics that can be planned for. If you live in a flood plain, you should consider moving. If that’s not possible, having a finished basement might not be a good idea. Storing valuables in the basement is also not advisable.

It’s up to each person to assess the threats they are most likely to face and seek solutions that make sense to them. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

Natural disasters

  • Forest fires – avoid having any combustible materials within 10 metres of your home. Cedar shingles are out. Metal or concrete tiles are better. Stucco siding is good.
  • Earthquakes – is your home reinforced? Your apartment? Is it up to code?
  • Hurricanes – is your roof adequately fastened to your walls? Do you have storm shutters?
  • Tornadoes – do you have a strong room (reinforced room) or storm shelter? Dome homes apparently are able to withstand tornadoes if they are built properly.
  • Flooding – do you live on a flood plain? Consider moving.
  • Extreme cold – do you have an alternate source of heat if your primary source fails? Is your home adequately weather sealed and insulated?
  • Extreme snowfall – will your roof withstand a heavy snow load? Is your vehicle adequate for such conditions?
  • Freezing rain – do you have an alternate source of heat and electricity if your primary sources fail? Are there trees in the vicinity of your home that could fall and damage it?
  • Avalanche – do you live in an avalanche prone area? Could one block access to your home or to a hospital?
  • Mudslides – do you live in a hilly or mountainous area? Is that area subject to heavy rainfall occasionally? Is slope stability an issue in your area? Call your local municipality and talk to engineers.
  • Drought – What will you do for water? Water storage?
  • Heatwave – do you have air conditioning? If there is a blackout, do you have an alternative source of electricity to power it? Is there the potential for a water shortage? Do you have water stored? Is your home insulated adequately? Do you have a basement? (Basements are generally cooler than the rest of the home.)

Man-made disasters/situations

  • Industrial accident – do you live near an industrial area, railroad tracks or major highway which has hazardous material traffic?
  • Blackout – do you have an alternate source of electricity (generator, solar panels) to use in a blackout? During a cold snap or heatwave, this could be important.
  • Riot or civil unrest – do you live in an area that is politically unstable or economically depressed? Are entrances to your home reinforced? Do you have the means to protect yourself and your family?
  • Economic depression – are you financially stable enough to weather an extended period of unemployment? (see unemployment section below)
  • Terrorist attack – do you live near or travel to high risk targets?
  • Repressive government – how stable is the government where you live? If people use the words regime or banana when describing your country’s government, that’s a bad sign.

Personal situations

  • Unemployment – how stable is your job? Will your training amd education enable you to find another job? Are you living from paycheque to paycheque? Do you have a high amount of personal debt? Is your home paid off? Is your car paid off? Do you have enough food set aside for your family to survive for a year? Do you have adequate saving to be able to survive for three months without outside help?
  • Death of family breadwinner – does your family only have one breadwinner? If there are two, could the family survive on the surviving breadwinner’s income? Is there any/enough life insurance in place to take care of the family?

These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself when assessing threats your family might face. How you deal with them is up to you but you should start asking the questions now.

It is not possible for most of us to afford to correct dangerous situations immediately. The smartest thing to do is focus on the situations that are most likely to occur. One very likely event is an economic downturn and unemployment. When your financial house is in order, it is easier to deal with any other crisis.

Don’t be anxious if you haven’t prepared for any of the threats listed above or any that may have been overlooked. Being aware of these threats is only the first step. Being mentally prepared is the second and most important step. If you are blindsided by a disaster, it makes it a lot tougher to deal with it successfully. Making yourself aware and beginning the process to be able to deal with these threats gives you the mental toughness to deal with a disaster if it hits.

Never underestimate the need to be in good shape financially. Listen to the news and you soon realize that disasters are usually measured in dollar terms. They’re a lot easier to overcome when you’re financially healthy.

So, if you’re concerned about your family’s safety, now’s a good time to get started. Begin with assessing the threats you might face and plan to deal with them most effectively. Rank them according to likelihood of occurrence and begin to reduce the risks of those disasters destroying your family.