EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS – EVACUATION

by admin

I think the most important of all emergency preparedness needs to be your evacuation plan. Time after time we hear evacuees on the news says they didn’t know what to grab. We must think about this more than in passing. In the words of Arnold in the terminator movie, come with me if you want to live! OK, let’s get started.

You should sit down with your family and make a plan. There are many variables to an emergency. Plan for different scenarios. Is there a fire/flood and you must immediately get out of the house? Where will you meet outside of the house? Make a designated spot that everyone knows. Back when I was growing up (boy that sounded like something an old person would day. Yikes!) we had earthquake drills at school, and but they didn’t prepare for evacuations. Well times have changed, so don’t wait till it’s too late.

If you have time to evacuate, what will you bring? Each family member should be responsible for their own pack/kit and certain household items. Have back up duties in case one person is not at home at the time of the evacuation. Where will you go? Hotel, friend, or families house? Do you have more than route out of town? Can you get there without GPS? Determine what to bring if you only have a short time to leave. 10 minutes, 1-2 hours or you are on a pending evacuation orders giving you a day or more to get ready.

See below for what you should take with you. Keep some empty boxes ready for packing up stuff. Medium and small size boxes, so you can easily manage carrying them to the backseat or trunk.

So many factors to consider. That is why you cannot afford to not have a plan. It may seem overwhelming, but I guarantee it would be more overwhelming if you don’t have a plan when disaster strikes. Sit down once or twice every couple of months to discuss your plan with your family. You can’t keep thinking it won’t happen or it only happens to other people. In Paradise, CA the whole town burned down. No one would have imagined that would ever happen. Maybe it’s time to bring back those drills.

I will talk more about what should be in your kit in my next post but here is a short basic list.

Have your important documents in a plastic sealable bag to protect them. (i.e., Birth certificates, passports, health insurance card, auto & home insurance policy, deeds/titles, marriage license, wills and trusts) At the very least be able to access your policy or banking information via apps or have copies of the information stored on a portable flash drive/on a software cloud). If you can afford it, you may want to have these types of documents in a safe deposit box.
Water.
Food or snacks (the amount will depend on the evacuation or situation).
One to two days change of clothes (Clothes will vary by season).
Toiletries – Travel size.
Medications.
Extra phone charger fully charged.
Baby necessities – diapers, bottles, blanket, etc.
Password book (or stored on the Cloud where you can easily access it).
Cash in small bills not just 20’s. (if the power is out, you may not be able to use a credit card).
Have an Emergency only credit card. Charges for hotel, gas, food, and other necessary expenses needed while you are displaced.
First Aid Kit.
Pet food/water/any pet medications.
Extra Gas for the car.
Have a “check-in” person outside of your area or state. This is a person everyone can contact to check in with to update their status and location. Whoever you designate let them know in advance. You can reciprocate and be the person for their family.
If time and space permits, family mementos that can’t be replaced. (Only old family photo albums – most current photos are on your phone or social media that can be retrieved later.