In light of the disaster in Haiti we are looking even closer at our own emergency preparedness. We live near Seattle and people here think about earthquakes. We realized that in many ways we're ready to care for ourselves for longer than the obligatory 2-3 days but we're not prepared for some things.

We have a water purifier used globally by missionaries that can take mud puddles and make them drinkable but we have no stored water. We have a food supply but it's gone beyond the expiration dates. In a disaster we would eat it but we can do something about it now. Our first aid kit needs to be updated as well.