Life is full of surprises. You never know what can happen. Depending on where you live, natural disaster can happen at any given moment. Some areas are prone to flash floods while other areas are more likely to be buried under mounds of snow. Either way, it’s important to prepare for these types of things before it happens.

Read on to learn how to plan food storage and survival when a disaster strikes:

Stay Up To Date Before The Disaster Hits

In the event of a disaster, it pays to be diligent. If you’re in an area that could be affected, it’s critical to keep yourself and your family updated on the situation. To brace yourself and your family, the first course of action is to come up with an effective survival plan. However, this is easier said than done, especially if it’s your first time being a part of a natural disaster.

Stock Up On Non-Perishable Foods

The first rule of thumb is to stock up on non-perishable food. This type of food doesn’t require any special form of storage and can last for long periods of time.

Here is a list of some of the non-perishables that you can purchase:

• Canned foods such as corn, beans, peas, green beans and fruit.
• Bread
• Beef jerky
• Dried fruits
• Crackers
• Water
• Boxed juice
• Bags of nuts

This is just to name a few non-perishables as there are plenty of others to put in emergency meal kits. You may even be able to add things like instant ramen and pre-made soups if you have the power and water.

Have A Survival Kit At The Ready

Now that you know what food to buy, it’s time to go into what else you need in the event of a disaster. Aside from non-perishables, you’ll also need a survival kit. A survival kit is a stash of food and items that are used in the case of an emergency. We’ve already gone over what food you need, so let’s jump right into the other essentials. In most cases of a natural disaster, the power is going to go out and since almost everything runs off of electricity, this leaves you with almost nothing.

Should this happen, turn on the backup generator. However, unless you have some way to charge it, the back up generator will gradually run out of power, so use it sparingly. The next essential to have in your emergency meal kits is water. Everyone should always have a few gallons of water on hand. In fact, the more water you have, the better. People can go a little more than three weeks without food, however, water is a different story. People can only go up to four days without water before organs start shutting down.

Here are other essentials you should put in your survival kit:

• Extra blankets
• Extra sheets
• Extra towels
• A multi-purpose tool
• Flashlights in case your back up generator runs out of power
• External phone chargers
• Two to three first aid kits
• A few packs of batteries
• Extra food for your pet
• Extra baby food
• Toilet paper and paper towels
• A first aid kit

It’s important to note that not all of this is necessary, excluding the food, as some disasters aren’t going to be as intense.

A natural disaster is a frightening thing to have to go through. However, with a little advanced preparation, it is possible to survive. It’s also worth mentioning that you may not know when the disaster will end or how long it takes for the effects of the aftermath to disappear. However, with the right plan and the proper resources, the disaster will end just as quickly as it started.