This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for our loyal readers. Thanks for continuing to come back and read so often.

Take a look at some interesting facts about Thanksgiving traditions in our new infographic:

Thanks again for your continued visits! Hope you guys have a great day!

Happy Halloween everyone! We hope that you’re as excited as your kids are today. May your day be full of candy-filled pillow cases and that you be blessed with rich neighbors who answer their doors.

Check out this infographic below for a list of how expensive Halloween really is, popular costumes this year, America’s favorite horror film villains and more!

Hurricane Sandy is proving to be one of the largest storms to hit the eastern coast of the United States. Currently, over 6 million people are without power, thousands of people were transported out of critical condition branches of hospitals after back-up generators malfunctioned.

The storm brought surges of flooding across populated parts of New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Maryland and more. Our prayers go out to those who are still affected by the storm.

You probably already knew this, but October is International Squirrel Awareness Month!

According to the International Squirrel Lover’s Club, October is a time to raise awareness of the cute fury animal. So, check out this graphic below to see many little-known facts about squirrels!

Have a great Squirrel month and we’ll celebrate again on Squirrel Day – Jan 19th!

The world experiences all different types of natural disasters every day. But how common are certain types of natural disasters in your area?

This infographic displays how common natural disasters are across the globe, the most expensive natural disasters to date and which state in the United States has the most disasters. You’ll also be able to access information on how to prepare for certain disaster and how to pack a 72-hour kit.

You can also stay prepared with The Ready Weather Center to track all types of weather related incidents in your area. We’re Always Here, always Ready!™

Feel free to share this graphic with friends and family to help them prepare! Comment below to tell us what you thought.

Every year there are thousands of natural disasters across the United States. They can be as simple as a low-magnitude earthquake in a remote location or as severe as a dramatic flood that sweeps through entire populations.

These disasters can be very costly too. In fact, Hurricane Isaac this year, has already cost $2 billion in damages according to Reuters.

Below, we’ve listed the 10 most expensive natural disasters in the U.S. Take a look, you might be surprised which disasters rank the highest.

10. Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was one of four costly hurricanes that hit the United States during 2004. The hurricane was one of the most intense ever recorded and produced at least 119 tornadoes across the eastern U.S.
Cost: $17 billionYou can stay up-to-date with breaking hurricane news via The ReadyHurricane Center.

9. Hurricane Charley
2004 was a bad year for hurricanes  and Hurricane Charley was the second of the year after Hurricane Ivan. The storm hit landfall in southwestern Florida at maximum strength and caused billions of dollars of damages.
Cost: $18 billion

7. Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma
No, we didn’t forget the number eight. Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma tied for the 7th costliest natural disaster. The two storms both hit in 2005 however, they both faded into memory with other hurricanes that hit that year. Hurricane Wilma became the first Category 5 hurricane of 2005 – blowing at 185 mph at its peak. When the hurricane fell to land however, it had dropped to 150 mph.
Cost of each: $19 billionLearn how to prepare for windstorms at The ReadyWindstorm Center.

6. Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike – which hit in 2008 – was the biggest hurricane since 2005 for the U.S. It struck Cuba as a category 4, went out to sea and made landfall again. A week later, the storm hit Galveston, Texas.
Cost: $29 billion

5. Midwest Floods of 1993
The National Weather Service named this event “The Great USA Flood of 1993.” The flood was unusual because of its crests. The flooding was also interesting due to the number of days with measurable rainfall. Some areas had rainfall for 20 out of 25 days! The rains and flood waters destroyed homes, crops and businesses. In fact, the flooding covered 15 million acres of farmland.
Cost: $33 billionCheck out current flood conditions in your area with The ReadyFlood Center.

4. Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992 off the southern Florida coast. It caught a lot of Americans off guard. The storm weakened a little after hitting the Bahamas but still fell as a category 5 storm when it hit Florida. More than 100,000 homes in souther Miami were flattened, damaged or destroyed. The storm then strengthened and his Morgan City, Louisiana.
Cost: $44 billion

3. Drought of 1980
A large heat wave hit when a high-pressure ridge settled over the Central U.S. Record temperatures were reached over and over again. The high temperatures caused a drought and many extreme weather affects. In fact, the extreme temperatures caused a phenomenon called derechos – a fast-moving, straight-lined wind storm. One derecho killed six people and injured 70. The storm also took at least 1,700 lives.
Cost: $56 billion (in current dollars)

2. Drought of 1988-1989
The U.S. Drought of 1988 was one of the worst drought in the nation’s history. The heat wave killed at least 4,800 people dna started some of the worst wildfires in U.S. history. The drought also caused the worst dust storms since the 1930s Dust Bowl.
Cost: $100 billion (in current dollars)Monitor current drought conditions at The ReadyDrought Center.

1. Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was the most expensive natural disaster in history. In 2005, the hurricane formed across the Atlantic and fell many times along  the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana. At least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and flooding. Much of the damage was caused because of storm surges that caused the levee systems to fail.
Cost: $146 billion

Unknowns
The Great Flood of 1927
There were many natural disasters that we’re not able to track their cost. The Great Flood of 1927 flooded the Mississippi and spilled into 10 states, toppling 146 levees. The storm continued to rain after the flooding and much of Memphis was underwater for days. However, due to the lack of some records, we don’t really know how much the flood cost us as a nation.

