DISASTERS WILL STRIKE — WILL YOU BE PREPARED?

The past two years have brought a chain of disasters unique even to California. Wildfires so energetic they swallowed whole neighborhoods in Sonoma County, where I grew up and live with my family. Rains so fierce they nearly toppled the state’s tallest dam. Powerful mud flows that killed at least 21 people.

These events have altered how we look at our lives. Disasters are no longer things that happen to other people in other places, but to us and our loved ones. Among those who lost homes in last year’s Wine Country fires were my childhood best friend and the woman who cleaned my teeth the other day. While my daughter’s soccer coach fled the flames, his home was saved by a local hose-and-bucket brigade that included my stepbrother.

We’ve become reluctant experts on misfortune of all sorts. We know, for instance, that a fire makes a hillside ripe for a mudslide the next winter. We’ve signed up for emergency alerts and practiced opening garage doors by hand to be ready for a power outage. And we’ve spent hours in hardware stores, buying supplies we hope we won’t need.

That brings us to this guide, which rests on a simple philosophy: Knowledge is power. The Chronicle recognized last year more than ever that our duty went beyond dispatching journalists to flooded or fire-ravaged towns. This is the second edition of a staff project meant to provide readers with the best information available about how to prepare for the inevitable.

Here you’ll find tips on how to create survival kits, protect pets, shore up finances and much more. We’ve researched useful gadgets and apps. We’ve provided a checklist you can use, as well as links to more resources. And we’ve made it all available in a document you can download to your phone. Even if cell service is out, you’ll be able to pull up the guide.

We hope this information is helpful — and that you’ll need it only for peace of mind.