The shelter in place preparation strategy is only one of two preparation strategies that most individuals or families really need to implement to be prepared. So, you may ask, “Why would I ever need to shelter in place?” There are many hazards, incidents or crisis that might prevent you from leaving your domicile on short notice:

Tornado
Earthquake
Severe Thunderstorm
Utility interruption or failure such as power outage, water, gas, or steam leaks
Hazardous materials spill or release
Demonstration, civil disturbance, police action
A snowstorm or Artic freeze
Pandemic
Hurricane (if you choose to “ride it out”)

On top of these hazards, there is another issue: the amount of advanced warning may limit your ability to evacuate your home or domicile. Consider these additional hazards where sheltering in place might be best advised or required:

Terrorism
Civil unrest
Environmental incidents: severe pollution, sewage, or infrastructure failure.
Tsunami
A windstorm, dust storm, high winds
Lightning strikes followed by spreading wildfire.

Is there any probability of any of the above hazards occurring where you live? Look at the following graphic of a variety of potential disasters by state from the website https://www.climate.gov.

While the graphic above displays weather and climate disasters over a 35-year time frame, the graphic below from the same website displays a very troubling and costly weather year in 2020.

In the business world, corporations use extensive probability analysis to determine if their business or locations are at risk. This analysis is called a vulnerability analysis. However, you do not need to hire a consulting firm or take a lot of time determining what your family is at risk for. No matter which disaster type may come your way, if you are prepared to either flee or shelter in place safely, you will be more prepared than over one half of all Americans. Think you do not have time to prepare? Consider these risks of being unprepared:

Loss of life
Loss of home or shelter
Loss of essential utilities (heat, cooling, power, water, transportation access, etc.)
Food contamination and/or sickness due to eating tainted or spoiled food.
Loss of financial assets
Loss of personal assets
Loss of personal mementos

To shelter in place safely for a significant duration of time (we suggest being prepared for a minimum of 72 hours), you simply need to create a shelter-in-place kit or assemble the appropriate resources. Prepared properly, a shelter in place kit cannot only save lives, it can make a tough situation bearable. Plus, it is not that difficult to create a kit. Most of the items that should go into a shelter in place kit are probably in your pantry. Missing items can be purchased in a day or two. In a few days you can be more prepared than over 50% of the Americans living in the United States. And if you want to be more prepared, have more assets, be able to last longer and more comfortably, you can always add more resources to your basic shelter in place kit and build an advanced shelter in place kit. Your choice!

Why Would You Ever Need to Shelter in Place?

"The Shelter-in-Place Tiny" Course is for customers only.

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