The BBB Evacuation Kit challenge

[Sillygirl]

A group as talented and creative as ours should be able to come up with the ultimate evacuation kit. I don't live in a tsunami-prone area, but I do have a nuclear plant nearby. We might have to leave our house with ten minutes notice. And I am not ready. The hazards where you live might include hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or civil unrest. Are you prepared?

I am planning a large Rubbermaid Tote, kept in the bathroom closet near our garage door. I want to pack it with what we'll need to make a quick getaway. Just thinking in the shower this morning, here's what I'll include:

2 pairs underpants and socks for each family member
1 change of clothes
toothbrushes and toothpaste
hairbrush
sanitary napkins
shampoo, soap
children's Advil
bandages
hand sanitizer
flashlight and fresh batteries
$500 in twenties
food: not sure what to do here. Emergency ration bars? Chocolate bars and peanut butter? Freeze dried food?
2 gallon jugs of water - will need to go next to the tote
2 blankets? or large bath towels? (Hitchhiker's Guide fan here)
Pack of playing cards
Book for each child
Duct tape (just because)

What will take the most work is making a flash drive with scans of important documents: house title, birth certificates, insurance policies.

Also, tape to the lid a list of things to grab/do at the last minute, since they're not feasible to keep in the kit:
checkbook
passports
wedding album?
lock doors
turn off water main.
Map of evacuation route

So I ask you, what am I missing? What's unneccesary? I plan to assemble this over the next week or two and will try to post photos here, and encourage you all to do the same.

I think a LOT of lives were saved in Japan, even in the face of a massive earthquake, because they were READY.

[writermama]

Flash drive is a good idea for identity documents, but it's probably best to have some on paper as well (in case power or a flash-drive reading device isn't available).

What about laminated paper copies of driver's licenses and/or passport photo pages? Also, what about a laminated, recent photo of each member of the family that says, "This is who I am" on the front and on the back lists (and has smaller photos) of other family members.

Also, contact information for family/key contact people out of your immediate area, on laminated paper. If phone services are limited (and they often are in disaster situations), it's a good idea to have someone to call in a place where service isn't disrupted who can spread the word that you're ok.

[crispychicky]

I was thinking the same thing as you OP. We are under-prepared as a family and need to get ourselves organized.

I found this site: 72hours.org If you look under the 'Go Bag' icon, they have a checklist of items for your "go bag".

I was thinking we should have a backpack in the house by the door and one in both my husband's and my cars. (I'm always where my car is.)


One other thing they mentioned for your list if you have time is to shut off the main circuit breaker to your house to cut all electricity. I was also thinking about throwing the emergency shut off for our oil too.

[elephantmeg]

I was evacuated once and will tell you that some of the stuff isn't needed. I'd pick either soap or shampoo (prob soap) you can use the soap for both in a pinch and it will be the least of your worries. I would do some large towels-they can be used for anything. A weather radio, any vital prescriptions-ie insulin. I'd have some basic cutlery-even one set-especially a good knife.

[ha98ed14]

A friend and I were debating what we should have in our earthquake preparedness kit. She saud she would throw the kids in the car and drive out of SoCal, away from the crisis. DH says we should "plan" to meet back at out house. I have no idea which is the right thing to do is, but it would definitely effect (affect?) the way you plan. Local advice is 3 days, preferably 7, of food and water.

Should I stay or should I go?

[TwinFoxes]

Just looking at this, I think you need a lot more water. How many people are in your family? I seem to remember when getting my earthquake kit together when I lived in California that it was at least a gallon per person (and pet) per day, for drinking and hygiene purposes.

I included canned food and an opener. I also put treats in mine, hard candy (this was pre-kids). And bowls and cheap utensils. Also, a utility knife of some sort, just cause. Oh, and we had a crank radio too.

Our emergency kit didn't make the move, but you're right, we should have one even though we are no longer in a disaster zone.

[TwinFoxes]

A friend and I were debating what we should have in our earthquake preparedness kit. She saud she would throw the kids in the car and drive out of SoCal, away from the crisis. DH says we should "plan" to meet back at out house. I have no idea which is the right thing to do is, but it would definitely effect (affect?) the way you plan. Local advice is 3 days, preferably 7, of food and water.

Should I stay or should I go?

I think so much depends. Where would you drive too? How long could you afford to be gone if you're presumably staying in a hotel? Roads might ge impassable. But, you might not be able to stay in your house, it might be destroyed, or damaged. I do think you should have a meeting place though. Since we live in a high value area for terrorists (DC region) DH and I even have a place to meet up several states away.

[ha98ed14]

I think so much depends. Where would you drive too? How long could you afford to be gone if you're presumably staying in a hotel? Roads might ge impassable. But, you might not be able to stay in your house, it might be destroyed, or damaged. I do think you should have a meeting place though. Since we live in a high value area for terrorists (DC region) DH and I even have a place to meet up several states away.

