Natural disasters take us all by surprise. Most people don’t prepare for fires, earthquakes, or hurricanes until the last minute. Hurricane Irma is a prime example of this. There are tons of pictures spreading around social media of people clearing out shelves of food and water. The people who are forced to evacuate face a tough decision. What do I take with me knowing there is a high probability you might lose whatever you don’t take. The Red Cross lists the top five things people regret leaving in an emergency: photographs, mobile phone, family memorabilia, and important documents such as passports. Taking preemptive steps to preserve these priceless items can help prepare yourself for the worst case scenario. Here are some ways to stay prepared.
Back up your important photos and documents
Every family has pictures around their house that capture special moments in their lives. Picture frames might be the last thing on your mind when you are evacuating your house, but it is something you’ll regret when you come back to find everything destroyed. Make sure to back up your photos using the resources below.
Google Photos
Make sure to backup your photos to the cloud. I prefer to use Google Photos because it offers unlimited photo storage for photos under 16 megapixels. If you have higher quality photos it will count against your free 15 GB quota. Google Photos has a PhotoScan option that allows you to scan physical photographs to store into your Google Photos. For a detailed tutorial on the PhotoScan option, click here. I would recommend backing up all your physical photographs around the house. If you need to evacuate for whatever reason, you can focus on leaving as quickly as possible knowing your photos are safe.
Tiny Scanner
Tiny Scanner will let you scan important documents and save them to your local storage or the cloud. The quality of the scan is just as good as a physical scanner commonly found in the workplace.
Negative Scanners
Epson Perfection V600
The Epson Perfection V600 Photo delivers outstanding quality scans from photos, film, slides and everyday documents. With 6400 x 9600 dpi resolution, this high performance scanner ensures precision film scanning for sharp, vivid reproductions up to 17″ x 22″. Use the built-in Transparency Unit to scan slides, negatives and medium-format panoramic film up to 6 x 22 cm. The V600 Photo scans everything from invoices and receipts to photos and 3D objects. Featuring DIGITAL ICE for both film and prints, one-touch color restoration and Arcsoft Photostudio, this scanner provides a complete photo restoration solution. And, with the included Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, you can easily convert scanned documents into editable text. Use the scanner’s four customizable buttons to instantly scan, copy, scan-to-email and create PDFs. The V600 Photo also features Epson’s exclusive ReadyScan LED technology for increased productivity and energy efficiency.
Jumbl 22MP All-in-1 Film & Slide Scanner
This scanner sports a powerful 14-megapixel sensor that reads every detail contained in your 35mm, 110, 126, and Super 8 slides and negatives. You can choose between the standard 14-megapixels scan, or enable the built-in software interpolation, which applies some image magic and ups the quality to an astonishing 22MP.
All you need to convert your images is included in the box – advanced technology leave no need for a computer connection to operate this scanner. It scans and converts images on its own, making it a very portable, accessible solution. It also includes speed-load adapters that make scanning easy and straightforward. Simply push them into the device, and you can feed in slides or negatives one after the after without needing to remove and reload the adapters. Press the “Scan” button when ready. Snap! The Jumbl image digitizer scans and converts your old memories into sharp, vibrant digital images in JPEG format. Images are saved to the internal memory or an optional SD card. These can then be viewed on your computer or other device, or printed out as regular photos.
Waterproof and Fireproof External Drives
Solo G3 2TB External Hard Drive
Perfect for sensitive ears in the home, home office or studio, the ioSafe Solo G3 with Data Recovery Service (DRS) is a fanless fortress for your data. For users that demand that data storage be protected and not heard — the Solo G3 with the latest fanless FloSafe Vent Technology is strong and silent. Combining an array of proprietary technology the ioSafe Solo G3 + DRS delivers unparalleled protection for your digital life in a solution that is pure simplicity.
ioSafe SoloPRO 2TB External Hard Drive
The supercharged ioSafe SoloPRO is the fastest and most versatile fireproof waterproof hard drive we’ve ever made. Packed full of intense data protection technology and expanded connectivity and compatibility, the SoloPRO is the simplest and safest way to protect your critical business data.
SentrySafe 250 GB Hard Drive
The SentrySafe FIRE-SAFE Waterproof Hard Drive – 250GB is a compact, light weight, easy to install and simple to use solution for value conscious consumers and businesses concerned about data loss arising from catastrophic acts of nature such as fire and water. This self-contained unit includes a Maxtor Hard Drive that is sealed within an injection molded case, ensuring complete protection from fire and water even under extreme conditions. A combined USB 2.0 data/power cable provides connectivity to virtually any laptop or desktop computer system. . Sentry also provides its unprecedented Fire and Water Data Recovery Support with each hard drive.
Disaster-proof Hard Case
Pelican 1650 Hard Case with Foam
The Pelican 1650 Case with Foam Set is an unbreakable, watertight, airtight, dustproof, chemical resistant and corrosion proof hard case used to carry any kind of equipment that needs to be protected form the elements. It is made of ultra-high impact structural copolymer that makes it extremely strong and durable. It has a 0.25 (6.4 mm neoprene O-ring, ABS latches that seal perfectly and includes and automatic purge valve for quick equalization after changes in atmospheric pressure.
Waterproof Pouch
Mpow Waterproof Phone Pouch
Designed for underwater use, swimmers, and scuba divers, this waterproof bag can guard your phones from water, ice, and dirt. It can protect not only your phone, but also those carry-on documents, cards, or even cash.
It’s easy to wait until the last minute to prepare for a natural disaster. Most people live in the mentality of “oh it won’t happen to me”. Hopefully, you never have to go through a situation where you are forced to evacuate from your home. However, taking certain steps to preserve items that you might not think about in the hectic rush of evacuating your home is absolutely critical. No object is worth losing your life over, but if you are prepared you won’t have to lose your priceless family photographs and important documents. I hope everyone stays safe during this hurricane season!