There's no electricity. Trees are down. Gas stations are sold out. Grocery store shelves stripped barren in hours. You got two kids, a dog and a cat and an empty 'fridge, and what little food you have requires cooking.

And you never thought to keep any emergency supplies? Afraid your friends would smirk, call you paranoid?

In 1986 I saw a mild hurricane do the above to our town. I've never forgotten the sight of barren grocery shelves, clerks taking cash only for what little remained, and even the pet food shelves were bare. The pet food. Didn't think of that either, did you? Neither did I.

Then in 1994 I was literally thrown out of my bed when the Northridge California earthquake struck. This time I was not caught quite so off guard.

Around 2005 while working a gig in Florida, an approaching hurricane caused a panic and emptied gas stations for miles around. But I was long since in the habit of keeping my tank at least half full.

Below are my twenty five tips for staying prepared for disasters.

1. If you live in any kind of disaster prone area, take it seriously. Especially if you have children and or you're caring for an ailing family or friend. A man from Florida once told me Californians were nuts for living near fault lines. I had to point out to him what should have been very obvious about the hurricane threat he lived with. "At least we don't have an annual earthquake season," I said. Did he have any plan? Supplies? Nope. When the crap hits the fan, you'll know him; he'll be the one draining your supplies and asking for help.

2. For emergencies, store foods that don't perish easily; foods that require no refrigeration, cooking or water. In 1986, we had to cook the burgers on our grill right away before the lack of refrigeration ruined them. These days I keep several cases of military MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat). They are perfect for survival/emergencies, and last more than a decade on the shelf. Canned foods are also great (don't forget the manual can opener). Rice is a very bad idea. Cooking it depletes water, stove and fuel-- assuming you've stored those, too. Instant coffee, and high energy snacks like candy bars can also be handy if you rotate the stock often.

3. Your pets are people, too. Keep a supply of pet food for them, too. Same rules apply as above. They don't need rice, or spaghetti. In an emergency, neither do you. And remember to safely store their leashes and travel totes.

4. One gallon of water ain't going to cut it in a survival situation. The token gallon of water is pretty much the de facto marker for the ill prepared. "Well, I keep a gallon of water in the pantry." Oh, wow. You got a can of beans, too? (betcha don't got a manual can opener!). While merely car camping, I've gone through six gallons in 2 & 1/2 days. The rule is one gallon per person per day. If you use the water to clean or wash anything at all, you can triple that. If you got kids and pets, quadruple it at a minimum. Buy some five gallon storage containers, put tap water in there and a few drops of bleach to keep the algae away (just plain bleach, nothing with detergents or scents). Seal it, keep it out of the sun, and change it ever six months. A quality camper's ceramic water filter or water purification tablets can be helpful if things get really bad, but storing lots of clean water is even better. And keep and portable wash basin handy so you can minimize wash water usage.

5. Spare home and car keys, well hidden. Like a lot of people in the Northridge and other earthquakes, I foolishly rushed out of my home and almost locked myself out-- in my underwear. That leads us to the next item.

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