Disasters and emergencies you should prep for

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Prepping has been a lifestyle adopted by our ancestors who had a mindset for proactively taking measures to ensure their own and their family's health, safety and overall well-being in the face of any uncertainty.

Here are some disasters and emergencies preppers prepare for. These are just a few examples.

Category C: Small-scale critical events

Here are some instances of small-scale critical events that you and your family can encounter.

Examples of street crime and violence include assaults and batteries, gun and knife crimes, muggings, pickpocketing, riots and street fights. Smart preppers of all sexes and ages have learned to apply the gray man theory– a way to disappear into a crowd so they can move unnoticed when disaster strikes. (Related: 11 Valuable survival tips you can learn from the homeless.)

Accidents can cause severe injury or even death. Some examples include:

Home mishaps or tragedies – carbon monoxide intoxication or poisoning, electrical shocks, falling off stairs, falling objects, food poisoning, house fire, power outages and more.

Disasters or tragedies outside the home – animal bites and insect stings, boating accidents, bicycle accidents, car and motorcycle breakdowns or crashes, drowning, getting struck by lightning, hiking accidents, road rage, weather-related injuries or deaths.

A third example to watch out for is losing one's job and/or home. The unemployment rate in the U.S. reportedly remains unchanged from December 2023 to January 2024 – holding at 3.7 percent in January compared to 3.4 percent last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

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The 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), Part 1, released on Dec. 15 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), estimated more than 650,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night – a 12 percent increase from 2022.

Category B: Medium-scale disasters

Natural and man-made disasters cause serious disruptions to the functioning of communities that exceed their capacity to cope with them using their resources.

Some natural disasters can be forecasted based on past scientific data, such as patterns that help scientists determine where and when natural disasters are likely to occur, including floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. (Related: Survival 101: How to prepare for and survive a tornado.)

Volcanologists can predict eruptions – IF they have a thorough understanding of a volcano’s eruptive history. They can also do so if they manage to install proper instrumentation ahead of eruptions, and if they have the resources for continuously monitoring and adequately interpreting data coming from the right equipment.

Research published in Nature Communications, released on Aug. 22, 2023, showed that record-shattering heatwaves can now be predicted based on climate model information available before heatwave events. Reportedly, the study has unveiled a new technique that could help communities better prepare for life-threatening heat waves. (Related: How to stay cool if you lose power during a heatwave.)

The Great Plains and the upper Midwest of the U.S. tend to be the region that experiences blizzards most often – with few trees or other natural obstructions to reduce blowing snow and harsh ice and winter storms, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which administers the nation's more than 150 national forests and 20 national grasslands, can predict wildfires, but current events have told us that this is not always the case.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), tsunamis, like the earthquakes that generate most of them, cannot be predicted.

Man-made disasters in recent U.S. history include airline crashes, biological or chemical attacks, chemical spills, groundwater poisoning, spills of hazardous materials, explosions, nuclear blasts and rail accidents. These are all said to have an element of human intent, negligence or error involving a failure of a man-made system. (Related: GRID DOWN: Things you need to do to survive long-term blackouts).

Category A: Large-scale devastating events

One example of a large-scale devastating event to watch out and prepare for is war. While many hope that the world will avoid diving into World War III, things aren't looking great – and civil war is another matter altogether. No matter where you live, war is going to affect everyone. (Related: Insulate and protect yourself and your family from war with these practical preparedness tips.)

S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L.

Most preppers apply the S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L. technique – which stands for:

S - Size up the situation. Learn how to understand your immediate area, including what’s going on around you. Know what resources (food, water, shelter and others) may or may not be available for you and your family to survive and thrive. Identify natural or man-made threats. Know your strengths – in terms of your inventories of essential supplies and other stockpiles. Using and restocking these routinely will ensure your life and the safety of your family. (Related: Possible scenarios following an EMP event.)

U - Undue haste makes waste. Your mind is your best tool and your most important resource. Just like your great-grandfathers, learn how to make use of all your senses to consider all aspects of a situation before making decisions.

R - Remember where you are. This is knowing whether it is safer to bug in your home and ride out disasters or bug out. The last thing you or your family need to say is "Why did we go away?"

V - Vanquish fear and panic. Remember that one bad decision will lead to another and you will not be doing yourself or your family any favors. Experienced preppers learn from their mistakes so no matter how chaotic things are around them, they have developed the ability to remain calm and take quick, sensible action.

I - Improvise. Prepping is all about continuous learning – whether is new skills or how to use tools – not only for their main purpose but other uses they have. You may want to start thinking like MacGyver and recall how with just his pocket Swiss knife he was able to make whatever he needed and found other uses for materials that were available. Learn five primitive skills that will come in handy when SHTF.

V - Value living. Your mental attitude will play a huge role when it comes to the will to survive but you can't afford that, especially when you have loved ones to think about. (Related: Ways to develop mental toughness and a survivor mindset when SHTF.)

A - Act like the natives. This means understanding how people survived in the past. Do you know the 10 preparedness skills you and your family should be mastering?