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Posts Tagged ‘flood’

Natural Threats – Managing A Mean Mother Nature!

The reality is none of us can control Mother Nature and her moods, especially when she is in a mean one! There are parts of the world where she is meaner more often than other places… these are places to avoid at all costs but unfortunately some of us have little choice. We either have to live where we do or we are there at the wrong time, whether we like it or not.

Floods, fires, earthquakes, storms, blizzards, tsunami, landslides, avalanche, typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones, lightening strikes, any ‘natura disaster’ or, as insurance companies are fond of claiming in order to deny liability; ‘acts of God’.

We often forget that we don’t control our world as much as we think we do. While we can predict and forecast bad weather far more accurately there is little if anything we can do to change what will happen. Knowing we are about to be hit by a severe typhoon/hurricane/cyclone is one thing but what can you do to stop it? Nothing!

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts, forest fires, mud slides, tsunami’s and blizzards are all potentially life threatening. If not directly then as a result of conditions caused by the event. A storm might knock out the power for a day and during that time gangs roam the darkness looking for easy targets. You might be evacuated in the face of an approaching flood only to return and find the house high and dry yet cleaned out by looters. What if you catch a couple of them in the act? The threat category then changes to Man-Made Direct but more of that later.

More appropriately for this division is what will you do to survive with no power, no fresh water and no food other than what is already in the cupboards? Natural risks are present whenever we find ourselves in the classic survival situation; alone in the wilderness with a knife and little else kind of thing. Lucky you have the knife, right?

You don’t have to be the survivor of a plane crash in the desert or jungle to be confronted with natural threats to your life. You might even be playing a round of golf and a sudden electrical storm finds you the tallest object around for some distance holding up a metal lighting rod called a five iron! Do you take cover under the trees off in the rough? Haven’t you always been warned never to stand under trees in a storm? Do you lie down in the open and get soaked? Do you keep on playing and figure the odds are in your favour?

None of these choices are a problem until you get it wrong and the dice roll the other way for you. Zap! You get hit with a zillion volts and thrown across the green. Your buddies panic and run for help and you lie there in the rain wondering if you are going to survive this unforeseen drama. Surely this is as life threatening and worthy of personal protection planning as getting mugged at the ATM one night?

If you have never been a victim of Mother Nature, take some time now to research the natural hazards you may encounter. Floods, typhoons, mud slides and whatever else. Check out the weather and the seasons, even getting heatstroke is avoidable yet surely it is as potentially dangerous as being mugged?

More Than Sandbags And Squeegee Mops

Flood survival is often tied to surviving other natural disasters such as hurricanes or major storms. As well as the water posing the risk of drowning, many people are affected by the diseases carried on the flood waters or lingering in the muddy aftermath.

If you live on low lying, level ground then you run the risk of suffering flood damage to your home and property and potentially harm to yourself from the water itself. Debris such as tree trunks, cars and dead farm animals can multiply the risks faced in dealing with such a situation.

Additionally, you may be isolated and unable to get to help or help get to you for several days. Surviving such a situation is achievable if you take some sensible precautions before the event. First of all be aware of your location and whether it is at risk of flooding. Flood prone areas are known to authorities and inhabitants and often reflected in insurance premiums and building codes for the area.

Give some thought now, while the water isn’t lapping at your feet, as to what you would do to survive a flood.