Somehow it seems a little far-fetched to think of your computer as an emergency preparedness tool. After all, it can't take the place of first-aid supplies, waterproof matches, or potable water. It might be drowned in a flood, destroyed in an earthquake, or just rendered inoperable by a simple, old power outage. How much good would it be then?

Your computer becomes a valuable survival aid when used to access the Internet. Once connected, the supply of information at your command seems boundless. This wealth of knowledge is a fantastic emergency preparedness tool much more valuable than any stack or survival books. True, it may not be possible to access the Internet during an emergency, but preparations are best done prior to the big event anyway.

A good general place to start surfing is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) site at http://www.fema.gov/fema/predis.html. Although Director James Lee Witt starts with this dubious nugget "As all of us know, disasters are terrible," this site is packed with useful information. Here you can learn about preparing for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, landslides, wildfire, extreme heat and cold, volcanoes, and more.

For example, check out the FEMA Nuclear Power Plant Emergency section. Did you know to keep on hand a non-electric can opener and sturdy walking shoes for the extra walking common in an emergency? Of course you did. What about asking an out-of-state friend of relative to serve as the "family contact?" Surprisingly, after an emergency it is often easier to call long distance. Make sure everyone knows the name, address, and telephone number of the contact.

FEMA also has an extensive and diverse on-line list of print publications available. Titles include "Design Manual for Retrofitting Flood Prone Residential Structures," "Dam Safety-Know the Potential Hazards," "Earthquake Preparedness in High Rise Building," and "Winter Fire Safety Tips for the Home."

If saving others from disaster is your game, visit the Search and Rescue Society of British Columbia (http://www.sarbc.org/sarbc/). They have a nice collection of articles, files, education materials, liability information, technical tips, and links to other search and rescue organizations. Among their many educational programs is this one for children entitled "Lost in the Woods." Through this program, youngsters learn the rules of survival including "Stay together, with a friend or pet," "Look bigger for searchers," and "Drink from water sources small than you are so you can't fall in."

A visit to Dave Paxton's home page "The Survivalist" (http://www.gate.net/~dlpaxton/index.html) takes you well away from governmental and institutional guidelines. Some current content includes book reviews and discussions on methane digesters and vertical axis windmills. An excellent resource is the "Camping and Survival IndexPage" (http://www.billboard.com/Mike_Smith/Crisis_Kits/Index) which deserves a gold star for relevancy. Among a multitude of topics, Mike Smith included reviews of commercial emergency kits, comparisons of butane, propane, white gas and other fuels, and an overview of lanterns and lights.

Lots of folks on the net want to give advice on preparing emergency kits or, better yet, sell you a kit. Truly exemplary kits are those described by Mike Smith (address above). He includes comprehensive sub- lists for special situations and groups. If Smith's kits rank a 10 on the Olympic scale, the kits for sale by SafePak (http://giant.mindlink.net/survival/) rank about a two. They don't even have duct tape.

What if you are already prepared for emergencies, but still want an excuse to visit the World Wide Web? Here it is" "The Internet is a great place to keep up on current events." EPICENTER, the Emergency Preparedness Information Center, has news of recent or impending disasters and a super list of links to related pages (http://nwlink.com/epicenter/news.html or links.html). Among other things, you can view a film clip of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge tearing itself apart. Show it at your next party!

The World Watch home page (http://map.org/crises.html) is an up to date compilation of information about international crises caused by natural disaster conflict or war. Here you'll find situation reports, bulletins, and news summaries, and access to free on-line news services and bulletin boards. Another good source of disaster information is the Internet Disaster Information Network (http://www.disaster.net/index.html). Among other things, it offers situation reports, links to disaster report pages and a place to sign up for Internet hourly audio news.

The World Disaster Reports page (http://www.ifrc.org/wdr95/contents.htm) provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is similar to the World Watch page, but has a greater emphasis on recent instead of current events. As of this writing, it had reports on Somalia, Haiti, Iraq, Serbia, Ethiopia, Ukraine and more. You can learn why the casualties were so low in the 1994 cyclone in Bangladesh or read about an earthquake early warning system employing a Global Positioning System (GPS).

Are you ready to buy some of those supplies you've been reading about? Lay down those car keys and turn on your computer. The best places to shop are "catalog" home pages with photos, prices and detailed descriptions. Want to know more about a product? Just click and more information spills onto your screen. Want to think about it for awhile? Mark the spot with a bookmark and return at your leisure. And, don't worry about using your credit card over the net, most places provide an 800 number for orders. I had fun browsing at these survival supply stores and you might too. EPICENTER (address above) offers a variety of disaster preparedness items such as a multipurpose emergency tool that fits both water and gas mains, is good for digging and prying, and doesn't rust or sparks. Sounds like a deal if you are building an emergency kit from scratch.

Another good place to shop is at Safe-Trek Outfitters, a class three weapons supplier (http://www.avicom.net/safetrek.html). When I visited, they had a really fancy emergency shelter on special. TECFEN Outdoor Products (http://www.tecfen.com/outdoors.html_ also has a nice illustrated catalog of survival gear and other products. Check out their TWIGZIL pencils! Lifelink (http://www.lifelink.com/prods.htm) has a good selection of supplies and a nifty on-line ordering system.

So, power up and start surfing. Your survival is at stake.