5 Emergency Planning Hacks That Will Eliminate Chaos and Help You Recover Quickly When Disaster Strikes

It’s evening. You’re binge-watching that must-see TV series, maybe heating up food in a microwave, charging your phone, or sweating over a looming deadline while working on your laptop.

Suddenly, the lights in your house start to flicker. Complete darkness and silence surround you as all your electronic devices shut down. Your entire neighborhood has been hit with a power outage.

More than three million Puerto Rico residents — 90 percent of the island — lost their power on September 18 after Hurricane Fiona’s fierce winds downed utility lines. Massive flooding in July left more than 23,000 Eastern Kentucky residents stranded for days without power.

In a completely different scenario, the people in the apartment above yours left town before their sprinkler system exploded. As a result, water dripped through their floor and into your home office, destroying important papers you thought were safe in a desk drawer.

No matter where you live, you’re at risk for various disasters that could wreak havoc on your life. Beyond the frustrations of being without electricity or wireless access and food spoiling in your refrigerator, power losses could prove life-threatening during winter. And it’s a big problem on a blistering hot day when you can’t turn on the fan or air conditioner.

You can eliminate stress by planning to be safe and resilient before a disaster hits. Here are a few tips from ready.gov:

1. Build a basic emergency supply kit. It should include water (one gallon per person per day), a several-day supply of non-perishable food, paper plates and plastic utensils, flashlights and extra batteries, moist towelettes, garbage bags, a manual can-opener, backup batteries for cell phones, pens, and paper, a first-aid kit, pet food and extra water for your pet, matches in a waterproof container, and cash (ATMs won’t be working after a major power outage).

2. Store vital paper documents like passports, birth certificates, and other valuables in a fireproof, waterproof box. Store electronic copies of important documents using a secure cloud-based service for easy access.

3. Talk with household members about where you’ll go if told to evacuate. Having a plan will save time and money.

4. Get a battery-operated phone charger and a battery-operated portable radio.

5. Sign up for emergency alerts in your area or download the FEMA App for weather updates and safety tips.

The ready.gov site has lots of helpful disaster preparedness tips. While nobody wants to dwell on worst-case scenarios, it’s still good to at least have a flashlight, perishable food, water, and a wad of cash handy, just in case.