The Free "Are You Ready Guide to Preparedness"
- Written by Gaye Levy AKA the Survival Woman
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If you are like me, you have amassed a collection of electronic books, manuals, brochures and documents related to preparedness. This is all fine and good and is something I endorse 100% but there are times when a digital document will be of no use.
Clearly, a power outage or grid down situation bubbles to the top but in addition to that, sometimes we just want to pick up a real book and thumb through it to find answers.
One solution, of course, is to print out the most important stuff to store in binders or folders. Good idea but there are issues: namely the cost of all of that printer ink and paper plus the space to store all of these printouts.
Which brings us today’s topic.
Not known by many is the fact that you can call or send an email to FEMA and have most of their online reference materials sent to you in printed form. Now how cool is that?
Are You Ready: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
One of the FEMA reference books that is a must have is Are You Ready: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness. This particular 206-page book is chock full of useful information presented in a format that is easy to read with photos, charts and checklists.
It can be used as a reference guide or even as a step-by-step manual for taking protective measures to secure your homestead against disaster.
The chapters include:
Basic Preparedness
Natural Hazards
Technological Hazards
Terrorism
Recovering from a Disaster
Plus the three appendixes:
Water Conversation Tips
Disaster Supplies Checklist
Family Communication Plan
I think it is pretty nifty to have all of this information - ready to go and in print form - and 100% free. Of course our taxes have paid for this but if you don’t know about it, you can’t get it, right?
Sounds Good. How do I Get It?
Okay, here is the deal.
To get your own copy, you need to send an email to fema-publications-warehouse@fema.gov and simply state that you would like a copy of “Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (IS-22)”.
Be sure to include your mailing address (a PO Box is okay). A short time after sending the email, you should get an order acknowledgment telling you it may take 4-6 weeks to arrive although mine arrived in less than 2 weeks. You may also call 800-480-2520 with the same request.
If you would like an electronic copy as well, here is download link: Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness.
The Final Word
The FEMA website at www.ready.gov is a storehouse of useful information. I find the information available at the site invaluable to my own research and also as a starting point when mitigating the risks in my own area.
Just keep in mind that any publication related to preparedness - whether free online or purchased on from Amazon or elsewhere - is only as good as the follow-though you take to insure that you have done what you can to put together the food, water, supplies and skills to survive when disaster strikes.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