Well, in this kind of emergency, I would not hesitate to use my cc. (We have no cash, but we have lots "room" on our cc.) So I feel like we could be gone for a while. I never thought of meeting up several states away. That's a good idea.
Have a local place and if we can't find each other, then go to another place. The problem with CA is that if you go West, you are stuck in the desert. What if you run out of gas? What then?

[TwinFoxes]

The problem with CA is that if you go West, you are stuck in the desert. What if you run out of gas? What then?

Yeah, you'd probably want to head north or south, but so would everyone! The 5 and 405 would be impassable...more than usual.

One thing in your stay or go quandary, if there were looting and stuff going on, I'm with your friend, get out, even if it's just to a different part of LA. The LA area seems to love a good excuse to loot.

[daisymommy]

Funny, before I logged on today, all I have been thinking about is emergency preparedness. That includes having a stocked emergency kit, as well as how to survive something like the next great depression, DH losing his job, whatever. I think the feeling of needing to survive, and protect my family is really on my mind right now.

Thanks for getting this discussion started. I'm certainly going to make it a must-do project.

[JBaxter]

We would be hauling butt to my mothers place. That woman stores more food that 3 normal full size families. would take 5 minutes to chuck kids clothes and necessary items in the car.
She has a field of cows & goats and a small arsenal of weaponry in the 3 gun safes. I could walk the 36 miles to her house if the roads were blocked.
Our disaster preparedness is GRANDMA's house

[ladysoapmaker]

I've been working on preparedness for a while. (we live right next to a military base and in tornado alley (not as bad as say kansas but just enough to keep us on our toes.))

Your list is pretty good.

Here are some websites I've found or used

http://72hours.org/ San Fransisco
http://ready.gov Federal Gov.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/get_prepared/supplies.shtml New York City (good if you live in a big city & not the suburbs or rural areas)

The Red Cross sells Ready Bags. THough I have found that you can do just as well if not better making your own.

The Mormons have good info for setting up & maintaining supplies just in case you can't leave your house.

The biggest thing is you can never have too much water.
Have copies of your rental agreement or mortgage (you may need it as proof you live in the disaster area).
Get a handcranked radio & flashlight
coloring book & crayons & a notebook
If you have pets don't forget them (there is a website devoted to disaster planning if you have pets)
And as the kids get older things change as to what you need to have. (diapers, no diapers, formula, bottles, sippy cup, snack foods, etc)
Prescription meds (and if you can get your doctor to make a list (or 'script) yearly of all necessary medicine you take keep that with the ready bag)

We picked up a "ready bag" a few years ago (it severally needs to be updated) but it included a wrench to turn off water & gas.

I feel horrible I use to have a whole bunch of websites bookmarked but when we switched computers I lost those bookmarks.

If I remember correctly ready.gov & the red cross had some good stuff for kids. so if you have some older kids and you want help explaining why you are doing this without scaring them.

Being prepared is a mindset.

Jen

[kijip]

We have a kit in the car and another in the house. The house one is more filled. We keep cash on hand that we don't use.

For food in the car we have things like clif bars and dried fruit and crackers. Things that are compact and do not spoil. In the house, we have things like that in the kit but then we also have plenty of shelf stable foods.

The home one is geared to needing to stay home without power or running water. For an earthquake, that is the most likely.

One thing I am going to do is switch the house kit to backpacks rather than plastic bin. It occurs to me that if we did have to leave the house, it may or may not be by car. And it would be awkward lugging a plastic bin with us. Two big packs that J and I can throw on seems wiser, then our hands are free for the kids (holding hands or carrying). I bet I could get some big packs used at play it again sports or Goodwill. Even if we go by car, I could see having it portable from the car would be helpful.

[ha98ed14]

She has a field of cows & goats and a small arsenal of weaponry in the 3 gun safes.

Even though I am anti-gun everything, a natural disaster or national emergency is the time when I do worry about it. I can just imagine the looting going on and the people who didn't stock up on supplies robbing those who do, or worse, killing them for it. I told this to DH once when we were talking about an emergency preparedness kit for earthquakes (that of course I talked about but never did). He said that we just needed to have extra to share, which is a totally DH response.

[citymama]

Www.72hours.org - make your kit this weekend.

[daisymommy]

Wow Jeana, does she need any adopted children :loveeyes:...sounds like a woman I would love to learn from!

One thing I find frustrating is about 2 years ago I put together a well stocked emergency stay-in-place kit with lots of food and water. But by now, it has probably all gone bad. Now I'm going to have to throw out food :( It feels so wasteful. I'm not sure how to keep that from happening. Especially since some of those things are not things I would normally buy and eat, but they worked well for an emergency kit. This frustration stops me from keeping up with it a times. Advice?

[JBaxter]

Mom rocks. I swear she would have kicked butt on the frontier. She's been a widow for several years and recently met a nice man. Hes master gardener w/ his masters in horticulture.

[JBaxter]

Wow Jeana, does she need any adopted children :loveeyes:...sounds like a woman I would love to learn from!

