A disaster can strike in seconds sometimes with no warning what so ever and leave whole communities without power, running water or even shelter. You must be prepared to survive. The best way to prepare yourself is to have the necessary equipment and supplies to ensure you and your family are provided with the necessities of life.

Survival equipment is really a form of life insurance. You never know when a disaster will strike and you need to be prepared before not after such an event. You should also try to ensure your neighbors; family and friends are prepared with their own survival gear otherwise be prepared to share yours. If others won't take their survival needs seriously then buy them kits for Christmas, birthdays and even wedding presents.

Your survival kit should contain at the very least matches, fish hooks, fishing line, a string saw, a small knife, bouillon cube type dehydrated soup stock, sugar, salt, antibiotics, antiseptics, aspirin, bandages, aluminum foil, a magnetic compass, a small mirror, a magnifying glass, and antihistamine. In a larger kit, you will need food and fresh water to survive at least for two weeks. Avoid foods that have to be cooked unless you have a portable cooker or barbecue.

In the case of floods or earthquakes your home may be destroyed or unsafe to live in so you will need shelter and warmth. Waterproof backpacking tarps can be tied to trees with rope and used as a shelter. For clothing, remember that wool insulates when wet and comfortable waterproof footwear is worth its weight in gold.

You need to know how to use your survival equipment, experience in the use of emergency survival gear will help you to choose what to include in your emergency survival gear kit. You should know some first aid basics and have a copy of a first aid manual.

As well as knowing how to use your survival gear everyone in your house must know where it is. You should keep an inventory along with use by dates and replace items as they become aged or pass their use by date. Store and record the date on items to indicate when it should be replaced or buy extra food when you can and rotate items.

You need to take a survival kit everywhere you go. In your car you should have a portable kit that contains some high energy foods, Sports bars, hard candy, MREs (meals, ready to eat), tropical chocolate bars, beef jerky, and nuts all work well. Basic first aid items, a flashlight and spare batteries as well as a map of the area. A couple bottles of fresh drinking water are must have items.

In some countries it is law to have a survival kit. Even in those countries where it isn't you still need to be prepared. A good survival kit will only set you back a few hundred dollars and this is a cost you'll be happy you paid if one day that disaster strikes and you kit saves the life of a loved family member.

Learning to survive doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. In fact it can be an interesting family activity that all can participate in. Even very young members of the family need to be survival aware because if anything happens to their caregivers they may be left to fend for themselves. Don't leave it till its too late get prepared to survive now.