How I am Preparing for Natural Phenomena
Part 3 - Preparing for Evacuation and Sheltering-in-Place

When the potentially-disasterous natural phenomenon actually occurs, there are only two things to do: shelter-in-place (which is stay at home) or evacuate (go someplace else). My husband and I realized that which we choose may depend on the circumstances, so we're prepared for both.

Preparing for sheltering-in-place or evacuation is a very individual thing, based on what type of natural phenomenon might strike in your area. So I'm not going to give details here about what we've done to prepare for hurricanes, because it won't help you if your local natural phenmenon is blizzards. Suffice to say that there is a lot of good basic information on what you need to do to prepare on the website of the American Red Cross.

Having done preparation for a couple of years now, and having observed first-hand what really happens during and after potentially-disasterous natural phenomenon, I have a few tips to pass along. These are things I didn't find in the Red Cross materials.

Protect your plans

I purchased a large inexpensive see-thru red plastic envelope that will hold letter-size papers without folding them. In it I placed all my plans and instructions for what to do in case of a natural phenomenon. I keep it in my emergency kit box. I have another similar purple envelope that holds all my important documents. Even though I don't like to use plastic, this is the best item for the job and during natural phenomenon often one of the things most needed is to keep things dry. If and when I ever need these plans, I'll know just where to find them and what to do.

Keep your supplies in backpacks

We have our emergency supplies in a plastic box with a handle right now, but we are planning to get two backpacks. This way we can carry our supplies easily on foot if needed.

Cell phone and charger

After any kind of natural phenomenon, it is highly likely there will be no power or telephone lines. Cell phones will work, if you have one, but only if you have power to recharge it. I just found a handy little combo hand-crank cell phone charger and flashlight for under $50. This way we can make cell phone calls, which may be the only way to communicate.

Food

I did relief work after Hurricane Charlie, passing out food to people who had no kitchens. Let me tell you, the food choices were pretty dismal.

I have a tendancy to high blood sugar if I eat too many carbohydrates. I would be in the hospital on the verge of a coma if the only food I had available was the high-sugar, high carbohydrate, heavily processed food that I was distributing.

After that experience, Larry and I decided to make sure we had enough good food to sustain our bodies in a healthy way for a week. We decided to keep a supply homemade beef jerky and raw nuts on hand for potentially-disasterous natural phenomenon. Other foods you might want to consider for your emergency rations are dried fruits, homemade granola, protein bars, chocolate bars, and anything else you like to eat that requires no refrigeration or cooking. Be sure to include any vitamins you take. If you take several kinds of vitamins, make up daily dose packets and carry a a couple of weeks worth, rather than all the jars. Craft stores sell little reclosable plastic bags called Bagettes that are great for vitamins, keys, matches, and any other little things you need to organize or keep dry.

Light

Usually it is recommended to have a flashlight and batteries, but once you run out of batteries, you are stuck. Here are some better ideas.

Light Sticks give you instant light anywhere, anytime. Just snap and shake the plastic tube and a nontoxic fluid inside begins to glow. Compared to flashlights with batteries, they are compact, lightweight, and can be stored for up to 4 years. Once opened they give enough light to easily see for up to 12 hours. They are safe to use and non-flammable. You can keep them by your bedside, carry them in a pocket or purse, and keep them in the glove compartment of your car. Used by military, police, and fire departments. They are sold at Home Depot and Lowe's, hardware stores, and online.

And here's a light you can always have at hand. The Lifetime Clip Light is guaranteed to live up to its name. Clip it to your keychain or purse or slip it in your pocket. When you press the button, it produces a brilliant blue beam that illuminates a panoramic 180 degrees and can be seen a mile away. It uses so little energy that the light will give more than 100,000 hours of use.

We have hand-crank Dynabrite Flashlights. Only 60 seconds of cranking gives 2 hours of light.

Pet ID tags

We don't usually make our cat wear an ID tag, since she stays pretty close to home, but we got one for our hurricane emergency kit. If it looks like a hurricane is coming, we'll put in on, but usually she just stays in the house with us during bad weather.

Personal hygiene items

We have some little travel size soaps and shampoos in our emergency kit. Since I prefer not to use scented products with artificial ingredients on my body, I make sure that I have my own with me.

Cash

We've realized that we WILL need money after a natural phenomenon and it will need to be cash. So we're stashing bits of cash in an envelope with our emergency supplies so it will be there when we need it. We're aiming for $2000.

Shelter

We've already figured out where we will go if we need to take shelter in a place other than our home. All the directions are part of our emergency kit.

Entertainment

So far, we have almost always had power throughout the hurricanes, so we were able to watch what was happening on television. But we did lose power during the last one. Fortunately, we had some playing cards on hand to amuse ourselves. We also have a book of games we can play. These give maximum amusement for the least amount of weight and space.

Make Your Own Plans and Checklists

My best recommendation is to do a little research and then write out your own personalized plans and checklists. Take what you find in pamphlets and on websites and tailor it to your own needs. Actually do a run through of what you may need to do in repsonse to a natural phenomenon and make sure you have everything you need, know where it is, and how to operate it. You may never need any of this, but if you do, being prepared could save your life.