One thing I find frustrating is about 2 years ago I put together a well stocked emergency stay-in-place kit with lots of food and water. But by now, it has probably all gone bad. Now I'm going to have to throw out food :( It feels so wasteful. I'm not sure how to keep that from happening. Especially since some of those things are not things I would normally buy and eat, but they worked well for an emergency kit. This frustration stops me from keeping up with it a times. Advice?

Camping food/ military MRE's stay good for a LONG time. Tasty... NO but if your hungry you dont care.

[jent]

Thanks for starting this thread. The stories on the earthquake have me thinking about this too.

[kijip]

Wow Jeana, does she need any adopted children :loveeyes:...sounds like a woman I would love to learn from!

One thing I find frustrating is about 2 years ago I put together a well stocked emergency stay-in-place kit with lots of food and water. But by now, it has probably all gone bad. Now I'm going to have to throw out food :( It feels so wasteful. I'm not sure how to keep that from happening. Especially since some of those things are not things I would normally buy and eat, but they worked well for an emergency kit. This frustration stops me from keeping up with it a times. Advice?

Periodically I take the food out and donate it to a food bank or take it to my work while it is still good or just eat it and buy more. At my work, I can put anything, be it a box of doughnuts or a case of clif bars, in the public space where hundreds of homeless people walk through and it will be gone in 4 minutes.

[AnnieW625]

Water wise our local Red Cross recommends at least 2 to 5 gallons per person in the house. We always keep at least a 36 pack of 16 oz. water bottles in our garage at all times.

As much as I hate the 91 freeway I would most likely head east.

[ladysoapmaker]

Especially since some of those things are not things I would normally buy and eat, but they worked well for an emergency kit. This frustration stops me from keeping up with it a times. Advice?

Several of the websites & books I've gotten on preparedness planning recommend that you get what you will use, and cycle it through the year. A disaster is not the time to find out DC won't eat canned lima beans or is allergic to an ingredient in that snack bar you stocked up on. I try to include special things the kids will eat but I also try to cycle them through the year (though I will admit I'm not always diligent about it). It's also helpful if you and your SO are on the same page. I'm a little bit more extreme then DH but we make it work.

I have a book I ordered through Lehman's Hardware. (Though I'm sure you can get elsewhere) Making the Best of basics: Family Preparedness Handbook, by James Talmage Stevens. Mr. Stevens has worksheets in it so you can figure out what your family needs. One of his big things is "Store what you eat, Eat what you store" and "Use it or Lose it. He includes some recipes for using some stored ingredients. And he just doesn't emphasize the disaster aspect, what happens if you're laid off work. Sometimes that unemployment check takes a while to get there (I have a friend whose husband was laid off in January, they still have seen a single unemployment check and no one knows why).

Jen

[Globetrotter]

We have an annual food drive for girl scouts, so that is our time to replace the food. It works well for us as it provides a mental reminder, not that we always remember, but that's another story!

They say you should store it outside the house in case the house collapses, but we don't have a shed so not sure now to do that. I DO think we should take it out of our garage! :shake:

[Sillygirl]

I think the problem with the lists I've seen on websites is that I get overwhelmed. They do have a good point, a chemical spill can happen anywhere near a highway. For my own area, the chance of flooding is remote. Tornados don't cause widespread damage over hundreds of miles. If we have to evacuate a long distance, it will be because of the nuclear plant. I do keep 3 days supply of water in the house in the form of gallons of distilled water - I use it for sinus rinse, so it rotates. I would definitely need to turn off the water in the winter, but I don't think turning off the electricity makes sense if flooding isn't a danger - you've pretty much guaranteed yourself a ruined fridge if you're gone for any length of time.

Okay, grabbing tote now while DH and boys are at a birthday party. Let's see how much I can get done today, with what I have on hand.

[bubbaray]

http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Personal_Safety.html

In our area, the major threats are power outages (from windstorms) and earthquakes. We don't have to worry about other disasters (including tsunamis). Most of the lists I've seen seem to be for disasters where you are evacuated. That would not be the case in our area. So, we need things like tools to shut of gas, tools to dig through buildings, etc. Most of our camping gear we keep in our garage, so we would just get it there.

If I lived in an area where we would get notice of an impending disaster and an evacuation, my preparedness would be different.

[ha98ed14]

Www.72hours.org - make your kit this weekend.

Ok, I started with what I have on hand. We don't keep much in the way of canned food, so I will need to a shopping run later. I started my GoBag. So far I have:

Coats and hats for me, DH & DD
A big towel
Some extra toiletries: bar of soap, toothbrushes,
eyeglasses
rolls of toilet paper
spoons

I also wrote out all out out our names, DOB, SSN, names of out of state contacts in sharpie on a piece of foam I had for crafts with DD. I figure if it gets wet, it would be better than paper. I ran it under the tap and it was ok.

I cut out some recent photos of DD and DH and labeled them with name and DOB. I made 2 to go in our GoBag, and extras to keep in the car and one to keep in the house separate from our GoBag

Still working on it...

