18 Survival Tactics: Disaster Preparedness Month 2025

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Imagine sirens piercing the night as disasters strike without mercy, or the chilling silence of a power grid failure. At least six distinct 100-year flood events (or rarer, in the case of Chicago) were documented in the U.S. in 2025, occurring in Texas (Central Texas and Rio Grande Valley), West Virginia, Illinois, North Carolina, and New Mexico, along with over 3,600 flash flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Disasters have ravaged America, with delayed aid leaving survivors like Delmus Williams, who said the water rose so quickly during Hurricane Helene that in minutes, 4 feet of water stood in his home, prompting the family to be rescued in canoes. We’ve assembled a guide that details protective actions for 18 types of hazards — from active shooters to winter storms. We’re helping you prepare for whatever life throws at you this disaster preparedness month, 2025, through a three-part series.

Picture the terror of sirens blaring as winds howl and waters surge, or the chilling silence of a power grid failure plunging your world into darkness. Since 2020, America has suffered over 115 billion-dollar disasters, a relentless barrage that has displaced millions and claimed countless lives, with supply chain woes and FEMA’s ineffective response amplifying the agony by delaying essential aid.

In North Carolina’s 2024 Hurricane Helene floods, resident Andy Fyfe waded through chest-high waters to rescue neighbors, recounting, “The river rose so fast, it was like a wall of water— we lost everything in hours.”

Relief from FEMA often lagged, taking days or weeks as priorities focused on densely populated zones, leaving rural families fending for themselves amid contaminated water and disease risks.

Similarly, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, survivor Allison Good endured six feet of floodwater in her home, waiting a week for federal help: “We were stranded on rooftops, begging for water, the delay cost lives.”

Rebuilding owned homes averages two years for funding approval, ballooning to 6 - 10 years for full recovery, while low-income renters face 4 - 6% rent spikes, evictions, and scarce housing options, pushing many into prolonged homelessness.

In Colorado’s 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, Emily Fischer fled flames with her family: “The sky was apocalyptic; we ran six miles with nothing but our lives, trauma lingers years later.”

These harrowing accounts reveal a stark truth: government aid isn’t guaranteed or immediate.

During my 11 years in the Army as an air assault-qualified expert field medic, infection control and disease prevention officer, and other medical and dental leadership roles, I was tasked with supporting FEMA relief efforts. I also worked on a FEMA project as a technology contractor after my military service. My experience with FEMA taught me to never rely on this agency to save me and my family.

Here are the issues with relying on FEMA.

During the times that I supported FEMA, it never had adequate supplies available to support the number of people impacted.

Relief support practices rely on having power and access to technology, which are nonexistent or in short supply during a disaster.

More people need help than there are helpers, and FEMA often gets in the way of volunteer organizations that are more agile and efficient at providing search, rescue, and disaster relief.

And there’s no guarantee that FEMA will provide relief in your area.

Finally, the most disturbing event I witnessed was how FEMA used military support.

I thought I would provide rescue and recovery, medical, and dental aid. Instead, we essentially had to give away supplies meant for our Army soldiers because we couldn’t bear to watch residents suffer with no supplies available locally.

We also never provided aid. Instead, we provided security. Essentially, we were tasked with keeping poor people out of wealthier neighborhoods and business districts. This occurred during every storm relief effort that I supported throughout my 11 years of service.

And we all learned that Hurricane Katrina survivors and their families who were “lucky enough” to receive a FEMA trailer to live in after the storm developed rare cancers because the trailers contained off-gassing of toxic chemicals.

Knowing this, would you trust your family’s safety, security, and health to this system?

This is why I encourage you to plan to be self-reliant.

Since beginning my journey into short-term and long-term self-reliance in 2018, I have survived 3 wildfires surrounding the Colorado community where I lived, 3 blizzards that damaged our home and left us in the dark for a week at a time in the Midwest, and survived two flood seasons while living in a very rural community with no public services.

I’m going to teach you much of what my family and I use to keep ourselves safe during an emergency and while adventuring.

The one assignment where FEMA excelled is that it has created a thorough guide detailing alerts and protective actions to act swiftly when seconds count. Building on self-reliance from books like The Amish Ways, The Prepper’s Survival Bible, and No Grid Survival Projects, this three-part series dives into these tactics, blending expert advice with real stories to urge you: prepare now, or risk everything.

FEMA's Protective Actions for 18 Hazards

Alerts come as advisories (early awareness), watches (possible threat), or warnings (imminent danger) — ignoring them can be fatal. With disasters escalating, knowing how to respond is your lifeline. Below, we explore the 18 hazards from FEMA's guide, their likelihood, key concerns, and protective actions, interwoven with survivor insights to highlight the human cost of inaction.

Stats show these aren't rare; they're increasingly common, demanding immediate response and preparedness to survive.

Active Shooter: Likelihood high in public spaces, with 50+ incidents yearly. Concern: Sudden violence causing mass casualties. Protective actions: Run if possible, hide if not, fight as last resort. Survivor from 2022 Buffalo shooting: "I hid under a counter as shots rang out — training saved me." There have been many incidents where a trained member of the public stopped an active shooter using their concealed firearm. Hopefully, your state allows ordinary citizens to protect themselves and each other. Talk with your friends and family about what to do and practice your reaction so that it will become second nature in an emergency.

Avalanche: Affects 30 U.S. states, 1,000+ yearly. Concern: Buried alive in snow. Actions: Move sideways, protect head; use beacons for rescue. Colorado survivor: "The snow hit like a truck — I swam to stay afloat."

