By Morf Morford
Tacoma Daily Index

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t have hurricanes or serious tornadoes, but we do have other potential natural threats and catastrophes – and several flood-prone areas.

We would still be wise to learn some survival and preservation strategies from other parts of the country.

The always level-headed Consumer Reports magazine has a set of guidelines for taking care of yourself and your property here – https://www.consumerreports.org/emergency-preparedness/what-to-do-to-your-home-before-evacuating/.

Power outages can happen almost any time – but they  tend to hit when their impact is the greatest.

As winter approaches, it might be good to review some tips on how to respond to – and prepare for – all kinds of disasters from earthquakes to nuclear attacks. Here is a collection of tips to help you in almost any crisis – https://www.ready.gov/.

No matter what you want to call it, the weather is changing. Serious storms are more extreme and more frequent, fire seasons begin earlier and last longer than ever before – and fires burn hotter and reach into residential and developed areas far more than they used to.

The default position for most of is inertia – the belief that it won’t happen to us or that there is nothing we could do about it anyway.

Take a few simple steps today. Put together a survival bag of some non-perishable foods, some basic tools and a list of your most important contacts. You’ll be glad you did.