[Sillygirl]

Okay, I had an extra big tote, so that's what I'm using for now. Nuclear meltdown's not going to be outrun, so if we're evacuating, we're doing it by car. So far, I've got:
undies and socks for everyone but DH, who will be annoyed to give up two pairs for what he considers a theoretical exercise
toothpaste for adults
contact solution and case
hairbrush and ponytail holder
box of crayons
1 large bath towel
2 days worth of freeze dried food (bought I think after the Haiti quake)
2 rolls TP
1 carton of Clorox wipes
3 pull-ups
4 garbage bags - dispose waste, keep warm, keep dry
adult Advil in sample packets which will stay dry
feminine supplies
index card with phone numbers in a Ziploc.

I have so few comfy pants anyway, I hate to give up a pair. Ditto long sleeve T shirts.

Adding sunblock, lip balm and bug spray to list. I think instead of soap/shampoo I'll get a thing of Dr Bronner's castille soap - we can use it to wash dishes too.

[bubbaray]

So I ask you, what am I missing? What's unneccesary?


I don't think you have to turn off your water. You're only supposed to turn off gas if you smell it/its leaking, not in general.

I would add to your household kit:
large pail with lid and box of garbage bags (that will be your toilet)
glasses ( you said contacts, so someone wears glasses)

I would do a lot more pullups and TP.

I would do all first aid supplies (including meds) in a smaller, clear, waterproof tote. I would do a full FA kit, scissors, anticeptic, ice packs (the kind that you bend to activate), etc.. *I* would not do sunblock or bugspray because if there is an earthquake, I'm not worrying about sunburn, KWIM, but if I lived in the US south, my answer would be different.

If you have camping gear, I would add that to your list (but not pack it in the go tote) so that if you have enough notice to pack your car, you can add sleeping bags, tent, foamies, plates/cutlery, cooler, etc.

FWIW, my power outage kit is in a cooler so that if we have an extended outage, we go buy ice and milk and have that in the cooler (and not open our fridge, hoping the power will come on sooner rather than later). I also have a corded phone, batteries, multiple flashlights (plus we have them in various outlets around the house too), candles, matches.

You can also laminate your important phone numbers.

[Globetrotter]

I wanted to stress that if you add canned food (which I think is a must for this), don't forget the can opener! also, those of us who are campers will also have camping stoves/lamps/tents/etc.. on hand, though they may not be accessible.

[bubbaray]

Oh, and if you have pets, you need to pack for them too. Bowls, food, etc. If we had to evacuate (which I can't envision here), we would also take a crate for the dog.

[bubbaray]

Here is a detailed checklist. http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/EmergencySuppliesChecklist07.pdf

So you don't get overwhelmed, you could do 1 item per month. So, you are doing a grab & go kit currently (that is number 9, check!).

[bigpassport]

Another item to put on your list is small denominations of cash. If the power is out, cc's won't work. Small denominations will be good to have in case people can't break large bills or you are buying something small. We have $100 in singles in our 72 hour kit.

Another thought is keeping your gas tank filled up in case you have to hit the road. I always let my gas go down to empty, but I really should leave it at least half full.

[Globetrotter]

yes, keep the gas tank full if you can. Also a car charger for your phone..

[maestramommy]

Wow, your list looks great! I should just print it :p

For food, besides bars, you might look into MREs. They're not bad and come in nice flat packages.

[blue]

Thank you OP for starting this thread, and everyone who responded :bowdown:.....I have been meaning to put something together-even just a backpacks worth. Maybe I can get SO to help if I tell him it's a zombie survival kit :hysterical: (he loves his computer games)

[rlu]

Couple of thoughts

our food/water is stored in a cooler with wheels and a pull handle

out-of-state contact person. My friend in another state agreed to be our contact, so in case of natural disaster and local phone lines jammed, MIL will call her, my folks & sis will call her and we will call her and she will coordinate since often time the local lines are jammed but the interstate lines are ok.

[Meatball Mommie]

Great timing on this thread. I'm not sure what prompted me to start looking into this type of thing (started a couple of weeks ago, so before the quake/tsunami in Japan), but I really want to be better prepared than we are. A lot of the things we have at home already, but we def. need to be better organized. I need to plan for both evac (nuclear thread like op) and for staying put. We do have a whole house backup generator that runs off our 1000 gal LP tank, so that would keep our fridge/freezer ok for quite a while if something happened. I do worry about heating in the winter, since we don't have a wood burning stove or anything.

I got a books from the library, one of which is: Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens (http://www.amazon.com/Just-Case-Self-Sufficient-Unexpected-Happens/dp/1603420355/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300021521&sr=1-1). Very well written - I highly recommend it.

