A Reminder Of Why It's Good To Be Prepared

In light of the recent disaster in Japan I think everyone should take a good look at what can happen in a time of crisis.

In just a matter of a few hours Japan went from being a nation with the third largest economy on the planet to a country of total devastation. Now that the flood waters have receded much of the country finds itself left with a crippled infrastructure that has no means of providing the basic necessities to its people. Currently there is a shortage of everything including food, water, shelter, medicine and gasoline and no one knows when these necessities will be available to the Japanese people. Even areas of Japan that were not hit by the tsunami are seeing shortages of these items.


I was reading an article on Zerohedge.com about one persons first hand account of surviving the quake and now living with the aftermath. I recommend reading the article as it gives you a real feeling of people are going through over there.

I want to focus on the following pictures though. The writer of the article comments on how quickly the food disappeared from store shelves.

"The power interruptions and damage to infrastructure are leaving stores in Japan’s earthquake area sold out. Gas stations are rationing, but closing one by one as they go dry. Between a third and half of the shops in my town, Sano, are closed for various reasons, not least of which is to let society catch its breath. The following pictures were taken by mobile phone at stores in Sano:"







Now after looking at these pictures, imagine yourself standing in your local grocery store with money in hand, but nothing on the shelves to buy. Most people keep no more than 3-5 days worth of food on hand because they have grown accustom to being able to buy food whenever they need it. But what happens if the day comes when the supply chain gets interrupted? How long could you feed your family with the food you have on hand?

I look at it this way.

Keeping a good supply of extra food on hand is nothing more than buying an insurance policy that you actually get some value out of. Instead of keeping "just enough" food in your pantry, try having 2-3 months worth that you continually use out of. You will find that it is so much more convenient when you have extra food on hand as you can make your trips to the store when you have time, not when you are almost out of food.

You will be amazed at the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if disaster ever strikes, you and your family will not go hungry.