Cyberattack: 2,200 daily attacks, up 84% recently. Concern: Infrastructure shutdown. Actions: Disconnect devices, report to authorities. 2021 Colonial Pipeline victim: "Gas shortages lasted weeks — chaos ensued." In a future article and podcast, I’ll give you some recommendations to protect yourself from a cyberattack. However, keep in mind that cyberattacks on a business or government entity can also affect you. It might take essential services like power and water offline, cause digital payment system to fail, and give hackers access to your personal information. Keep your password manager locked when you’re not using it. Don’t click on anything if you’re not sure of the source, hackers are clever at pretending to be a trusted person or entity. Using AI, they can even mimic you’re child’s voice asking for help or to send them money fast.

Earthquake: 75% U.S. at risk, 16,000+ yearly. Concern: Collapsing structures. Actions: Drop, cover, hold on; avoid doorways. 2024 California shake survivor: "Furniture flew — I held under the table."

Extreme Heat: Kills 1,300+ annually, waves up 20%. Concern: Dehydration, heatstroke. Actions: Stay indoors, hydrate; check on vulnerable friends and family. Go to the lake, river, or a cooling station if your home is too hot. A quick dip in the water is a great way to cool off. 2021 Pacific Northwest survivor: "Temps hit 116°F — elderly neighbors perished."

Financial Emergency: Affects 40% of households post-disaster. Concern: Economic ruin. Actions: Build an emergency fund, review insurance, keep one month of household expenses in cash in a bank lockbox or safe. Live below your means to ensure there is money left each month to invest in your preparedness plans and other emergencies like an auto breakdown. Recession survivor: "Lost job overnight — savings kept us afloat."

Flood: 99% of counties affected since 2000. Concern: Drowning, contamination, civil unrest due to looting and violence. Actions: Evacuate to high ground; turn around, don't drown. North Carolina's Bill Schiller: "Water destroyed home — waited days for help." This is why we have multiple escape roots out of our home and off our property, to include putting on a personal flotation device (PFD) and swimming out, kayaking out with the dog and supplies, or motorboating out of the area. Coordinate with friends and family to increase your chances of survival. We have a friend who is a helicopter pilot, for example. We have skills to offer him in return. Don’t look to become someone else’s burden, have valuable skills and items to barter with in return for teamwork.

Hurricane: 51% annual landfall chance. Concern: Winds, surges, flooding, road closures, civil unrest, delayed governmental relief. Actions: Board windows, evacuate if ordered, have food, water, and medicines for at least two weeks. Hurricane Katrina survivor, Joe Bridges: "Roofs ripped off — displaced for years."

Landslide: 25,000+ yearly threats. Concern: Buried homes. Actions: Stay away from slopes; evacuate if cracking heard, carry a foldable shovel for self-rescue. California survivor: "Mud buried cars — fled just in time."

Pandemic: 2 - 3% annual risk. Concern: Hysteria causing civil unrest and panic, overwhelmed health systems. Actions: Naturally support your immune system, use essential oils to kill household germs, COVID survivor Maria Young: "Ventilator for weeks — mental scars remain."

Power Outage: Average 5.5 hours yearly, risks rising. Concern: Food spoilage, heat or cold exposure, no water, power, or services, electronic payment systems are down with no way to pay for supplies, criminals and desperate people trying to survive will look for opportunities to take what you have by force. Actions: Use generators—opting for silent, oderless, solar generators that are stealthy and harder to steal. Stock adequate food, water, batteries, candels, medication, and first aide materials for a minimum of two weeks per person and animal. We’ll cover more on this in parts two and three of this series. Texas 2021 blackout: "Froze in dark — pipes burst."

Thunderstorm, Lightning, Hail: 100,000+ storms yearly. Concern: Lightning strikes, electrocution, property damage, extended power outage. Actions: Stay indoors away from windows; avoid standing in water. Survivor: "Hail smashed roof — lightning struck nearby."

Tornado: 1,000+ yearly. Concern: Debris injuries, and getting trapped in rubble are big concerns. Actions: Basement or interior room. Oklahoma survivor: "House gone in seconds — huddled in (bath) tub."

Tsunami: Coastal risk, 5+ yearly alerts. Concern: Drowning waves. Actions: Move inland or to high ground. 2011 Japan survivor (U.S. impact): "Waves swept cars —evacuated fast."

Volcano: 169 active in U.S. Concern: Ash, lava. Actions: We purchased fire retardant blankets and Fire Evac Masks from my affiliate — Ready Hour, these supplies offer protection from inhalation and flames for up to 1-hour. This gives you protection while you evacuate. Mount St. Helens: "Ash choked air — breathed through shirts."

Wildfire: Millions of acres burned yearly. Concern: Smoke, burns. Actions: Create a defensible space by wetting-down your roof, trees, grass and brush around your property, evacuate early. Cameron Peak's Emily: "Flames chased us — lost home." I watched the flames from the Cameron Peak fire reach within miles of my Colorado home. Ash rained down on us for a month. Unfortunately, this incident caused me to develop asthma, which I later cured through natural remedies like mullein. But not before breathing problems plagued me for three years. This is when we purchased fire protection gear from Ready Hour.

Winter Storm: 70% U.S. affected yearly. Concern: Hypothermia, isolation, lack of food. A lack of water and heat if the power goes out. Actions: Insulate with indoor tents, bedding, and warm clothing, stock food and water; stay indoors. 2021 Texas survivor: "Power out, froze — bundled in blankets."

As FEMA experts emphasize, "Protective actions save lives — act on alerts immediately." Integrate these with additional recommendations from parts two and three of this series for unbreakable resilience.

Voltaire's words ring true: "The danger which is least expected soonest comes to us." Don't wait — fortify today.

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