Are You Prepared If A Disaster Strikes?

Disasters do occur, and when they do, they can be devasting.

You see the destruction on television. You read about it in the newspapers. The stories are all over the internet. Disasters! They happen all the time. Some are natural and others are man made. A disaster, large or small, can strike at any time, any place, and if it happens, it can inflict damage that is powerful, unreal, unbelievable, and in many cases, unless you are prepared, it can be unrecoverable.

Until it happens to you, you may feel immune to the possibilities that you are vulnerable. You hear about disasters, but they are always somewhere else. We tend to get lulled to sleep because nothing of unexpected happens around us to make us think about making sure we are prepared.

You should always be prepared for the unexpected. Preparation is very important and can't be stressed enough. You should review your insurance policies at least once a year to see if changes need to be made. You should know what types of insurance coverage you have and if there is something that needs to be added or deleted.

• This includes life insurance, homeowners insurance, automobile insurance, business insurance, health insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, or any other types of insurances you might have.

Does your insurance polices cover natural disasters? You may not live in a flood zone, but that does not mean your home can't be flooded. The same applies to any disaster, whether natural or man made.

Here are some things to think about:

• Recently, there have been devastating earthquakes in Haiti, China, Mexico, and Chile. But did you know that there has been recent earthquake activity on the east coast of the United States in Virginia, Connecticut, South Carolina, Missouri and other states?
• In December 2004, a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia unleashing a tsunami that killed over 300,000 thousand people in across Asia and parts of Africa. Although earthquakes happen around the world on a daily basis, a tsunami of this magnitude caught the whole world off guard.
• Recently in North Carolina, a dam burst leaving much of the eastern part of the state under water. Many homes were destroyed and many people were displaced. And who can forget hurricane Katrina. It wasn't the hurricane itself that destroyed so much of New Orleans, it was the breaches in the dams that caused the flooding and the destruction.
• You don't think of tornado activity in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and other western states, but in recent years, they've struck populated areas quite frequently.
• There has been major heat waves, cold snaps, blizzards, and ice storms around the world that kill thousands of people each year, especially the elderly and the young.
• Forest fires can happen very quickly, and as we have seen in recent years, they are very destructive. Fires burn thousands of acres of forests and shrub land every year and destroys many homes and buildings.
• The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a prime example of a man made disaster. It has affected millions of people throughout the gulf region causing economic hardships for the people living there. The disaster has ruined beaches, wetlands, tidal plains, and the waters in the gulf that support fisheries and other wildlife habitats. And in the long run, untold health hazards for humans and animals may be expected.

The question is, how well are you prepared? Do you have a viable, realistic plan that is right for you and your family? Do you have the right insurance coverage's that will offer protection against disasters and will you be able to survive financially until things get back to normal?

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