While our modern society has become more technologically advanced, it has also become more interdependent, which means we are all more vulnerable. Furthermore, the United States naturally experiences some of the most turbulent weather of any country in the world. Since our faster pace of life makes it harder to stay informed of important events, we decided to create a list of significant disasters gleaned from news reports, just to remind us that being prepared just simply makes good sense. While we encourage you to buy our products, we also believe you should have a basic survival kit to prepare you and your family for any disaster (Click here to see our suggestions for your kit). Ideally, you should keep such a kit in all your vehicles so that you may evacuate at a moment's notice. Additionally, you should have a rudimentary tool kit to allow you to make basic repairs to your vehicle. As an example of this, on 1/6/05 nine people were killed in Graniteville, S.C. when a train derailed in the night and released toxic chlorine gas. A similar scenario was addressed in a mock preparedness exercise on 2/23/05 by Kentucky officials, wherein a train derailed and a cloud of toxic gas, heavier than air, drifted towards the nearby town of Dawson Springs downwind. The estimated fatalities in their training scenario was at least ten. One official said, "If that actually did happen, the people in Dawson’s best chance was to take off right then. Evacuation is the best answer, and that does not mean evacuating when sirens go off or emergency crews give the orders. If residents in the exercise waited that long, some would not survive." He added that "when an explosion, derailment, plane or vehicle crash occurs nearby, the best plan is to get as far away from the scene as possible, upwind, to reduce the risk of exposure to such toxic chemicals." The lists on the links below include potentially life-threatening weather and man-made disasters that were serious enough that such a kit might have been beneficial or perhaps even life-saving. If you know of any other events you would like to contribute, please send us an email.