Hurricane season has gotten to a roaring start, and while no storm has made land fall on the US yet, it never hurts to keep an emergency kit handy. No longer do they consist of merely water and antibiotics, but now there is a plethora of gadgets that can make you safe during a hurricane.
The first tool is a radio, which seems fairly standard. But in a situation where you may be trapped in your home for a few days, and batteries should be used as sparingly as possible, a hand crank radio is a nice idea. They have a little handle on the side, that when cranked for a minute or so you can tune into the NOAA weather station and receive real time storm updates. These small devices can be fairly cheap, ranging from $18.99 to upwards of $100.00, and are available at local hardware stores such as Lowes.
The next tool is going to make disaster situations that much easier to survive. The SteriPen Sidewinder Hand-Powered Water Purifier is the first hand operated water purifier. It takes just under 90 seconds to clean a liter of of water, all with no batteries. In a situation where water services have been cut off, clean drinking water is an absolute necessity, and this device makes it all the easier obtain. It has a hand crank , and weighs just over a pound, making it the perfect size to fit into any emergency kit. They aren't yet available in stores, but several websites are taking orders.
Finally, no one should be without the ability to cook food, and electric ranges don't work without electricity. One great trick is to assemble what is known as a pop can stove, which is exactly what it sounds like. With a little epoxy or high temperature tape you can bind two soda cans into a very efficient alcohol burning stove. These are great because they can be made on the fly, and work remarkably well for being small and running off of either rubbing alcohol or even high proof drinking liquor such as Everclear. A construction guide is available at http://www.getoutzine.com/popcanstove.
Comments