It would be reasonable to assume that the first step of protecting yourself from a disaster would be preventing an accident itself. As a starting point you can inspect your house, giving your family members specific instructions about what to do in each particular case. Keep in mind that by taking all necessary precautions you can truly prevent an accident saving property and even human lives.
Fire security:
Make sure that there are always proper tools in place in order to shut down your water heater and a natural gas pipe valve during or after emergency. You can even attach wrenches to the most important of your appliances so you could turn them off immediately without unnecessary delays. Everyone in the house needs to be aware that leaky gas connections need to be fixed immediately for they are the most dangerous and costly of home accidents. After gas line is blocked make sure to open all windows. Do not turn the gas on again before contacting your gas company. Mare sure you have smoke detectors and whistles in each room in order to have everyone in a house warned about fire emergency. Don't forget to change batteries at least once in six months. Make sure you have enough fire extinguishers to cover your living or working area. It is important for everyone in the family to know where the extinguishers are and how to use them. Generally, keep anything that can cause fire away from heat sources. If you face a lot of flammable waste keep it only in secured metal cans.
Electrical security:
As a first step of achieving a proper electrical security of your house you must make sure that all family members are able to locate the electric fuse box and the electrical meter. It's extremely important to know what where and when is dealing with electrical supplies. During an emergency or in your everyday life remember basic safety rules on working with electricity: do not touch any bare wires and stay away from the water for it can electrocute you. So if you need to shut something off – do it from the safest point. Taking your family's safety as a priority replace defective wiring and wires running under carpets and rugs. Always remember, no matter how reliable your electrical outlets seem to be, not to overload them as it still may cause an accident.
Other general security matters:
It's not a secret that accidents does not appear without cost and it's unfortunate that original items of our everyday life are capable to create even more injuries and damage rather something usually taken with precautions like gas or electricity. So it is important to pay close attention to a proper security of any objects with a major weight or potentially dangerous location. You need to secure your large appliances such as water heater or conditioner unit. However, working on proper attachments of a smaller interior object can sometimes be even more important. The most obvious thing to do would be not to place pictures, mirrors or bookshelves above your bed. You would also need to fasten all shelves and other objects to the walls. When doing so try to generally place large, heavy objects on lower shelves.