We are planning on taking the area beneath our stairs and making that our emergency storage area with bins of food and supplies. I totally agree with pp's on the keeping cash on hand. I personally completely rely on my debit card but in the event of an emergency, it will likely be useless. Also, you should store more water than you think you'll need. We have Poland Spring 5 gal bottles that I'm keeping just in case. I can rotate them through our stock at the office (our family business), so they will always stay fresh.

Another thought is those mylar blankets...they are very inexpensive and compact (on Amazon for $1 ea if you buy a pack of 10.

eta: For those of us in close proximity to a nuclear power plant, potassium iodide tablets are recommended.

eta: Don't forget feminine products in your emergency packs ;) I'm thinking of switching to the diva cup...

[Bens Momma]

GREAT thread! Going to start on this today!

[bisous]

Thank you! I needed this reminder to be prepared.

[mackmama]

Have not read the other replies but here's what I put in ours when I put it together a couple of years ago:

-Dog food, leash, collar, tags, vaccine/medical records, dog photo
-baby formula, bottles, pacis, dipes
-lots of water (bought from emergency supply store)
-many MRE meals
-Duct tape, bandages, neosporin, Swiss army knife, waterproof matches
-self powered emergency radio
-emergency blankets
-prescription meds
-empty ziplock bags and garbage bags with twist ties
-aqua iodine tablets
-flashlight and extra batteries
-whistle
-can opener
-face masks
-utility wrench
-local maps
-eyeglasses
-mess kit (collapsible plate, bowl, glass), utensils
-feminine products
-copies of financial and home records
-pencil and paper

I have everything stored in a large backpack.

[MamaKath]

What will take the most work is making a flash drive with scans of important documents: house title, birth certificates, insurance policies.

Also, tape to the lid a list of things to grab/do at the last minute, since they're not feasible to keep in the kit:
checkbook
passports
wedding album?
lock doors
turn off water main.
Map of evacuation route


It is interesting, I was thinking about this earlier today. I like the idea of flash drives with scans of important docs. I do think I would want paper copies of a birth cert for each person though jik. I also was thinking I need a print out of phone numbers, not just relying on my cell phone.

There are quite a few websites that teach you how to build an emergency food supply. Quite a few are run by the LDS church. Costco sells emergency food kits too.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I've been thinking of this, being in CA and all.

If you don't eat can goods, do you still get them for your emergency kit and just donate after a time?

Do you keep a second/third kit at work or in the car?

I spend my days at work and I really fear something happening when I'm here and I won't be able to get to my kids. Our neighborhood email list suggested planning alternate routes home that don't cross overpasses or bridges, keeping a pair of comfortable shoes at work in case you have to walk home, etc. I thought those were all great and I need to work on that.

[Meatball Mommie]

I've been thinking of this, being in CA and all.

If you don't eat can goods, do you still get them for your emergency kit and just donate after a time?

Do you keep a second/third kit at work or in the car?

I spend my days at work and I really fear something happening when I'm here and I won't be able to get to my kids. Our neighborhood email list suggested planning alternate routes home that don't cross overpasses or bridges, keeping a pair of comfortable shoes at work in case you have to walk home, etc. I thought those were all great and I need to work on that.

yes and yes :)

I would still purchase canned goods of some kind. Ready to eat things like hearty soups and tuna/chicken would be my choice. I'm assuming that you don't eat canned goods because of the lining materials - what about those cartons of soup instead? I know they sell tomatoes, soup and shelf stable milk that way. Might be a better option for you if you'd use those instead. Also, tuna comes in pouches (but I have no idea if the materials are better than cans). Remember that you don't want to be trying new foods (esp. with the kids) in the event of an emergency, so you should stick fairly close to things you'd normally eat. I will not keep much tuna in our emergency stash because there's NO WAY my kids would eat it. The few cans we have in our pantry are enough.

Rotation by donation is also a good (and very generous) plan. If you truly want to keep canned goods in your kit, but you never eat them normally, then I would try to donate a couple times a year to keep your stash fresh.

I would also make some sort of kit that you can keep in your car. I'm assuming you drive to work, so that means you'd have the kit at work as well. If you take public transportation to your job, you might want to bring a backpack with emergency supplies to keep at your desk and have a backup pair of shoes in case you need to try and walk home.

[brittone2]

I am far from set on emergency preparedness, but for those who don't use a lot of canned foods, here are some things we have around that we can use/rotate:

Aseptic packs of soups, pomi tomatoes. I use aseptic packs of almond milk in smoothies here, etc.
I buy some bulk things from Frontier. I have organic red&green peppers that are dehydrated and come packed in a mylar type bag. I use these in a few recipes and they would work for emergency preparedness. I also have a few bean mixes like that (pinto beans, etc.). Beans plus the peppers would sort of be like MREs on the cheap (you just rehydrate/cook them). Cans of salmon in non bpa cans. Our family doesn't do a lot of grains so that's not something we'd rotate through very well. I also have a "sprouting" mix from Frontier (seeds you can soak and sprout) which would give vitamins in an emergency situation (like eating a vegetable at that point). Eden beans in a can (BPA free). Just tossing those out there as some options I could think of for those who don't use a lot of canned goods.

