PREPAREDNESS TEST
1. Has your family rehearsed fire escape routes from your home? YES - NO
2. Does your family know what to do before, during, and after an earthquake or YES - NO
other emergency situation?
3. Do you have heavy objects hanging over beds that can fall during an earthquake? YES - NO
4. Do you have access to an operational flashlight in every occupied bedroom?
(use of candles is not recommended unless you are sure there is no leaking gas) YES - NO
5. Do you keep shoes near your bed to protect your feet against broken glass? YES - NO
6. If a water line was ruptured during an earthquake, do you know how to shut off the
main water line to your house? YES - NO
7. Can this water valve be turned off by hand without the use of a tool?
Do you have a tool if one is needed? YES - NO
8. Do you know where the main gas shut-off valve to your house is located? YES - NO
9. If you smell gas, do you know how and would you be able to shut off this valve? YES - NO
10. Gas valves usually cannot be turned off by hand. Is there a tool near your valve? YES - NO
11. Would you be able to safely restart your furnace when gas is safely available? YES - NO
12. Do you have working smoke alarms in the proper places to warn you of fi re? YES - NO
13. In case of a minor fi re, do you have a fi re extinguisher that you know how to use? YES - NO
14. Do you have duplicate keys and copies of important insurance and other papers
stored outside your home? YES - No
15. Do you have a functional emergency radio to receive emergency information? YES - NO
16. If your family had to evacuate your home, have you identified a meeting place? YES - NO

IF AN EMERGENCY LASTED FOR THREE DAYS ( 72 HOURS) BEFORE HELP WAS AVAILABLE
TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY......................................

17. Would you have sufficient food? YES - NO
18. Would you have the means to cook food without gas and electricity? YES - NO
19. Would you have sufficient water for drinking, cooking, and sanitary needs? YES - NO
20. Do you have access to a 72 hour evacuation kit? YES - NO
21. Would you be able to carry or transport these kits? YES - NO
22. Have you established an out-of-state contact? YES - NO
23. Do you have a first aid kit in your home and in each car? YES - NO
24. Do you have work gloves and some tools for minor rescue and clean up? YES - NO
25. Do you have emergency cash on hand? (During emergencies banks and ATMs are closed) YES - NO
26. Without electricity and gas do you have a way to heat at least part of your house? YES - NO
27. If you need medications, do you have a month’s supply on hand? YES - NO
28. Do you have a plan for toilet facilities if there is an extended water shortage? YES - NO
29. Do you have a supply of food, clothing, and fuel where appropriate:
For 6 months? For a year? YES - NO
These are all questions that need answers if you are to be safe in an emergency.
If you answered ‘No’ to any of them, its now time to work on getting those items done.

Do you ask guests to remove their shoes upon entering your home? or, more importantly, should you ask them to?
Personal preferences aside, is it unhealthy to wear footwear indoors?

Body Map for Self Defense
This body map will help you understand the best areas to strike an attacker in self defense if you are being assaulted.

Each of these areas is sensitive or vital, making them prime targets for self-defense. The goal is to quickly disable the attacker enough for you to escape.

General Face
The general face area is one of the best areas to target on an attacker in self defense because it contains a lot of vital and sensitive parts like the eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth.

Even if you are aiming for the attacker's nose and miss, you might still strike their eyes or mouth since they are all contained on the general face area.

Striking the attacker's general face area can disorient and surprise them which will give you a moment to escape.

Using your bare hands, a strong slap, palm strike, or fist punch to the face can cause enough pain or shock to create a window of opportunity for you to get away.

If you have a self-defense weapon like a kubaton or cat ears, a direct strike to the general face areas can equally disorient and disable the attacker to give you time to escape.

Eyes
The eyes are one of the most vital and sensitive parts of the human body and therefore extreme caution should be used.

Targeting the eyes is effective because it temporarily blinds and disorients the attacker. Even a quick jab with your fingers, a scratch, or a strike with a self defense weapon can cause extreme discomfort, forcing them to recoil and lose focus.

Throat
The throat is a highly sensitive and vulnerable area that connects the head to the rest of the body.

A direct strike with the edge of your hand, fist, or elbow can cause difficulty breathing, pain, and immediate incapacitation, while a strike with a handheld stick or knuckle weapon can inflict even more damage.

Solar Plexus
The solar plexus is located in the center of the chest, just below the rib cage.

A punch, elbow strike, or knee to this area can knock the wind out of your attacker, leaving them gasping for air and unable to continue their attack.

Groin
One of the most vulnerable areas on a male attacker is the groin area.

A strike to the groin can cause intense pain and incapacitate an attacker.

Use a knee, kick, or even your hand to deliver a quick, sharp strike.

A benefit of targeting the groin of an attacker is that it's generally easier to reach, while the face or eyes of an attacker might be harder to reach if they're taller than you.

Knees
The knees are vulnerable joints, and a well-placed kick or stomp to the knee can cause the attacker to lose balance or collapse. Striking the knee can prevent them from being able to chase or pursue you.

Feet
Stomping on the attacker's foot can be surprisingly effective, especially when you're wearing shoes, boots or heels.

A hard stomp on the top or side of the foot can cause sharp pain, making it difficult for the attacker to move or continue their assault.
#armyourself

Quote of the Day
“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins.”
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– BARACK OBAMA