Evacuation Tips…Gustav is Coming
With hurricanes threatening this week we need to keep preparing and when told to evacuate we need to do so immediately. Yesterday we discussed a few things to do to be ready to leave. Here are a few more. You may not need this information today but many do. Please email this link to everyone you know in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. If you don’t know anyone living in those state email the link to someone who does have family or friends in those areas.
Find good footwear now. If you don’t have good hiking or work shoes or boots for all family members, get them now. Too many people said they were not prepared to walk out or back over the debris that followed their disaster. Following a natural disaster there may not be stores left to purchase shoes and if there are, the competition will be great and stores will be sold out quickly.
Think about it, after a natural disaster, there will be no way to confirm there is money in your bank account. If you bank at a local bank, it may not be able to provide services for days, weeks, or months as corporations dig out and rebuild. ATM machines will be emptied of cash rapidly, and there will be no employees to restock the machines — they will all be home caring for their families and evacuating themselves. When, or if, you can find food, clothing, or gas for sale, you will have to pay with cash or be out of luck. So as I said yesterday get cash now. Cash should be in small denomination bills and coins. Never carry all your cash in one place and never let anyone see that you have more than a few dollars. Most people are honest, helpful and trustworthy, but it only takes one dishonest person to hold you up and steal your cash or charge your more for a purchase than is necessary.
When you evacuate, bring your own toiletries. You may think this is not necessary if you are headed to a hotel, but their resources are limited. During an emergency, families may have to share a room with friends and large families may be limited to one room. If you are evacuating to a family or friend’s home, they may have several other families expecting to be housed there also. You should have a good 72-hour kit so you won’t have to think too much about including them as you pack to evacuate. Remember to include TP, feminine hygiene products, and diapers as well as your deodorant and toothpaste and toothbrushes.
I mentioned this yesterday also, medications. If you are taking any prescription medications, they may not be available to you for several days or more. Local pharmacies will not be prepared for new customers in the great numbers that will need to be serviced in areas where families have taken refuge. A national chain may not have access to computer records to fill orders. If there are no refills left on your prescription and/or if you normally purchase your medications from a small pharmacy, you will need to have your prescription rewritten. Good luck trying to find your doctor to okay the order! If you wear glasses, add a copy of your prescription to your 72-hour kit. If you wear reading glasses get a pair of magnifiers or an old pair of glasses that still allow you to read, even if they aren’t perfect, and place them in your kit. Glasses often are forgotten in the rush to evacuate.
Plan for those who are ill. For goodness sake, never stay at home during an evacuation warning if any of your family has medical problems. If you have someone on oxygen, you will need a constant supply of electricity. Even a generator will eventually run out of gas and you could be stuck. If you have a family member with a weakened immune system, even the smallest cut that comes in contact with contaminated water could prove life-threatening. Evacuate!
Families have been separated when they have waited too long to evacuate. If you are told to evacuate, please do it. After Katrina, conditions were so bad that people were desperate to get out. Some families were separated as they loaded buses and airplanes. Everyone was doing their best to get people to safe and sanitary locations but in the process, some families ended up in different towns and even different states. No matter how desperate you are, never allow yourself to be separated from family members. Always have an out of state contact person — someone every family member knows to call just in case the worst happens. Everyone should have that phone number memorized or for young children write it with a permanent marker on their arm. Write: mom’s cell and the number and also contact person’s name and their phone number. It may take a few days before phone service is available, but everyone should check in with that contact person frequently and as soon as possible. It would be advisable for every teen and every adult to have a pre-paid phone card for just such an emergency.
Whether someday you are the provider of refuge, or the refugee, is not up to you. However, our willingness to prepare — and to prepare now — is up to us. Preparation for emergencies truly begins when we listen to the experiences of those who have been through such events, and apply what they learned toward creating a safer home and community.
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Just wanted to say HI. I found your blog a few days ago on Technorati and have been reading it over the past few days.
Great article, adding it to my bookmarks!
Good article, adding it to my bookmarks!