A once-in-a-millennium volcanic eruption may lead to a surge in sales of extreme emergency supplies

The epidemic and supply chain crisis have not been resolved yet , and the recent volcanic eruptions and blizzards have also caused great fluctuations in logistics prices. But on the other hand, extreme disasters will also help boost the sales of related emergency supplies.

Disasters such as tsunamis and blizzards occur frequently, and many countries have issued states of emergency

Recently, the submarine volcano on the Hongahaapai Island in the South Pacific island nation of Tonga erupted violently. According to the latest news, almost all houses on some small islands in Tonga were engulfed by the tsunami , and the volcanic ash polluted the water sources of the entire Tonga, and crops also suffered a devastating blow. In the local area, most families are facing the crisis of insufficient drinking water.

Satellite images show that the volcanic eruption produced a huge ash cloud and shock wave, and shot volcanic ash and other impurities into the sky, seriously disrupting the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa and causing all local communications to be interrupted , which have not yet been fully restored.

The volcanic eruption also caused a severe tsunami . In Nuku'alofa, the capital of Tonga, a 1.2-meter-high tsunami wave appeared , and the waves rushed into coastal roads and flooded. Some media said that the power of this submarine volcanic eruption was comparable to 1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

The Tonga volcano eruption is so powerful that it will definitely affect other countries. According to reports, the volcanic eruption also had an impact on the entire Pacific region. Chile, Japan, New Zealand and other countries along the Pacific coast have detected significant tsunami waves, with the largest wave reaching 1.5 meters.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning to the country's coastal areas in the early hours of Sunday local time. According to Japanese media reports, this is the first time the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami warning in five years since November 2016. In addition, more than 30 ships have been confirmed to have sunk or capsized in ports in Kochi Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture . The latest news shows that the Japan Meteorological Agency has lifted the warning at 2 pm local time on the 16th.

The Nikkei Shimbun quoted statistics from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as saying that a total of approximately 229,000 people in eight prefectures including Iwate, Miyagi and Kagoshima were subject to evacuation orders.

In the United States, the Tsunami Warning Center has also issued tsunami warnings to Hawaii, the northwest coast of the United States, Alaska and other areas.

Regarding the situation after the Tonga volcano, Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland , said that the current eruption may last for weeks or even years. He also reminded the people of Tonga to be vigilant against tsunamis that may occur in a short period of time and should avoid low-lying areas.

As a cross-border person, my first reaction when seeing the impact of the tsunami disaster is "sea transportation will be affected again..."

Other sellers also "took sides",

——My first reaction is also: freight forwarding, shipping company

——No! I have more goods to ship!!

Another seller joked,
——The tsunami natural disaster can be used as an excuse to increase prices.

In addition to tsunamis, the United States has recently had to deal with extreme weather attacks such as blizzards.

Since Eastern Time on the 14th, the snowstorm began to hit the eastern United States, causing at least 278,960 households to lose power, nearly 5,700 flights to be delayed, and more than 4,700 flights to be canceled.

So far, more than 80 million people in the eastern United States are under winter weather alerts, and several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, have declared a state of emergency due to the snowstorm.

After the snowstorm warning was issued, even though the snowstorm was still two days away, the flow of people to supermarkets in some towns in the United States has increased. The manager of the supermarket Stew Leonard's revealed: "We usually see a 30% increase in sales due to snowstorms, so this is also a busy weekend." It can be seen that in order to deal with extreme weather and emergencies, the general public will have the habit of stockpiling and making reserves in advance.

Disasters occur frequently, and emergency products may be in great demand

Regarding the recent disasters, a blogger commented: If the epidemic meets a level 7 volcanic eruption, then our generation may belong to the black swan generation and the children of the century.

When a disaster occurs, it is usually accompanied by food, water, electricity or some kind of danger. At this time, people should realize the importance of emergency life-saving supplies, which will also drive the popularity of such products to continue to rise.

Emergency life supplies can be roughly divided into three categories: food, daily necessities and self-rescue tools.

Emergency food mainly includes water, canned food that can be eaten as soon as it is opened, various biscuits (such as compressed biscuits called "ten thousand-year biscuits"), etc. In Japan, where people have a strong sense of prevention, in addition to biscuits, there are also white rice, oden, etc., and the shelf life of many emergency foods is as long as 5 years. The editor learned that the shelf life of one type of biscuit is even as long as 25 years.

However, it is not easy to sell food abroad. For example, if Chinese food wants to be sold on Amazon US, there are three procedures required: the export commodity processing factory registers with the local Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, applies for FDA certification, and goes through customs clearance procedures. In addition to the United States, countries such as European countries and Japan are also very strict on food imports. Therefore, few domestic sellers choose to sell food.

Of course, in addition to food, emergency supplies also include daily necessities and self-rescue tools. Emergency daily necessities include flashlights, disaster prevention candles, lighters, disaster prevention water purifiers, raincoats, simple tents, sleeping bags, simple stoves, portable alarms, emergency lights, portable chargers, etc. It is understood that the disaster prevention candles on the market can burn continuously for 100 hours, and the disaster prevention water purifier can purify rainwater, bath water, river water, etc. and make them directly drinkable.

While maintaining basic life needs, people in distress may also need to save themselves. At this time, self-rescue emergency tools will be used, including: life jackets, lifebuoys, medicine boxes, shovels, small generators, ladders, small inflatable boats, escape ropes, etc.

However, when it comes to emergency life-saving supplies, the most common one is actually the "emergency kit". Emergency kits usually contain water, food, flashlights, medicines, small tools, etc. Depending on the different uses, sellers will also make different combinations.

(An emergency kit on Amazon)

In fact, in Europe and the United States, emergency kits like this do not necessarily have to wait until a natural disaster occurs to be effective. Europeans and Americans prefer to go camping or climbing and other adventurous activities, and they also use emergency kits at this time. Searching for "Survival Kit" on Amazon will pop up many 72-hour emergency kits, both comprehensive and tool-oriented.

In addition, Europeans and Americans also like to play water sports. Surfboards and kayaks are popular outdoor products in foreign markets and can also be used as escape tools in emergencies.

Another point is that when it comes to emergency supplies, many people think of what people need. In fact, many people now keep pets, and pet owners have already regarded their pets as part of their family. When disaster strikes, protecting pets is particularly important. Therefore, emergency food and life jackets specially prepared for pets have appeared on the market . Many times, even if the owner is drifting in the flood, he still has to take his cats and dogs with him.

Of course, the above is only a small part of the emergency supplies mentioned by the editor. Sellers who are interested in this can also do in-depth investigation to decide whether to enter the market and which category to invest in.

Tonga Volcano

Extreme disasters

Emergency supplies