Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Drinking Water

U.S. Army Reserve Pvt. Richard Reyes and Sgt. Joewie Melendez transfer water to emergency disaster responders in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, Oct. 1, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Elvis Umanzor)

When thinking about water storage, I like to break it down into three needs: short, intermediate, and long-term.

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Short-term needs are immediate and can last anywhere from 2 hours to 3 days. In some situations you may have some time to prepare, such as for a storm. But I’m thinking about a short-term emergency that catches you off guard. Imagine, right now, if you lost your main source of water. How would you fare for the next couple of days? You don’t want to be the one waiting in line at the store. You don’t want to be told that there are no more water bottles.

The solution for short-term water needs is to simply make sure you have enough water on hand now for the next couple of days. I like having a number of options here including: small water bottles, pints of water, gallons of water and larger containers (2.5 gallons or 5 gallons).

This is the easy stuff. You don’t have to worry about purifying the water. You can basically get any of it at Walmart or Amazon. And if you don’t use it within the next year or so then do so and replenish. The idea is to try and make this as affordable as possible. But this is an area that deserves your investment. Let me know what you’ve done to improve your short-term water needs.

You probably have water stored in your house you don’t even think about. See what I mean here.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.