The coronavirus pandemic has been a wakeup call for millions of Americans. The speed with which the virus has brought life and the economy to a halt is shocking, to say the least. But if there is a silver lining it is in all the ways it has revealed our lack of preparedness for an emergency of this magnitude. While we are likely pull through this episode—eventually—there’s no guarantee that future pandemics and natural disasters will not be worse.
Now is the time to reflect on what we’ve done wrong—as well as what we’ve done right—in preparing for this moment. What lessons can be learned and applied to future scenarios? How can we prepare ourselves and families both physically and mentally? And how can we make sure those lessons stick?
As the coronavirus pandemic has shown, not every disaster is local. Some have the power to grind life to a halt on a truly global scale, and with climate change looming unchallenged on the horizon, the likelihood of such events occurring in the future remains high. Even the coronavirus pandemic arrived with some precedent—namely, the SARS and MERS outbreaks in 2003 and 2012, which were both caused by different species of coronavirus. Other pandemics in recent history, such as the Spanish flu in 1918, HIV in the 1980s, Swine flu in 2009, Ebola in 2014, and Zika in 2015 should have provided plenty of warning that a more sinister disease could emerge at any time. Circumstances suggest that these warnings were not heeded, at least not by the governments of the world.
But that doesn’t mean individuals and families are powerless. There’s plenty one can do to prepare their homes and their communities for disaster—be it a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, or another pandemic. Being prepared requires you to act fast, and to react to alerts or warnings the moment they appear. Of course, many natural disasters arrive with little to no warning, meaning you have to be prepared at any given time. That means stocking up on supplies—food, water, and medicine, most critically—and having a plan for how to last out the duration of the crisis.
It’s always a good idea to have a reserve supplies of food and water—reserves that are only meant to be tapped into in an emergency. That means keeping days worth of canned, dried, or non-perishable items, and having a supply of water that can be accessed if a well or municipal source is suddenly cut off.
Water tanks, bladders, and rain harvesters can supply plenty of water for long-term use. Vertical tanks made from food-grade plastic come in a variety of sizes, capable of holding anywhere from 20 to 500 gallons of water. Expandable bladders can scale even larger, with some able to hold up to 30,000 gallons. Bladders are great for temporary emergency shelters such as field hospitals and medical tents, because they can be emptied quickly, folded up, and transported. They can also be suspended in an overhead rack, or stowed away in a crawl space. Utility tanks provide a more transportable water storage solution, while doorway and pick up truck tanks are specifically designed to fit through doorways or in the bed of a pick up truck, respectively. All of these storage tanks come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to fit pretty much any water storage need—be it long-term or short-term.
Tanks can also hold supplies of critical foods, especially commonly used ingredients like cooking oil, flour, sugar, syrups, and fresh crops. The whole idea is to provide a bulk storage solution for whatever resource you need. Food and water are your most essential resources in an ongoing emergency, so the best way to prepare is to have those resources on hand before the emergency hits.
While food and water are your most immediate concerns with regards to staying alive in an emergency, there are plenty more secondary needs worth considering. For example, some people may require medicine to live even before disaster strikes. Other disasters can inflict injuries that require urgent care. Both scenarios demand stocks of medication and first-aid supplies that will last days, if not weeks.
Health officials generally recommend having three to five days worth of medication—prescription or otherwise—available for an emergency. There’s no guarantee that local hospitals or aid stations will have the right medication for every patient, so it’s imperative that individuals prepare their own supplies. Individuals with specific health concerns will want to have some documentation and essential medical records on hand—any information that will be useful to doctors.
First aid kits should include gloves, bandages, disinfectants, and non-prescription drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen for pain or fever. Anti-diarrhea, antacids, and laxatives may also come in handy. Visually impaired individuals should have at least two pairs of glasses, and diabetic patients should have enough insulin to last at least a week. These basic supplies can go a long way in sustaining care or providing temporary relief.
Beyond medicine, it’s a good idea to have a supply of tools and equipment that may prove useful in an emergency. FEMA recommends having the following items on hand for any emergency:
Information is often difficult to obtain in an emergency, and families will often have to rely on their communities for help. Radios, satellite phones, and mobile devices are all invaluable in an emergency, especially one where the electrical grid has been compromised. Of course, these items are luxuries that simply will not be available to everyone. Without means of communicating or receiving information from the outside world, it’s important to lean on community.
People are stronger in numbers. Neighbors, local officials, and other residents in your area can pool resources, provide critical information, and offer much needed help to endure any emergency. People are often more willing to help in a crisis than they otherwise would be, especially when it comes neighbors and people they know. It’s not a bad idea, then, to be friendly with locals and to shore up some good will that will may end up saving you and the rest of your community when the time comes.
Whether you need a short- or long-term supply of water, fuel, food, or some other vital resource, Go To Tanks has you covered. We provide a variety of plastic water tanks, bladders, caddies, troughs, totes, and other containers for virtually any situation. Our tanks are made from food-grade plastic, come in a variety of colors, and can be sized to any specification.
Whether you’re preparing for an emergency or just looking for a storage solution, call 1-877-468-2657 and we’ll help you find a tank that suits your needs.
SALES@GOTOTANKS.COM 
