of property, and the securing of items inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls, and the addition of cabinet latches. In flood prone areas, houses can be built on stilts. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs installation of a generator ensures continuation of electrical service. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigative actions. The safe room is a reinforced structure to provide near absolute protection in extreme wind events such as tornadoes and hurricanes. If one window or door breaks, the roof is more likely to blow off due to the pressure wind coming into the house. Closing all interior doors, reduces the forces on the roof. Doors, windows, and roofs rated for winds are stronger during hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes. Hurricane-rated garage doors and rolling and accordion shutters at windows can reduce damages. Preparedness Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and procedures for use when a disaster occurs. The equipment and procedures can be used to reduce vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a disaster, or to respond more efficiently in an emergency. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposed out a basic four-stage vision of preparedness flowing from mitigation to preparedness to response to recovery and back to mitigation in a circular planning process. This circular, overlapping model has been modified by other agencies, taught in emergency classes, and discussed in academic papers. FEMA also operates a Building Science Branch that develops and produces multi-hazard mitigation guidance that focuses on creating disaster-resilient communities to reduce loss of life and property. FEMA advises people to prepare their homes with some emergency essentials in the event food distribution lines are interrupted. FEMA has subsequently prepared for this contingency by purchasing hundreds of thousands of freeze-dried food emergency meals ready-to-eat (MREs) to dispense to the communities where emergency shelter and evacuations are implemented. Some guidelines for household preparedness were published online by the State of Colorado on the topics of water, food, tools, and so on. Emergency preparedness can be difficult to measure. CDC focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of its public health efforts through a variety of measurement and assessment programs. Preparedness paradox The preparedness paradox is the idea that the more an individual or society prepares for a disaster, pandemic, or catastrophe; the less the harm if