2012 Drought
Our current drought is one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. In fact, it’s officially the largest declared natural disaster by the government. The drought has affected much of the farming community and is sure to create inflation – especially corn prices. Time will tell how much this current drought will cost us.

You can always be ready for any extreme weather by visiting The ReadyWeather Center. You can always find it in our Ready Resources section located in the bright green bar at the top of this page.

Whether it’s a natural disaster, survival scenario or post-apocalyptic world, many times, television shows and movies can be good teachers on what to do during an emergency.

The great thing about a movie or TV show is that we are not associated with the results. We can watch and learn from other’s experiences and scenarios.

Take a look at some shows and movies that will be coming out soon. Comment below to let us know what you think of them and what other movies and shows you think would help you in a survival situation.

The Revolution
Airing: Sept. 17, 2012
Catch it on: Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC

The Revolution takes place 15 years in the future. Some unknown incident has disabled all technology on the planet. That mean no one has access to electricity, computers, cars or other modern gadgets. People are forced to adapt to a new world, learning how to get back to their roots of living off the land and surviving on their own. The TV series focuses on the Matheson family, who possesses an item that might answer the question to why all the lights went out 15 years ago.

The thing that I like about this show is that it makes you think about all the technology that we take advantage of. What would we do without cars? without computers? without the cell phones? Life would be pretty different.

Survivorman
Airing: Aug. 19, 2012
Catch it on: Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery

Many people have been awaiting the return of Les Stroud to television. He shot three seasons of the show that ended back in 2008. However, this summer he announced that he would be returning to creating the show and “upping the ante.”

Les Stroud, has been known as a survival expert for years and has produced books, articles, shows and documentaries about how to survive in the wild, how to build an off-the-grid home, primitive living and more.

In this season’s episodes of Survivorman, Stroud will take the audience along on his trips where he’ll be surviving in different scenarios for 10 days straight. So far this year, he’s shown audiences how to survive on a Mexican desert island and a Norwegian mountain side.

The Walking Dead
Returning to TV: Oct. 14, 2012
Catch it on: Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC

Police officer Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma in the hospital to an abandoned world. He wakes to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world that has been overrun by zombies (or “walkers” as they are referred to on the show). Grimes sets out to find his family and becomes the leader of a group of survivors.

The show follows the groups efforts to survive in a society that offers no help. The group’s initial desire is to seek out the government’s Center of Disease Control but they find that the government isn’t going to offer them much help either.

Obviously, the show presents some scenarios that aren’t going to occur in real life (namely zombies). But the show is interesting from a survival point of view in that it shows how the group must cope with survival when danger is all around them. The group ends up moving to a farm on the outskirts of town and has to make friends with other survivor groups around them. So, while the scenarios might not present a plausible reality, the show is still interesting for a survivalist point of view.

Red Dawn
Release date: Nov. 21, 2012

Red Dawn is a remake of a 1984 film in which the North Korean army takes over the United States. A group of young high school students band together to fight in a resistance movement. They call their group the Wolverines, after their high school mascot.

The 1984 version of Red Dawn scared a lot of people. The film starred some up-and-coming young talent including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey and Lea Thompson. The original film depicted a communist takeover of the United States through aggressive military invasion.

The Impossible
Release date: Oct. 11, 2012 (Spain) & Dec. 21, 2012 (United States)

The Impossible is based on one family’s experience during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The family is enjoying a beautiful vacation when they are suddenly caught in the middle of the tsunami. They must first survive the disaster and then they work to regroup and find each other once again after the event.

I’m really interested in seeing the film to see how they portray the effects of a tsunami. It might be very interesting to see how the family copes with different physical and emotional impacts of a disaster.

What are you watching?
So, there are a lot of movies and TV shows out there that portray scenarios that might be useful in an emergency. What are you watching that you would recommend? Comment below and share the knowledge.

When you’re outside and encounter a wild animal, what should you do?

Thankfully, this infographic can help you know! Whether it’s a bear, snake, shark, cougar or wolf, this helpful graphic will help you easily figure out if you’re at danger and what to do to stay away from danger. Many times, the animal will only approach you instead of attack you. This infograhpic also helps you know what to do in each of those encounters.

Share the knowledge, and share this infographic with friends. Also, comment below to tell us what helpful tips you’ve found in avoiding animal encounters in the wild.

Thanks to hellawella for creating this infographic.

So, what methods have you used to avoid animals in the wild? Share your knowledge below.

Do you know what the difference is between a hurricane and a tropical storm? Or what the typical wind speeds of each are?

Do you consider yourself a hurricane expert? Test your knowledge against this new graphic explaining the anatomy of a hurricane, where they form and how common they are in the United States.

You might be surprised at what you can learn about hurricanes!

Phones are becoming a larger part of our daily lives. Every day, we connect with family, friends, businesses associates and others via our phone. We check news, social media, text messages, email and more.

Because phones are such a common item, we don’t often think that our phone could save our life! There are many precious items that Bear Grylls would never abandon if he had a phone in the wild. Check out the infographic below to see how you might be able to use parts of your phone to start fires, cut, signal, direct you and more!

Also, comment below to tell us what you have re-purposed your phone for! Share your tips and tricks.