We are taught to call 911 when something goes wrong.
That is important, but what happens next?
What do you do during the minutes before the ambulance arrives? What if the roads are flooded, emergency departments are overwhelmed, phone service is unavailable, or responders cannot immediately reach your neighborhood?
During a disaster, help may still be coming. It just may not be coming as quickly as we expect.
After more than 20 years in emergency nursing, disaster response, public health, and humanitarian work, I have seen how quickly an ordinary day can become something entirely different. A storm changes direction. The power goes out. A building is evacuated. A mass-casualty incident overwhelms available resources. A family suddenly realizes that the medication, equipment, or information they need is somewhere they can no longer reach.
Disasters expose the distance between what we assume will happen and what actually happens.
Many people assume someone else will tell them what to do. Healthcare professionals assume supplies will be available. Families assume they will be together. Organizations assume their plans will work. Communities assume help will arrive immediately.
Those assumptions can be dangerous.
Preparedness does not mean you need a bunker, thousands of dollars in equipment, or a garage filled with supplies. It means taking the time to think through a few important questions before you are frightened, overwhelmed, or under pressure.
Do you know where your medications are?
Could you safely leave your home with only a few minutes’ notice?
Does everyone in your family know where to meet if phone service is unavailable?
Can you stop serious bleeding?
Do you have a flashlight that actually works?
Could you care for yourself, your children, an older adult, or a pet if services were disrupted for several days?
If you work in healthcare, do you know your role when normal operations are no longer possible?
Preparedness begins with honest answers, not perfect ones.
One of the most important lessons I have learned is that people do not suddenly rise to the level of a plan they have never practiced. Under stress, we usually return to what is familiar. That is why basic education, simple planning, and repeated practice matter.
You do not want the first time you open your emergency kit to be during an evacuation. You do not want to learn how to use a tourniquet while someone is bleeding. You do not want to discover during a power outage that an essential medical device has no backup plan.
Start small.
Choose one thing you can do today. Check your emergency contacts. Put necessary medications in one accessible location. Learn one lifesaving skill. Talk with your family about where you would meet. Review the emergency plan at your workplace, and ask questions if it does not make sense.
Preparedness is not about expecting the worst every day. It is about creating options for yourself when circumstances are no longer normal.
It is also about community.
During disasters, neighbors often become the first helpers. Nurses become leaders far beyond the bedside. Teachers comfort children. Community organizations identify people who may otherwise be forgotten. Ordinary people perform extraordinary acts because someone needed help and they chose to act.
You may not consider yourself a responder, but there may come a moment when you are the only person available to respond.
The question is not whether you will know everything.
The question is whether you will know enough to begin.
At Adventures with Nurse Jamla, I share practical disaster-preparedness information, emergency and public health education, lessons from the field, professional resources, and honest reflections about caring for people during crisis.
My goal is not to make people afraid of disasters. My goal is to help them feel more capable before one occurs.
Visit Adventures with Nurse Jamla to explore the latest articles, courses, resources, and real-world lessons in disaster preparedness and response.
Help may be coming, but what you do before it arrives can make all the difference.
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