You see those green, billowing storm clouds over there? Those are bad. Not because you'll get whisked away to some annoying musical world - no, because those clouds mean that storm is particularly nasty and dangerous. It might even mean a tornado is approaching.

Natural disaster responses increasingly rely on electronic devices for communication. In the aftermath of a destructive storm, your phone or tablet can be a literal lifeline — so it needs to actually work.

Video: Flash floods can strike with almost no warning, so it pays to be prepared. It doesn’t take much for rain to escalate from a light drizzle to a deadly emergency situation. In the event the dry land around you transforms into a raging river, these tips can keep you from being swept away.

Enochlophobia, or the fear of crowds, is a very real phobia. And when you’re in the middle of a panicked mob swarming to an exit, that fear seems entirely rational.

It doesn’t happen often, but emergency services can go down. Currently, 911 service is down across several states in the U.S. after a massive outage at a CenturyLink data center. While some of the initially-out-of-service cities are already up and running again, others are still down.

Climate change used to seem like something that would confront our grandchildren — a distant concern. Now, though, it’s staring us right in the face when we get up in the morning.

Often, there’s a moment early in a medical emergency when you know something is wrong, but aren’t sure you want to call 000. When I reacted to some antibiotics by breaking out in hives earlier this year, I stared at my phone for about 15 minutes before calling 000 — I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what to do and I wasn’t sure that the problem was so urgent that I needed ambulance, which is a real expense even if you have insurance.

In a power outage, a 9 volt battery can give your phone enough juice to make a call or send a few texts. You may have seen this hack before, but it works especially well in this variation where you use the spring from a pen to connect the negative terminal.

The current bull market’s longevity has people worried. It all has to end some time, and some economists are predicting a recession by the end of 2020. Assuming that holds true, that gives you around two years to get your finances in order. What should you be prioritising?

Not long ago, a fire started close to my area. It moved fast, and through news reports, we watched it snake its way toward our sleepy, suburban neighbourhood. By evening, there were mandatory evacuations about 1km away from us.

There are some skills you hope you never need to use, but having them could be a matter of life and death.

Remember when you bought a new can opener because you thought you lost your old one? What do you plan on doing with that half-used roll of duct tape that's collecting dust in your garage? The last time you used that flashlight in the kitchen junk drawer was to pretend to be a jedi, wasn't it? These are all items you probably have lying around that you can consolidate into a home emergency kit. It might just save you and your family's lives.

We hope you never have the experience of being in a serious car accident with your kids. But it's good to be prepared, and this tip from a parent could help emergency responders during a rescue.

Due to the current state of the world, and nonstop media coverage of tragic events, we're more on edge in public spaces than ever before. But reacting before you think can be just as dangerous to yourself and others as the perceived threat - especially when you're in a crowded environment.

Video: Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to offer his help to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid, damaged by Hurricane Maria. True to his word, the company provided a solar panel and battery storage array to Hospital del Niño, a children's hospital in San Juan.

Hey there preppers! Remember when we talked about Doomsday Prepping for Non-Paranoid People? About how, in these uncertain times, we should all have a well-stocked emergency kit, or in my case, an emergency cabinet? If you acquired the basics of water, food and gear six months ago, now is the the time to open your kit and check that your supplies are still functional, edible and potable. You don't want to want to be mid-disaster and realise your batteries leaked corroded crusty goo all over the Kind bars.

Video: Back in the '50s and '60s, your home wasn't complete if you didn't have your own fallout shelter. This classic educational video shows you how to build your own.

Hurricane categories range from 1 (119km/h winds) to 5 (252km/h and up). There is no Category 6, not even for record breaking storms such as Irma.

The Earth is getting warmer. That's a fact. And as the Earth gets warmer, we expect to see larger and stronger hurricanes. Also a fact. But there are folks denying these facts, even to the point of blaming the liberal media for the fact that hurricanes are in the news.