emergency

Even if you don't live within Hurricane Sandy's vicinity, it's always smart to prepare for any natural disaster given how unpredictable nature can be. Whether it be preparing for an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or snowstorm, below are basic suggestions for what to keep in your disaster supply kit:

• Water. It's recommended to have one gallon of water per day per person or pet. You should keep at least three gallons each per person or pet at home.
• Food. You should have at least three day's worth of food. Concentrate on non-perishable food that doesn't require refrigeration or much prep and water. Consider cereal, ready-to-eat canned fruits, veggies, juice, and meat, energy-rich snacks like trail mix and granola bars. Remember to have vitamins and special supplies around for anyone with special needs, such as pets, babies, and the elderly.
• Medication. Have some extra medication on hand for times when disaster strikes and you can't leave your home to refill your prescription. Remember to also store over-the-counter medication like painkillers, antihistamine, calamine lotion, alka seltzer, laxatives, anti-diarrhea medication, sterile eyewash, and contact lens (if you use them).

Read on for more.

Text messaging is a fast and effective way to communicate, so why can't you text the police? Soon, you may be able to. While the current emergency system isn't equipped to handle 911 texts — only voice calls — the FCC presented new rules for a revamped 911 system (called "Next Generation 911") that would be capable of accepting text messages, photos, and video messages.

Learn more about the potential service after the jump.

When television and radio were the most popular ways to receive up-to-the-minute news, the emergency signals broadcast over the air were efficient. Now that people are using a variety of different technologies to keep up to date on the news, cell phone companies will have access to message alerts and will be able to pass them on to their customers.

This new system will also allow officials to target people in specific geographic locations. Users will be able to opt out of some alerts, but all are required to receive presidential alerts, the highest level of emergency alerts.

The program is currently being tested in California and Florida, and is expected to go nationwide by April 2012.

Honestly, I'd ridicule this bra if it didn't have one (actually, two) giant cup-size merit: it doubles as a gas mask. Dr. Elena Bodar, who won an award for designing it last year, began her career studying the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and knows if masks were readily available it would have been less of a disaster. Now she's bringing her invention to the buying public for $29.95. The only problem I see? Unless you own all eBras, you'll have to decide which days you're most likely to face disaster. It's like wearing clean underwear in case you get hit by a car times 100.

Check out this post from the OnSugar blog The Adventures of Our Fur Babies.

I received my free pet safety pack from the ASPCA yesterday.  It took a while (oh about two months) but better late than never, right? I first learned about this pack in one of Pet Sugar's posts. It's from last year, but thank goodness I chanced upon it. Whenever I watch the news and see a home that caught on  fire, or an area affected by an earthquake or like lately, the gas leak explosion in San Bruno, I also wonder if they had pets in those homes.  What about them? =(

Being a stay-at-home mom, I'm almost always home. But there are still some days when I would be out doing some errands or spending some quality time with the family. So should something happen while we're not at home, though there are no guarantees, it's good to have this sticker/decal on my balcony sliding door  or window as a precaution in case of an emergency (earthquake, fire, etc). It contains info like what kind of pets you have at home and contact number.  I also plan to make one so I can stick it on my front door.

Just for picture purposes. Filled it out after.

Learn what else is in the pack and read more

Resident Frenchie Samson had a bit of a health fiasco this week, and was taken to the ER for treatment! Word on the street is that he may have ingested some sort of toxin leaving him with muscle spasms and vomiting, which we all can imagine, are big signs of trouble. Thankfully, Samson is doing much better, but it sure did give mom a scare.

I imagine many of us have been there: pacing the waiting room of a vet's office on pins and needles, hoping for some good news. So tell me, what has been your scariest pet emergency, and how did you handle it?