THe mylar packs usually have a use by date a few years out. I've never opened the sprouting seeds but keep them in an emergency kit.

[longtallsally05]

When DH was stationed in Japan, we used to participate in noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) exercises periodically. Just like every active duty person kept a mobility bag, each family was supposed to keep a NEO kit. Here are a few links that touch on the topic of family readiness:

a family emergency kit:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/navycni/groups/public/@pub/@hq/@eprr/documents/document/cnic_042014.pdf

a family emergency plan checklist:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/navycni/groups/public/@pub/@hq/documents/document/cnip_047116.pdf

preparing your kids for an emergency:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/CNIC_HQ_Site/WhatWeDo/EmergencyManagement/OperationPreparedness/EPRRPlan/FamilyPlans/PreparingYourKids/index.htm

This link is less pertinent to this thread, but this NEO kit checklist is good for helping you figure out what documents to bring with you in case of an evacuation:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/CNIC_HQ_Site/WhatWeDo/EmergencyManagement/OperationPreparedness/EPRRPlan/EmergencyActions/NoncombatantEvacuations/index.htm

I think one important thing people forget to do is talk to their children. Do your kids know their address & phone number? If they are separated from you, do they know where or to whom to go, and how to get there? Have you discussed your plan with the adults to whom your kids are supposed to go?

Here is a wake-up call: at a commander's call for spouses regarding family readiness, a JAG told us her story. As a young child, she and her siblings were totally unprepared when they were separated from their parents during evacuation from Vietnam. Her 14 year-old sister kept the sibling group together, and she figured out where they should go and what they should do once they got to a repatriation center. It all turned out okay, but it would have gone more smoothly if the sister had known where her parents wanted them to go, and the necessary contact info for family members back in the States.

I confess haven't maintained our family readiness kit since moving back to the States. Let's face it, there is a lot of stuff to consider and like everyone else, I'm pretty busy. However, this thread is motivating me to get it back together. At least I still have the documents together from the last deployment...it's a start!

[robinsmommy]

Yep, great time to do this. Maybe do a very basic kit and then tackle each item in depth a month at a time? Helps you spread out the expense, too.

And I said it before, I'll say it again, KI tablets are useful for many more people than just those living by a nuclear plant. I wish I could find some kind of a list, but I know that we've lived by a weapons depot in the past and it was a concern (an accident there or in shipping on the same roads that people use). Thing is, you have to have it soon after a big exposure (ideally a bit before, like Japan was/is doing), so it has time to get into your thyroid, so you need to have it to hand. That being said, I'd wait to order some for a few months - it'll take that long for them to build up in stock again.

These are useful:

http://www.amazon.com/Mainstay-3600-Emergency-Food-Rations/dp/B000QZ3CWC

esp if you have limited access to water (true for many places - very few cities have a system that will continue to function without power for very long). They keep a long time, too, and very portable, even compared to MRE's.

And I'd imagine that a lot of you in earthquake country know to keep a kit at work and good walking shoes?

There are "shake-out" practice events, too, CA in October, and I think there is one in the midwest in April.

I would add that for specialty emergency items like the bars, MRE's, KI tablets, etc, it might be best to wait for a few months before purchasing. Demand always goes up right after an event like this - the emergency preparedness sites have high demand at these times.

[fivi2]

So I don't have a kit of any sort (there, I said it) but I honestly kind of wonder what I'd use it for. Tornadoes are our main worry, but that is most likely going to be limited in scope and duration. The only other situation I can come up with is a global zombie apocalypse sort of situation, and I can't see having 3 days worth of water really making a difference in that situation. And I remain convinced as pp said that someone would take my stockpile from me by force. (kidding about the actual zombies, just using that to refer to a big unforeseeable global type disaster).

So do those of you who live in earthquake/hurricane free zones have these awesome kits?

[bnme]

I live on Long Island, NY and have no kit. During hurricane season I try and make sure I always have water, some canned goods, and batteries stocked, but that is really it. I should have something a little more (maybe cash, radio, corded phone) but don't see a need for much more. We would have some time to prepare so I am not overly concerned. Our biggest problem would likely be loss of electricity.

[robinsmommy]

If you do nothing else, make sure to do a house inventory, back-up of pictures, and scans and-or photocopies of important documents and keep them somewhere safe (maybe a bank deposit box, or the house of a very trusted relative/friend, or your work if it is safe and secure). I have heard of people who travel widely putting this stuff in their e-mail (like a scan of passport and tickets), I really am not sure if I am comfortable with that for security reasons, even if you have hard copies somewhere else.

That way your keester is covered if you lose the house to a tornado or house fire.

And I'd maybe think about a list of the things you'd save if there was time (I think that sometimes firemen will try to get stuff if they can - probably someone here knows.) I don't advocate delaying escape from a burning house to get the quilt gramma made you.

[bubbaray]

So do those of you who live in earthquake/hurricane free zones have these awesome kits?


