There are natural threats to your family’s security. Consider Superstorm Sandy, that hit the East Coast on October 29, 2012. More than 3 months later, there are still more than 1900 homes in New York and New Jersey [1] that are without utilities of any kind. People have remained in their storm damaged homes without electricity, water or heat, at the time of this writing, for more than 100 days. After 3 full months, President Obama [2] finally got around to signing the aid that will help to re-establish services.
Could it be any more clear that you are on your own after a disaster? If you are not prepared, you, too, will be at the mercy of FEMA, waiting months for the President to get around to authorizing aid, huddled in a tent through the frigid months of winter or shivering in a home ill-equipped to be off-grid.
It’s vital to recognize that this can happen – right here in North America. It’s happening right now. As you read this, nearly 2,000 families on this continent are trying to stay warm, clean, fed and healthy without electricity or running water. It’s not just something that occurs in places like Haiti or Thailand. Our grid is so susceptible that it can be taken out by an ice storm, a summer thunderstorm or a confluence of events like Superstorm Sandy.