During a time of crisis, more often than not, law enforcement will be extremely busy and unable to uphold the law efficiently. There’s just too much happening and not enough officers to handle the chaos.
When the cat is away, the mice will play. Crime will start to skyrocket with more looting, vandalism, thefts, assaults, rapes and worse. This is not a possibility. It’s the norm and you must be ready for it.
During an emergency, such as a hurricane alert where you absolutely must evacuate, chances are you’ll leave your home earlier to go somewhere safe. During this time, most other people will be fleeing too and this is an opportunity for criminals to do some brazen last-minute housebreaking and flee with some loot.
In order to prevent your valuables from being stolen, you need to adopt a few measures to safeguard them. It would be a good idea to be prepared well ahead of time instead of scrambling to think of hiding spots at the last minute.
Safes
If you thought of safes, you’d be absolutely right. These are without a doubt one of the best ways to protect your valuables. During an emergency, fleeing with all your jewelry, cash and other expensive belongings is not a good idea. You may lose them or they may get stolen.
It’s best to leave them in your safe at home. It’s important to note that not all safes are made equal. Do NOT get a small safe that can be easily carried away by 2 or more people. Ideally, your safe should be large, extremely heavy and too cumbersome to move. It would be better if you could anchor it to the ground.
The best kind of safes are expensive, large and placed in a discreet place where the ground can support their weight. Do not use wall safes because the walls can be broken and the safes carted away by thieves.
It’s also a good idea to make sure that your safe is fire resistant. There’s no point in having a safe that keeps everything intact as it burns to the ground. Pick a safe that has a thick layer of steel.
And of course, as a final reminder, in the event of an EMP, an electric safe may be rendered useless. If you plan on investing in a safe for your valuables, make sure it is a non-electronic safe with a combination or keyed lock.
Hiding spots
While safes are excellent, the hard truth is that they can be costly. The good safes cost thousands of dollars and if you just don’t have the budget to purchase a safe, don’t panic. There are several ingenious ways to hide your valuables.
The first thing you should avoid doing is hiding your valuables in the master bedroom. People are creatures of habit and thieves know exactly where to look. Sealing your valuables in an airtight plastic bag and hiding them in the toilet tank is not as uncommon as you think. Thieves know where to look.
Cereal boxes, under the bed, between mattresses, laundry baskets, etc. are all NOT good hiding places. Generally, when someone breaks into your home to rob it, they want to be in and out of there as fast as they can. They’ll toss just about everything upside down as they quickly grab whatever they think is of value.
To hide your valuables, you need to be creative. If you have an attic or store room where you store all your old stuff, those are some of the best places to hide your valuables. Since there is already so much junk there from old shoes to old clothes, most thieves will assume that there’s nothing of value going to be hidden there.
Another good place to hide your valuables are in PVC pipes. You could place all your valuables inside an empty PVC pipe and run it in a place that looks suitable. To the casual observer, it’ll look like just another water pipe and they’ll not even notice it.
Another way to hide your valuables is to add them in an empty flower pot and cover it halfway with soil and add a plant in it. Make it all look normal and place it somewhere inside the house that’s relatively discreet.
Follow the tips in this article and your belongings will probably be safe even if there’s a break-in. Plan in advance and be ready to hide your valuables at a moment’s notice. Do remember where you hide your precious belongings so that you know where to look when you return.
