Book details

  • Genre:reference
  • Sub-genre:Survival & Emergency Preparedness
  • Language:English
  • Pages:72
  • Paperback ISBN:9798990530423

Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Checklist

By Steven Craig

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Overview

Winner of a 2026 Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Checklist turns firsthand disaster response experience into practical steps you can take at home. Retired Coast Guard Captain Steven J. Craig draws on more than 38 years of military service and civilian emergency management experience to help readers prepare for wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other emergencies. Easy-to-follow checklists cover emergency supplies, family communication, evacuation, important documents, pets, and recovery. Real disaster examples explain why preparation matters, while space for personal notes helps you tailor a plan to your household. Whether you are starting your first emergency kit or updating existing preparations, this compact guide helps you move from "I should get prepared" to taking action.
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Description

2026 Gold Medal Winner — Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) How To/Business/Self Help Category You know you should be prepared—but where do you start? Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Checklist helps you turn good intentions into practical action. Straightforward checklists guide you through organizing emergency supplies, planning an evacuation, preparing vehicle kits, addressing the needs of pets and older adults, and taking steps toward recovery. Author Steven J. Craig, Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve (Ret.), draws on more than 38 years of Coast Guard service and civilian emergency management experience, including responses to Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2007 Boistfort Valley, WA floods. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and holds a master's in emergency management. What sets this guide apart is the combination of firsthand disaster experience, real-world examples, and checklists you can put to work. Space for personal notes helps you tailor your preparations to your household. Whether you are assembling your first emergency kit or updating an existing plan, you can work through this compact guide a little at a time—and keep it handy as your needs change. Praise from MWSA reviewers: "Very comprehensive and well laid out." —Reviewer 1 "Intro paragraphs and disaster tips are easy to read and engaging." —Reviewer 2 "I found this book to be very easy to read and follow and loved the checklists." —Reviewer 3 Start today—with practical steps toward having the supplies and a plan before you need them.
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About The Author

Steven J. Craig is an award-winning author, retired U.S. Coast Guard Reserve captain, and retired postmaster with more than 38 years of military service and over 30 years of emergency management experience. Recalled to active duty 13 times—including five recalls for Hurricane Katrina—Craig's assignments included responses to Hurricane Ike, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Haiti earthquake, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. His Coast Guard honors include five Commendation Medals and one Achievement Medal. His civilian career included emergency management work with Washington State, Columbia County, Oregon, The Evergreen State College, Olympia and the U.S. Coast Guard in Honolulu, HI. During the 2007 Boistfort Valley floods in Washington, he volunteered as Emergency Operations Center Manager and Planning Section Chief. He later managed five FEMA contracts involving disaster response planning, energy infrastructure, and tribal coordination. Craig brings that firsthand experience to Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Checklist, which received a Gold Medal in the How To/Business/Self Help category at the Military Writers Society of America's 2026 awards. The book translates lessons from actual disasters into practical checklists readers can use to prepare their households. His other books include Chronicles of Katrina and All Present and Accounted For, the true story of the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis's 1972 grounding and the efforts that saved the ship and its crew. All Present and Accounted For received a Military Writers Society of America Silver Medal. Craig holds a master's degree in emergency management, Lifetime Certified Emergency Manager credentials through the International Association of Emergency Managers, and FEMA's Master Exercise Practitioner designation. He has taught disaster preparedness courses online and in person, including at the University of Advanced Studies in Pavia, Italy. He lives in Centralia, Washington. Learn more at www.stevenjcraig.com.
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