Hurricane season started last month; there are home destroying wildfires in the west right now. The possibility of a disaster of one sort or another is prevalent, no matter where you are.

Experts, from local emergency management officials right on up to the President, agree that preparation is the key to not only survival, but surviving well. Seniors are apt to have slightly different issues when it comes to disaster preparedness than the general public. Issues like medications, mobility, and the like are more likely to be of concern for seniors.

AARP has prepared a free, downloadable guide for seniors called "Dealing With Disaster." This 44 page document outlines the basic steps to getting and staying prepared.

The download link:
http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/states/dealing_with_disaster.pdf

It's a PDF (Portable Document Format) document which means you need Adobe Reader. Although you probably have it on your computer already, if not, you can get it free from Adobe.

Adobe Reader for Windows:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
On that page you'll also find links for other operating systems - over on the right.

Downloading "Dealing With Disaster" is a good first step to making sure you're prepared.