Kinda. We have everything in the kits either in our kitchen (food & water) or our garage (camping gear). We do own pretty much everything on the lists, though.

[indigo99]

I haven't read all this, but my first thoughts were that you do not want to keep a bag of stuff in the car. Around here, that would just invite someone to break into the car. I won't even leave an extra diaper bag in there. I also would not keep any food items in the car as we've had mice in our vehicles several times.

[todzwife]

We will rotate clothing and food every 6 months in our 72 hour kits. I will pack food my kids will actually eat, and we do a "emergency drill" where we eat and drink what is in the kit all weekend. Nothing goes bad that way.

Each kid will have their own backpack (not a huge one) with their own food, some water (obviously they can't carry 12 pounds of water) change of clothing and a small first aid kit, flashlight and whistle. That way if we were separated (my worst fear), they could survive ok.

We have plans to put ours together here in a couple weeks. I'm collecting stuff now.
Shelf stable milk and small cereal boxes (the 1 serving size), pudding, corn and fruit cups, soup...trying not to make it heavy but I have picky eaters.

[MoJo]

Great thread!

We have been talking about some of this since our ice storm the first week of February.

For us, it seems much more important to be able to shelter in place without power and water, so that's what we're working towards first. We don't know anyone who has ever been evacuated (where we live, rare evacuations cover such small areas for such a short time that we could probably jump in the car with just my purse and get anything we needed.) But we know MANY people who've had to go a week or more without power and water. Our next small step in becoming prepared is a camp stove and fuel; our next big step is a generator. The big lesson of the ice storm is that even though temps were near zero, people in our area who lost power were dealing with flooded basements when their sump pumps stopped working. . . when we thought we'd be able to use the basement to keep from freezing. So the generator no longer seems optional.

We don't have any "go" kit yet. But my cell phone stopped working all of a sudden Monday, and it made me realize that I don't need a disaster to need to have my contact info some place besides my phone. I don't even know my mom's number. . . it's just speed dial three on my now non-working phone.

[MontrealMum]

Another item to put on your list is small denominations of cash. If the power is out, cc's won't work. Small denominations will be good to have in case people can't break large bills or you are buying something small. We have $100 in singles in our 72 hour kit.

Another thought is keeping your gas tank filled up in case you have to hit the road. I always let my gas go down to empty, but I really should leave it at least half full.

These are both important points. I can't remember who, but someone upthread talked about having room to charge on a cc. If the power goes out and/or phone lines go down you won't be able to do that. You also won't be able to get money out of an ATM. And gas pumps won't work w/o electricity. We're especially careful about both of these because of living through the Ice Storm of '98. Some stores were open so you could buy staples, with clerks taking people through with flashlights, but they could only accept cash. We happen to be in the habit of keeping both tanks at least half full because we live in such a cold climate but when we needed to get back to the city at the beginning of the Ice Storm we had to try several stations on our route back to find one that had pumps that were still working.

Our main concerns here are weather-related power outages, followed by flooding (spring thaw) and earthquakes. Though I don't know how serious the earthquake threat is here even though we are on a fault line.

Our kit is fairly basic and along the lines of what Bubbaray posted from the Can.gc site.

[Green_Tea]

So I don't have a kit of any sort (there, I said it) but I honestly kind of wonder what I'd use it for. Tornadoes are our main worry, but that is most likely going to be limited in scope and duration. The only other situation I can come up with is a global zombie apocalypse sort of situation, and I can't see having 3 days worth of water really making a difference in that situation. And I remain convinced as pp said that someone would take my stockpile from me by force. (kidding about the actual zombies, just using that to refer to a big unforeseeable global type disaster).

So do those of you who live in earthquake/hurricane free zones have these awesome kits?

I live in the Northeast, and also have no kit. We don't live in a earthquake zone, near the ocean or a nuclear plant, or in a tornado prone area. The worst thing I can think of happening here is a hurricane, and those don't show up without warning. I have a hard time imagining circumstances under which I'd have to leave with absolutely no warning, unless the house was burning down. And if the house was burning down, I wouldn't take the time to grab my kit, I'd just get OUT.

[robinsmommy]

I haven't read all this, but my first thoughts were that you do not want to keep a bag of stuff in the car. Around here, that would just invite someone to break into the car. I won't even leave an extra diaper bag in there. I also would not keep any food items in the car as we've had mice in our vehicles several times.

MRE's are small and rat-proof. We have a hidden compartment in the Prius, you could fit a bit of stuff under a seat out of view.

[Meatball Mommie]

I'm in a relatively safe area, although I am close to the coast and near a nuclear power plant, and the "go" kit is not the first thing on my priority list either. Luckily DH and I (and FIL, MIL, BIL) work together and the office is a 10 min walk from all 3 of our homes. My kids are together with their 2 cousins at the same school. The likelihood of us needing to evacuate is slim.

