Image Source: wired.com
Imagine a flood is headed your way. You and forty nine others, including family, friends, and neighbors, gather at a central location and pile into a bright orange submarine-like storm shelter. Once inside this “Storm, Tornado, and Tsunami Interconnecting Module” or “STATIM pod,” you and the others buckle up and wait. When the floodwaters hit, the STATIM pod rises with the water like a boat. As you wait for rescue, the fully-stocked and securely-tethered pod bobs gently, keeping you safe from harm. This kind of scenario is surely part of STATIM pod inventor, Miguel Serrano’s vision.[i] In a recent article on Wired.com, Serrano was quoted saying, “We’re addressing a high-priority need with a low tech approach.”[ii] This low tech approach, however, comes at a high price. The estimated cost per person for a 50-person pod is about $1,800; $90,000 dollars altogether.[iii] This price doesn’t include supplies needed to sustain 50 people for at least 72-hours. Although the STATIM pod seems like a great idea, how many of us have $1800 to buy ourselves a spot in a storm shelter? Do you know forty nine other people willing to help you cover the other $88,200? What about other needed supplies? For most of us, a shelter like the STATIM pod just isn’t practical. Still, there are a lot of things we can do to prepare for potential disasters. Imagine you did have $1,800 to spend on emergency-preparedness supplies. What would you buy? That kind of money could buy 3-day Emergency Kits for 30 people. It could also buy about 450 100-hour Emergency Candles. For about fifty dollars more you could buy our Premium 1600 Year Supply of Food. The big question is: What’s the best use of your money when it comes to emergency preparedness? Of course the answer will be different for everyone, but here are a few things to consider. While natural disasters do happen, often with devastating results, other smaller disasters occur more often. Disasters like house fires, deaths in the family, job-loss, or car trouble happen every day to inpiduals and families. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that we each need to drink water and eat food everyday no matter the situation. Ideally, everyone would have a fully-stocked disaster-proof shelter nearby, but that simply isn’t a reality. Not everyone can afford to invest in an expensive shelter. Still, everyone can do something to prepare. It’s important to assess inpidual needs and resources to determine what each inpidual or family can do to prepare. In a real-life disaster, any preparation is better than none. Our website, beprepared.com, features over 150 “Insight Articles” that offer expert advice on topics like food and water storage, disaster preparedness, first aid, and much more to help you plan. Emergency Essentials also carries over 1300 products to help you get prepared. So, what can you do to increase your emergency preparedness? What are your preparedness priorities? Are you ready to buy a seat in a STATIM pod or do you still need to get an emergency kit? How well-supplied is your “escape pod?”[i] Go to statimshelter.com for more information on the STATIM pod.
[ii] Tim Maly. “Brace for the Apocalypse! Surviving the Worst in an Inland Lifeboat.” Wired.com. 20 July, 2012.
[iii] Ibid.