IMO, I really need to focus on 3 things:
-storing water at home
-keeping a supply of cash at home and at least $20 on me personally
-backing up important computer files and making laminated paper copies of important documents and then finding a safe place to store these copies.

After that, I think I will check out the rest of the emergency preparedness stuff and make a bin to keep some things together. I have most of the items in my house, but they are all scattered about. I'm planning to do a spring clean once we have a bit of warmer weather and get better organized then.


As an aside, I have a funny story about keeping cash in your wallet...I had to take DH to the Logan (Boston airport) the other day. To return to where we live we have to go through the Ted Williams tunnel which has a $3.50 toll. I COMPLETELY forgot about this as the last time I drove to the airport was about 3 years ago. Needless to say, I didn't have the cash and I was counting pennies that I found in my cup holder. I was starting to panic, and I joked to the toll collecter about him taking a rain check. Apparently this happens ALL THE TIME and he had a special form/envelope that I filled out and signed and I have 14 days to mail in my $3.50! Note to self: keep $20 cash on you at all times! Lesson learned ;)

[kijip]

I haven't read all this, but my first thoughts were that you do not want to keep a bag of stuff in the car. Around here, that would just invite someone to break into the car. I won't even leave an extra diaper bag in there. I also would not keep any food items in the car as we've had mice in our vehicles several times.

We have had a kit in our car for years now. It's in the back of the trunk and I don't think anyone knows it is there except for you ladies. If I see a mom with keens and a killer stroller prying open my trunk, I will know where they came from. :)

I certainly would not leave anything more than a cd, a drink cup and a carseat in view in the car, but the trunk seems fairly ok to me.

[egoldber]

So I don't have a kit of any sort (there, I said it) but I honestly kind of wonder what I'd use it for.

When we lived in CA, we had an earthquake kit.

Now, our most likely "disaster" is extended power outages from storms. So I think that having non-perishable food and water on hand, is always a good thing.

In the back of my car I keep: 3 small blankets, sturdy hard shoes and socks, batteries, water bottles, and non-perishable snacks (Zbars and Clif bars), umbrella, rain jacket and a heavier, sturdy jacket in winter. It all fits in a medium size Sterilite bin. Mainly I worry about breaking down when it's cold or raining and needing to walk awhile.

[Meatball Mommie]

Just to give everyone a heads up, now is *probably* not the time to be buying supplies for our emergency kits. I had been thinking about getting some emergency supplies about a week prior to the Japan earthquake/tsunami and had put some items in my Amazon shopping card (hand crank radio, water purfying tablets, mylar blankets and a good utility knife). Just out of curiosity I went to Amazon today and the prices have all jumped and both the mylar blankets and water tablets are no longer available from the seller.

Thought I'd let everyone know :)

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I found this article very interesting when thinking of the "big one" in CA:
California "big one" expected to pale next to Japan quake
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_japan_quake_california;_ylt=AlZauolbbj9U.1JLHYc NjOms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNxM21mMTFxBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTE wMzE2L3VzX2phcGFuX3F1YWtlX2NhbGlmb3JuaWEEY2NvZGUDb W9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwMxMARwdANob21lX2Nva2U Ec2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDY2FsaWZvcm5pYWJp)

Good to know there won't be a tsunami threat. I think this is because our fault lines are not offshore. It seems like water, food, and the small bills will be the most useful, assumming our house doesn't burn down. Well, and the comfortable shoes at work.

Thanks for the food tips! We usually eat fresh foods, hence we don't eat many canned goods, but we could probably incorporate some. Need to think about this some!

[Meatball Mommie]

Found this on BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12759840
I'm not 100% sure what a "portable toilet" or "toilet adsorption powder" are...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51702000/gif/_51702831_grab_bag_624.gif

[Sillygirl]

I live in the Northeast, and also have no kit. We don't live in a earthquake zone, near the ocean or a nuclear plant, or in a tornado prone area. The worst thing I can think of happening here is a hurricane, and those don't show up without warning. I have a hard time imagining circumstances under which I'd have to leave with absolutely no warning, unless the house was burning down. And if the house was burning down, I wouldn't take the time to grab my kit, I'd just get OUT.

Do you live near a highway? You could have to evacuate for a chemical spill from an overturned tanker truck. A leak in the gas line or a broken water main might also prompt an evacuation.

[smiles33]

Found this on BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12759840
I'm not 100% sure what a "portable toilet" or "toilet adsorption powder" are...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51702000/gif/_51702831_grab_bag_624.gif

I am a visual person so I love seeing this list. The only thing missing that I can think of is toothpaste and a toothbrush!

In answer to your question, I'm guessing it's like a camping toilet and some material absorbs the urine. I imagine you just have to bury solid waste. :shrug:

[bubbaray]

You don't need the toilet absorption stuff -- you can use a maxi pad or nothing. A bucket with a lid and garbage bags are what are recommended here.

I would add to that list money (ie., a lot more than coins!), tools (wrenches to shut of utilities, crowbars and large tools to aid search efforts). Also a tent if you have it.